DEFEAT FOR GLEN Rovers in yesterday’s AIB Munster senior final is symptomatic of a deeper malaise in Cork hurling.
That was the very clear inference from Rovers manager Richie Kelleher when he spoke to reporters after the game.
With typical honesty, Kelleher insisted that Ballyea were by far the better team and fully deserving of their win.
Rovers were nine points down at half-time but did rally early in the second half with a pair of Conor Dorris goals.
But when Ballyea upped the ante again, they outscored Rovers by 0-7 to 0-2 in the final 11 minutes of normal time, plus three added on for stoppages.
It’s been a good season for the Glen as they won back-to-back Cork crowns and became the first team from the county to register a victory in the Munster championship since 2009 with victory over Patrickswell in the provincial semi-final.
But Rovers, appearing in their first Munster decider since 1976, came up well short against first-time finalists Ballyea.
Kelleher had no complaints whatsoever with the end result.
“Best team won. I thought they (Ballyea) were outstanding on the day.
“We can have no complaints. We were in a big hole at half-time. We had a few angry words. When we go down, we got to down fighting and I think we did that.
“We came into it in a big way but they pulled away again. Fair play to them. I spoke to their manager there and they were magnificent. We can have no complaints.”
Marquee forward Patrick Horgan cut a disconsolate figure at full-time, racing straight down the tunnel.
He was superb in the semi-final victory over Patrickswell but scoreless from play yesterday and brilliantly held by Gearoid O’Connell, one of Ballyea’s star men.
At half-time, Kelleher suspected that the margin between the teams was too big on a bitterly cold afternoon.
“We only scored four points, so probably. We gave away a soft goal as well, one of our lads got caught on the wrong side. They were in and they stuck it.
We missed a couple of frees. Being honest, I thought a couple of our bigger guys didn’t turn up today. Some days they deliver for us, some days they don’t. We are not going to knock them. That is just the way it is.
“They (Ballyea) were magnificent. They some great scores in the end. We died with our boots on and we can’t ask for more.”
And hinting at wider issues in Cork hurling that need addressing, Kelleher delivered the following assessment:
“We got it back to three points, we did that two or three times. But we couldn’t get any closer. That is the sign of a good team.
They were tougher than us, they were better hurlers than us. We can have no complaints. They were really strong in the tackle. When we go back to Cork, we are strong in the tackle. Today, they were stronger than us. Maybe that just shows you the standard of inter-county hurling and where Cork is at the moment. We need to get that bit of steel into us. Cork don’t seem to have that at the moment. That’s everybody’s challenge.
The hope for Glen Rovers is that they can learn from this experience and come back again for another crack at provincial glory.
But Kelleher admitted that’s easier said than done, and by no means a guarantee.
“At this level, I can’t answer that because we might never get back to this level again. You could say yeah learning curve, but you’ll only really know if you get back to this stage again.
“Who is to say we will get back here again? All you can do is praise Ballyea. We had no complaints.”
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