This Louth side was a pale shadow of the team that defeated Cork just last June, however the home side at Páirc Uí Chaoimh could only deal with what was in front of them and did so convincingly.
Louth lined out with only seven of the team that started in Inniskeen last year, so Cork will not allow themselves to get too excited about this win in isolation. The two points did, though, ease relegation worries and now Cork have to target backing this up with an altogether tougher fixture away to in-form Cavan this Sunday in the final round of the league.
Relegation is still not quite off the table for John Cleary and Co, as defeat up in Cavan combined with wins for Louth at home to Meath and Down away to Monaghan would leave all three teams tied on six points each. With each side having picked up a win against one of the others, scoring difference would then decide who will join Westmeath in Division 3 next season. Down look the most likely to return to Division 3 having already lost to Louth, while they sit on a scoring difference of -19 and with a daunting visit to promotion-chasing Monaghan in front of them.
Cork have a scoring difference of -9 while Louth are on -11 so it would take two unexpected wins for Cork’s relegation rivals and a substantial swing in scoring difference in Down’s case for Cork to be dragged back into the relegation zone. Such contemplations are fine for us supporters and media types, however the panel themselves can make those permutations irrelevant by bagging one of those hard-earned wins away to Ulster opponents.
The Tailteann Cup ramifications will also be in the back of our minds and a win of three points or more would see Cork go above Sunday’s opponents into fourth on scoring difference if more than two teams finish on eight points. This would be enough to guarantee Sam Maguire football for the summer, which is a huge carrot for the final round of the league. That’s enough about those considerations for now, let’s look back at Cork’s most convincing performance of 2025 so far.
This was a win mostly built on good old-fashioned midfield dominance as Colm O’Callaghan and Ian Maguire reigned supreme over their Louth counterparts. O’Callaghan went down in the opening moments having received a blow in the contest for the throw-up which necessitated his temporary removal as a blood sub. Sean Walsh plucked a kick-out clean in the air during his couple of minutes on the field before a fired-up O’Callaghan regained his place and took over where Walsh left off. The starting pair would contribute a goal and two points to Cork’s tally also.
Cork's Rory Maguire gets in his kick under pressure from Louth's Paul Matthews during the Allianz Football League Division 2 tie at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.(Photo: George Hatchell)
The depleted Louth side could not compete and were even more reliant than usual on the excellent Sam Mulroy, who was named at 14 but in truth was everywhere. Mulroy was back in defence making tackles and interceptions, competing for kick-outs and got forward to convert five two-pointers over the course of the 70 minutes, four of them from play. It was akin to watching an U14 team with one star player who was expected to try and do everything for his team. Depleted or not, the rest of the Louth team should have been doing more to help their captain on the day.
In contrast to the one-man band that was the visitors, Cork shared the load far better across the team. In addition to O’Callaghan and Maguire at midfield, the defence was more solid than in recent outings. Youngsters Sean Brady and Neil Lordan acquitted themselves well while Brian O’Driscoll and Rory Maguire got forward to contribute six points between them in the first half, with O’Driscoll twice raising orange flags. Mark Cronin did likewise from placed balls after Louth indiscipline and the Nemo man would end the first half with six points in total as Cork cruised to a 0-15 to 0-4 half-time lead.
Éire Óg’s O’Callaghan burst forward for a goal in the second half that put the outcome beyond any reasonable doubt, while Matty Taylor, Chris Óg Jones and substitute Cathail O’Mahony were others to contribute handsomely to Cork’s eventual eight-point victory. A job well done on the day, however thoughts turn quickly to Kingspan Breffni Park and fourth-placed Cavan this weekend. The Ulster men have won four on the trot including an impressive win away to Roscommon last Sunday. Given how comprehensive Roscommon’s win was at our home venue in the previous round, this game will be a far tougher test of Cork’s post-Algarve revival.
Cavan came down south last season and left with a one-point win in a game Cork will feel they could and maybe should have won having led by three at half-time. Injuries and withdrawals will mean that eight of the 20 players who donned the red jersey that evening will be unavailable for the reverse fixture. Cavan will be buoyed by their unexpected win over Roscommon and will be hoping to sneak into a Division 2 league final with a fifth win in a row. With a poor scoring difference compared to Roscommon and Meath, they will need those teams to slip up away to Roscommon and Louth respectively. This game will test whether Cork really did find some answers in Portugal and whether a corner has been turned in advance of championship 2025. A statement win on Ulster soil would be a major step forward for the group.
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It wasn’t all sweetness and light for Cork football on Sunday, especially for those of us who got down to the Park early for the U20 contest against the same opponents that the seniors would later face. Unfortunately, the young Rebels were comprehensively beaten by an impressive Louth side, who carved Cork open for five goals and could have had another two or three more.
Watching with a former team-mate, it was suggested that Cork didn’t want to show their full hand to any potential championship opponents who might have been in the crowd, and that Cork will be a better unit when the big days come. I hope there is some truth to that, even if I wouldn’t have much time for the strategy, otherwise it’s hard to see our underage struggles not continuing.
Challenge games are a notoriously fickle beast and not always a perfect indicator of a team’s true level, and we did hear that the team has had far better results in other games. Hopefully this performance was a one-off and the team can bounce back in time for the championship.
