CORK’S HURLING MANAGER Jimmy Barry-Murphy says that his side was overawed during Sunday’s mauling at the hands of Kilkenny in the Allianz League final.
The Rebels never recovered after falling 2-5 to 0-1 down inside the opening ten minutes and Brian Cody’s men went on to win the match by a margin of 14 points.
Barry-Murphy said that his players had allowed the occasion to overwhelm them and was surprised at the nerves displayed by the Leesiders.
“I think we were very nervous early on, funnily enough,” Barry-Murphy said. “I didn’t see why we would be but we were very nervous early on.
“We seemed a bit overawed by the occasion so maybe it is a learning process for some of the lads, I really don’t know but we did look nervous early on.
He added: “They were the better team all round, we were beaten comprehensively around the field.
“We played them in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and beat them and I didn’t think physicality was a problem that day and I don’t think it is a problem for us going forward.
“We will just have to learn. We did not play our own game and we did not play as well as we can. It is as simple as that.”
With the Championship starting next month, Barry-Murphy has challenged his Cork team to take defeat on the chin and move on.
“All along people were saying that we were being cute, playing ourselves down and all that but we knew all along we had to get it up to a certain level where Kilkenny are at.
“And I knew that when we won at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in a home game that would not be the barometer by which we would be judged.
“I knew that today would be a far, far greater test and when they play that way in a National League final, all you can do is stand and admire their clinical approach to the game. The way they hurled was outstanding, I thought.
“We’ll just take it on the chin and move on.”
