A horrible season for Cork hurling was put out of its misery in Thurles this evening, writes Éamonn Murphy.
On the evidence throughout a campaign in which Cork only hit the required standard once in the league to dodge relegation and stuttered through the Championship, it’s for the best.
Certainly, there was nothing to suggest Cork could have taken down a genuine contender for silverware or given a decent account of themselves had they made it to Croke Park.
Cork’s minors, U21s and intermediates failed to make it to provincial finals and there was air of inevitability about the seniors’ year ending on a similarly tame note.
That’s not to say this loss to Wexford wasn’t an upset, the first since the 1956 All-Ireland final to the same opposition, but it was simply a reflection of where Cork hurling is right now.
The Rebels had the chances to drag their way in the quarter-finals – a tally of 15 wides to six reflects as much, 11 of them in the first half which handed the initiative for the underdogs – but didn’t deserve to.
Very few of the starting 15 were up to scratch and only Daniel Kearney made an impact off the bench.
Granted Anthony Nash was solid between the posts, twice putting off David Dunne when he broke through one-on-one, while Conor O’Sullivan and Mark Ellis had the greatest influence in a defence but as a unit it was ill-disciplined.
The Rebel backs were under pressure throughout from the class of full-forward Conor McDonald and the purpose and skill of Dunne and Liam Óg McGovern.
At centre-field Lee Chin was a powerhouse, four times pulling down balls in the air and chipping in with 0-4 from play as well.
William Egan had his moments for Cork, while Kearney excelled again as a sub, but Chin was the MVP in the middle third and in general Wexford put their counterparts on the backfoot as they tried to link up with the forwards.
Both Egan and Ellis sent crossfield deliveries out over the sideline, while Aidan Walsh lamped one wide as the Rebels tried to hit their inside line with a better supply than they managed in beating Dublin a week earlier.
Wexford’s backs were more tenacious than Dublin had been, Eoin Moore and James Breen excelling in the corners.
The full-forward line of Seamus Harnedy, Alan Cadogan and Patrick Horgan was held to just 0-3 from play, in stark contrast to the damage Cadogan (1-5) and Horgan (0-4 from play) had done to the Dubs.
Chin was a real leader for Wexford and landed two of his four points down the stretch.
McGovern and McDonald delivered in that critical period too, and the way Wexford fronted up when Lehane teed up Kearney for the goal which prodded Cork 1-15 to 0-17 was commendable.
They outscored the Rebels 0-6 to 0-2 when the game was there to be won, helped by some criminal decision-making from Cork, which included a ridiculous long-range wide by Damien Cahalane, and Patrick Horgan blasting a free goalward when a point was needed.
Luke O’Farrell and Conor Lehane were the only two Cork forwards to make a consistent impact, with both landing 0-3 from play each and directly involved in another 1-5 of scores.
Lehane was still guilty of the odd reckless shot, but credit must go the Wexford defensive unit, which blocked down and hounded Lehane, Cadogan and Horgan into coughing up good possession at vital moments.
Too often though Cork failed to click up front – the obvious exception being Lehane’s second point when Walsh, Ellis, Cadogan and Harnedy combined – but Cork’s attacking support play has been an ongoing problem.
While they scored goals regularly in the league, they’ve managed just two Championship goals in three games and created very few other chances.
The warning signs were there early on.
Cork’s attitude was one of misplaced confidence as they cruised through the first half and allowed Wexford open up a 0-12 to 0-6 advantage as their opponents failed to score for 21 minutes.
That was despite a bright first quarter, marred by terrible finishing, across which six Cork players scored from play and they led 0-6 to 0-5.
The cutting and controlled aggression Cork fans hoped new boss Kieran Kingston and his management team would bring to this group of players just wasn’t there. It’s probably not in them, but that means Cork are left with a situation where unless they engage in a risky shootout they’re not going to win matches.
It might not be ‘the Cork way’ to batten down the hatches or use sweepers, but the absolute starting point for 2017 must be defensive stability.
Selector Diarmuid O’Sullivan was part of a Cork unit that believed they’d win Championship games with 20 points or more because of the tenacity of the back six. The average scoring tallies are well up since the mid-noughties, but the same principle still stands.
Cork hurling is in a dark place and has been for some time apart from the outstanding work carried out by Jimmy Barry-Murphy as he guided many of these players to the All-Ireland final in 2013 and a Munster in 2014.
Kingston must pitch in the best youngsters like his son Shane, Mark Coleman, David Griffin, Pa O’Callaghan – provided he commits fully to the work required – and Darragh Fitzgibbon next spring.
The Rebel faithful can’t expect miracles though.
It’s a long, long road back to respectability, let alone trophies.
