Cork slip again, to Dublin this time
LADIES FOOTBALL
Daire Walsh
DESPITE several encouraging signs at Parnell Park on Sunday, Cork ultimately suffered a 1-13 to 3-10 reversal against Dublin in Division One of the Lidl Ladies National Football League.
This is their third defeat of the current campaign following earlier losses to Mayo and Kerry, and captain Ciara O’Sullivan admitted that it is always disappointing to come out on the wrong side of a result. “Yeah, after losing any match you’re disappointed. Especially one when you could have won. We’d a very good first half, and maybe we could have been a bit more ahead at half-time,” O’Sullivan said.
“Then came out at the start of the second half, and didn’t get going at all. I suppose, we paid for that in the end.”
Cork held a four-point cushion (1-7 to 1-3) at the mid-way point, but with second period goals by Amy Ring and Carla Rowe proving crucial in the end, Mourneabbey’s O’Sullivan accepted that it is always difficult to bounce back from the concession of goals: “A goal is hard to come back from, and I suppose especially two there in the second half. We had our work cut out for us after that. I suppose we did keep fighting until the end, and I think that’s something positive we’ll take from it anyway.”
Indeed, with Orla Finn leading the way, they developed a seven-point lead by the 16th minute of the action. O’Sullivan felt that the movement of the forward line was excellent in the opening half, and is something that they can build on for future matches.
“Yeah, definitely. In the first half, we showed great movement up in the forward line, and set-up some good chances, and I think Orla Finn took her goal very well. There are positive to work on.”
While there is an element of Cork becoming accustomed to the new management set-up, their training regime at the moment means that they may not reach their peak until Championship time. While she agrees that fitness can be key during the league, she believes that summer time is when the Rebels really want to hit the ground running.
“I think everyone is training to peak in the summer. It’s good to be fit now, but if you had to pick between now and the summer, I think you’d pick the summer. That’s what we’re working towards.
“We’re a bit behind other teams maybe, in that we started a bit later, but that’s no different to any other year, so we’re hoping to keep training hard now at the moment.
“Put the head down, do the fitness, do the gym work, and come right in the middle of the summer, late summer,” O’Sullivan added.