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Patrick Horgan was in scintillating form against the Cats, scoring 3-10. Gary Carr/INPHO
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Meyler: 'I'm really disappointed for Hoggy but we need fellas around him'

Patrick Horgan shot 3-10 but ended up on the losing team yesterday.

JOHN MEYLER SAID he’ll take some time to consider his future in the wake of Cork’s All-Ireland quarter-final exit yesterday.

Patrick Horgan’s tally of 3-10 couldn’t prevent the Rebels from falling to a disappointing six-point loss to Kilkenny in Croke Park.

When asked about his plans after the conclusion of his second season in charge, Meyler responded: “We’ll go home and we’ll sit down. It’s tough, it’s hard, it’s disappointing. But, you know…”

Cork led by 2-10 to 1-11 at the interval but were blitzed in the third quarter by the tigerish Cats.

“I’m disappointed,” Meyler continued. “I thought we got a great start. We really drove into it and we were running through Kilkenny early on.

“It was tit for tat really in the first half but then we went at half-time two points up and just steadied the ship, come back out but it was the goal that Richie (Hogan) got just after half-time just killed it, really. 

“They outscored us for about 10 or 15 minutes – it was 1-8 to 0-1 or something like that. 

“We just couldn’t get the ball past midfield, passed their half-back line and the substitutions Tim O’Mahony started putting quicker ball into the full-forward line and we got back into it with Cads and Hoggy (Horgan) and it’s just disappointing.”

Meyler took charge of Cork ahead of the 2018 season on a two-year term, guiding them to the Munster title in his first season.

Ultimately, his reign has been defined by their All-Ireland semi-final defeat last year and yesterday’s quarter-final loss to the Cats. It was their sixth consecutive defeat in Croke Park with this year’s exit following defeats to Limerick (2018) and Waterford (2017).

“Look, it’s just (about) getting up there and winning, that’s the bloody most important thing. That’s three years in a row – semi-final, semi-final, quarter-final.

“It’s not a jinx or a hoodoo or anything like that. It’s just getting up here and winning a tight match and that’s critical. Cork hurling will be back next, I have no doubt about that.”

John Meyler John Meyler watched his team lost in Croke Park once again. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

While Horgan and Alan Cadogan chipped in with 3-14 of Cork’s 3-18 total, the rest of their forwards struggled to have an impact.

The withdrawals of attackers Conor Lehane, Daniel Kearney and Luke Meade was symptomatic of Cork’s problems and their bench failed to have anything like the sort of effect that Kilkenny’s did.

“I think we need to go again,” said Meyler. “We need to dig deeper again. We have the U20s in the Munster final, we have a lot of young fellas out there: (Shane) Kingston, Robbie O’Flynn, Tim O’Mahony, Niall O’Leary, Sean O’Donoghue, they’re all young.

“So from that point of view the future is bright, (Mark) Coleman, Fitzy (Darragh Fitzgibbon).”

Horgan’s man-of-the-match performance may well go down as one of the all-time great performances by a losing player in the Drumcondra venue. His hat-trick almost single-handily dragged Cork over the line but his wait for an All-Ireland medal goes on.

“Look, he’s one of the best hurlers at the moment for the last 10 years, an incredible hurler, an incredible stick person. It’s just disappointing.

“I’m really disappointed for Hoggy but we need fellas around him and that’s it.”

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