CORK took a firm grip on second place in Lidl NFL Division 2 with a comfortable 1-9 to 1-3 win over promotion rivals Monaghan in Castleblayney.
It means that going into their meeting with Roscommon this Saturday at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (3pm), the Rebels are three points ahead of Monaghan and Donegal.
Cork boss Joe Carroll was happy with their display away to Monaghan, a second away win in a sequence of three away games in a row.
‘Anytime you go away from home and win by six points, it’s a good win. It was a long trip and a very windy day up there so it was difficult to play good football. We were very happy with the overall result,’ Carroll told The Southern Star.
‘We still have Donegal to play so that could narrow that and we have to travel to them as well. We won’t be taking anything for granted.’
The Rebels have two home games coming up, against Roscommon and Clare, so two wins is attainable. Focus will be paramount though – Cork can’t take their eyes off the ball.
Anytime a team plays Cork, it’s a big scalp to try and get
‘Having won our last two matches, the mood should be reasonably good going into these two games. Roscommon were unlucky to draw to Donegal (0-10 to 1-7) so I’d expect they’ll be coming with confidence and are going reasonably well as well. Anytime a team plays Cork, it’s a big scalp to try and get. We have to be prepared for this team like we are for any team,’ Carroll said.
A triple-header awaits Carro’s team on Saturday as the Cork hurlers and footballers will play Kilkenny (5pm) and Roscommon (7pm) respectively. It should hopefully attract a big crowd to Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
‘It’s a long day for the people watching the three games but at the same time, it doesn’t happen too often in Cork where you get three senior teams on the one pitch,’ Carroll added.
‘It’s great to get it into Páirc Uí Chaoimh in the first place. It was great for Cork GAA to offer us to play there and hopefully the girls will enjoy the day.’
Cork were in cruise control in their recent away tie and scored after three minutes through Marie O’Callaghan. Katie Quirke was in flying form and hit the next three to have the Rebels 0-4 to nil up after 23 minutes. Monaghan’s woes became bigger just a minute later as Aimee Corcoran crashed the ball into the net. Éabha Sherry finally got the Ulster side on the board after 27 minutes before Quirke made it 1-5 to 0-1 at the short whistle.
Carroll’s side pushed on to put the game beyond doubt at the start of the second spell as Quirke and Hannah Looney made it 1-7 to 0-1 on 41 minutes. Sherry pulled a goal back for Monaghan from a free. Their captain Jodie McQuillan contributed to the scoresheet but Cork were not going to be stopped as Quirke added the finishing touches.
Scorers -
Cork: Katie Quirke 0-7 (2f); Aimee Corcoran 1-0; Marie O’Callaghan, Hannah Looney 0-1 each.
Monaghan: Éabha Sherry 1-2 (1-1f), Jodie McQuillan 0-1.
Cork: S Murphy; M Duggan, S Kelly, S Cronin; E Cleary, S Leahy (captain), R Ní Chorcora; M O’Callaghan, E O’Shea; A O’Mahony, H Looney, A Corcoran; L O’Mahony, K Smith, K Quirke.
Subs: L Coppinger for K Smith (ht); A McDonagh for A Corcoran (40).
Monaghan: O Kelly; A Bannigan, S Brady, C Brennan; A Burns, J Duffy, C Treanor; N Flanagan, J McQuillan (captain); A Loughman, A Garland, G Hanratty; L Connolly, E Sherry, L Garland.
Subs: L Maguire for L Connolly (ht); M Atkinson for N Flanagan (38); S Corley for G Hanratty (55); A Clark for A Bannigan (57).
Referee: K Corcoran (Mayo).
