JOHN Cleary knows Cork’s statement win over Mayo was an important moment in his side’s development, but admits it’s hard to quantify how significant it will be.
The Cork manager has openly spoken about his team’s journey, as the Rebels try to bridge the gap from the also-rans to the leading pack of contenders.
This was never going to be an overnight fix.
In his first full season at the helm, there have been ups and downs, and a lot of nearly moments against football’s aristocracy; the circle where Cork want to keep company.
Nearly beat Dublin in the league. Nearly beat Kerry in the All-Ireland series. Each time a defeat by small margins. But Cleary knows for Cork to close the gap on the top teams they needed to beat a top team.
That moment arrived in the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday. Cork 1-14 Mayo 1-11. It feels like an important moment in Cork’s development, to know they can beat an All-Ireland contender in a championship environment.
‘It remains to be seen what this will do for us and we’ll only see that going forward,’ Cleary told The Southern Star this week.
‘We don’t have much time to dwell on it. Once the draw was made on Monday morning all we are thinking about this week is Roscommon. On Sunday night we looked back on what went well for us against Mayo and what we could have done better. We have to park it now. Roscommon on Saturday has all our focus.
‘But, you’re right, it should give us a boost. We were involved in close games this year against Dublin, Derry and Kerry, and we hadn’t got over the line. This was the first time that we beat a Division 1 quality team and it has to help the confidence of the lads. What impact it will have remains to be seen, starting against Roscommon.’
The Rossies are coming to town on Saturday afternoon for an All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (2pm throw-in), and Cleary says this is ‘as tough a draw as we could have got’. Tyrone and Monaghan were the other two possibilities in the draw, but Cork have home advantage, at least. This is another test against Division 1 quality opposition who impressed in the league. The Connacht side are also favourites to win on Lee-side, too.
‘They finished third in the league, they were within a kick of a ball from possibly winning the Connacht championship and they drew with Dublin in Croke Park, and they only came unstuck by a point last weekend. They are a formidable team,’ Cleary pointed out.
‘We went up last year in the league and they beat us well. Roscommon have had the edge over Cork in the last few years. The one solace is that we are playing at home, and we want our lads to turn up and give a performance.’
Cleary’s right: Cork need another performance. Do that, and they have a great chance of causing a mini upset. It would also strengthen the claims they have turned a corner. In Group 1 of the All-Ireland series Cork have been consistent in the three games against Louth, Kerry and Mayo. That consistency is important as a base to build on. The next step was chopping down one of the big boys. Mission accomplished. But what was the difference from Cork coming up short against Kerry to beating Mayo?
‘We took our chances at the end,’ Cleary said, a reference to the unanswered 1-6 his side rattled off to reel Mayo in and pass them out.
‘The last ten minutes, I thought we defended very well, broke up the field well and we didn’t miss any of the chances we created whereas in other days against the bigger teams we had been missing vital chances, so that was a big difference.’
In last week’s Star Cleary pinpointed this exact issue as key to Cork’s development: he wanted his side to be more ruthless in the big moments of the big games. They were against Mayo, with super sub Steven Sherlock grabbing 1-5.
‘Getting the experience to get over the line in tight games is important, that is what the better teams do. Even when they are not at 100 percent they have the knowhow to get the job done. Kerry, Dublin, teams like that who have a lot of championship experience under their belts so they know what to do and how to win,’ Cleary said.
‘If you look at a lot of the games last Sunday they were all very tight: Kildare v Roscommon, Galway v Armagh, Westmeath v Tyrone. They came down to a kick of a ball, like our game. All our games were tight.
‘What we want to get out of this year is to get as many championship games as we can because that’s all experience for our group and exposure to what is needed; that will stand to this group.’
Sherlock’s impact off the bench against Mayo will put him in position to start against Roscommon – or will it? The finishers have an important role to play.
‘The idea there is that there are a lot of players in Cork of an even standard. If you can build a squad, that’s a big help,’ the Cork boss said.
‘Sherlock, Conor Corbett, Chris Óg Jones, John O’Rourke, Kevin O’Donovan and Mark Cronin all had an impact on the game. We had guys who didn't come on who are champing at the bit. The idea is to build up a squad because in this championship you will suffer injuries so you need the next man to be ready to step up and take his chance.
‘We are building a squad, and it has to be a help that we have fellas putting their hands up. We have a strong finishing team now and that’s important, to have a team good enough to get us over the line.’ It will take a squad effort against Roscommon. The hope is Cork can use the win against Mayo as a springboard. We’ll learn more on Saturday.
