'We have a small, loyal group of supporters that we care about a lot'

The 42

23-05-2025

AS WELL MICHEÁL Aodh Martin might recall this Saturday's opponents Meath (Navan, 3pm), as Cork and their goalkeeper get ready for the opening round of their All-Ireland group stages.
A goalkeeper in the more traditional mould, Martin was never one to go for a wander around the field until the Football Review Committee measures came into effect for the first few rounds of the league.
With a potential 12 attackers facing 11 defenders, it meant having a roving goalkeeper was not only preferable, but essential to breaking down the opposition.
Therefore, Martin was forced to go looking for the ball in open play, something he hadn't stressed over in the past.
As it happens, he got on plenty against Meath. While he didn't split the posts himself, he provided an assist before he had to leave the field injured after 52 minutes.
A few weeks later, it was all different again as certain tweaks were made to avoid the numerical advantage. Martin doesn't lament that change as much as others.
'The lads who play outfield for their clubs are obviously more comfortable in taking ball into contact and stuff. And then the lads who wouldn't have, you were still an extra man.'
All the same, he wouldn't have been getting bolshy in the way of a Niall Morgan about potential restrictions on goalkeepers.
'That comes down to individuals then a lot of the time,' he says.
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'I suppose when I grew up, when I actually became a goalkeeper, it was probably pre-Stephen Cluxton and he probably changed everything really. He literally changed the game. Prior to him, it was shot-stopping, catching the ball and kicking it out long. So that's the way I grew up.
'But that will always come down to personal preferences and goalkeepers should really not have too much of a say in that debate because that rule change is about the game for the spectator, as opposed to a goalkeeper's individual feelings. And then myself, it probably applied to me less. I wasn't a roaming goalkeeper.'
The obvious question to ask any goalkeeper of course, is why they became a goalkeeper?
'I always enjoyed saving the ball. I was a hurling goalkeeper. Literally as a child, you're a hurling goalkeeper, a soccer goalkeeper.
'I don't know what put me in there but I was in for everything. It was probably hurling actually. I don't know what it was but it was the old rubber mats in a hall, you used to get to dive around on them with the indoor hurling.
'That was actually what started it. Then someone realises that fella has got half-decent reflexes and you end up in there for everything.'
After the first league game, he was observational in his comments and assessment, rather than for or against, saying, 'I actually think [the long kick-out] is nearly slowing the game down at the moment, but look, that's just an opinion. Some people love the contest. I get that too, and don't have a problem with it. I don't mind kicking out long.
'There's no point pretending; it is probably going back in time a small bit.'
On reflection and with a greater sample size to assess, he revisits the issue.
Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
'I see positives and negatives to it. I probably hadn't thought that night about the knock-on impact of it, which is the fact that a team having a chance to win the ball back does encourage shooting.
'So when you actually take a step back and look at the whole game, I think that's a major part of it. The fact that it's a contest for possession after you kick a wide or a score means teams are more willing to go for those scores, which is a positive.'
'…There are positives and negatives and the main thing is most people are positive overall about the rules. You can always nitpick one or two but if you take a step back, are people enjoying the games more? Yeah, I think so.
'Are players enjoying playing more? Yes.
'And David Gough was saying referees are enjoying refereeing more so you have to look at the big picture. There will always be one or two and everyone will have individual opinions on one or two. But that's the main thing.'
The example of Armagh goalkeeper Ethan Rafferty in the Ulster semi-final win over Tyrone was a huge one for Martin, albeit Tyrone did not apply a man for man press on the Armagh restarts.
'Everyone kind of stood up and took notice of Armagh. I think they were 17 from 18 so I have no doubt a lot of people will be looking at them, like how did that happen?' he asks.
'Because a lot of the games throughout the league would have been close to 50-50. And then if you were breaking on the right side of 50-50, you were doing OK because you were hopefully hurting the other team on their kick-out.
'Obviously we can't get around the fact that there's less green grass to hit, so inevitably there's going to be more where there's a long ball. But keepers have shown that they can.
'I think as the weather improved, people sometimes underestimate the impact of the weather. League games are played in totally different conditions.
'Those kicks to pockets, they're really not on in some of those weather conditions, whereas I think for the first time in the last couple of weeks now, you've started to see teams going for those riskier kick-out. It's an interesting thing. We all have to look at it and maybe try and do a bit better.'
In other years, Martin has been a regular attender of Cork hurling games. The recent hype around the Rebels has been punctured by the 16-point defeat to Limerick but all the same, their fevered support has always been something that contrasts heavily with the smaller group of Cork football afficionados.
Jealous, much?
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'No, I'm not,' laughs Martin.
'Our aim and our hope is to be playing in big Championship games that Cork people want to go to and that we draw those crowds. But I've been involved with the Cork team since 2015 on and off and this is the way I've always known it. It is what it is.
'We have a small, loyal group of supporters that we care about a lot. There's a small group that will come up to Fermanagh and places and we really value them as well.
'So I'm not envious. It would be great, don't get me wrong, and I hope to get the chance to play in games where we do draw that support. But I don't look at it with envy or anything like that.'
There's only one place to start; Saturday in Navan.
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