“GUT-WRENCHING, YEAH,” Mark Coleman agrees as he reflects on Cork’s All-Ireland senior hurling championship semi-final defeat to Limerick on Sunday.
The Blarney defender has had to put it to the back of his mind as he prepares for the Rebels’ Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U21 All-Ireland semi-final on Saturday, but the Croke Park disappointment must be revisited at today’s media launch.
A scoreline reading 3-32 to 2-31 after extra-time saw John Meyler’s side crash out of the championship as the Treaty completed an epic comeback to book their decider spot.
“The way we did lose after extra-time probably makes it that bit tougher,” Coleman, who impressed on the day with 0-2 from half-back, says.
“But at the end of the day you just have to take it on the chin. Hopefully these experiences, they’ll stand to us in the future.
“We’ve lost two All-Ireland semi-finals now in-a-row — they are invaluable experiences, you can’t really buy them. We just have to learn from it and hopefully it will stand to us as we go forward.”
With six minutes of normal time left, the Shannonsiders trailed by six points but clawed their way to draw level by the full-time whistle and force further minutes.
They went on to seal the win in the second period of extra-time with substitutes Shane Dowling and Pat Ryan both rattling the net.
“Look, that’s just sport,” Coleman continues, when asked about the post mortem. “Things go wrong in every game.
“We didn’t have perfect performances in the game we won, things went wrong there. It’s just the small things I suppose that just go against you then. That made the difference at the end of the day.
“There was probably a few chances we missed, the few they got; at the end of the day those small things add up. I think we can have no regrets really. I think we tried everything we possibly could. At the end of the day we just came up short.”
He adds on the prospect of a straight replay over extra-time: “We knew before the game the other day that there was going to be extra-time so I think we had no excuses the last day, we can’t just be giving out about that.
“Going forward, it probably is a bit fairer to go to a replay. After 70 minutes, it’s tough going to go for another 20 or 25. It is a tough way to go out of the championship. When you put so much into it it’d probably be nice to get a replay.”
Coleman has had a tough record against Limerick himself. In 2015, they beat his Cork minor side in the Munster semi-final. Last year, they came out on top in the provincial U21 final and then there was Sunday’s disappointment at senior level.
“Erra, look, that’s sport,” he echoes his previous sentiments. “You’re going to have those days. They’re obviously a very good side, they’re used to winning.”
His focus is solely on making amends this weekend and helping book his side’s All-Ireland U21 final spot as the 2018 Munster champions face Wexford in Nowlan Park on Saturday (throw-in 4pm).
“It helps refocus the mind,” he says of the shift, and the fact that he can’t wallow in the disappointment of that gut-wrenching loss.
“It did take a day or two to get over the defeat (against Limerick on Sunday). I suppose it took a lot less now because we do have the U21 to look forward to. Just refocus, get the body right, get the head right and drive on from here now
“It’s something to look forward to. When you’re so focused on the senior, it’s nice to just reset and completely go towards another goal and just try and get a performance now on Saturday.”
The 20-year-old casts his mind back to that All-Ireland minor final loss to Limerick. He concedes that his side probably should have done better at that level, but they’ve stuck together and that shared experience spurs them on.
“I suppose we were hugely disappointed after minor. That was a tough one to take against Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds that day. I think we lost by a last-minute goal.
“We’ve grown a lot since then, we’ve become better as players. I think we’ve developed more leaders in the group, we’ve developed a lot since then. I think we’re a better team now than we were then.”
Coleman himself has certainly matured into a leader, and a mainstay on the senior team at that. He broke the senior inter-county scene last year, and capped off a huge few months with an All-Star for his exploits.
And it’s clearly evident that he’s loving every minute of the journey.
“It’s been hugely enjoyable. I suppose last year, Kieran Kingston (the then Cork manager) threw three or four of us into the deep end and just said, ‘Go out and enjoy it. Just hurl away’ and I think that just gave us the confidence to do that.
“There was no pressure on us really, nothing was expected of us really. We just went out and we just enjoyed it as much as we could. It probably has gone well for us.”
And this year, the same applied. There may have been that pressure and that expectation this time round, but he handled it accordingly. There was no second season syndrome.
“Sure look, that expectation, that pressure, that’s what you want. As a young fella, you want to just have that pressure on your shoulders. There’s fellas out there that don’t know what it’s like to have that.
“That’s what you train for, you train to be in those tough situations in games. It’s just a privilege to have that opportunity.”
That underage success and talent pushing through has helped Cork climb back up the ranks of late, and is well and truly reaping its benefits. That determination to get back winning senior All-Irelands is there. Back where they want to be.
And hopefully their time will come, he adds.
“You have to be determined to strive to be the best you can be. I think we’ve done that. We’ve trained hard and we’re constantly trying to learn and get the most out of ourselves. There’s definitely a culture there now and things are starting to look up.
“We’ve won two Munsters in the last two years and I think the curve is definitely rising and hopefully we can keep that going. Eventually, hopefully, we will get to the top.”
And winning an All-Ireland would surely cement that they’re on the right path for Liam McCarthy glory once again. He won’t let his mind wander too far though.
All focus is on Wexford on Saturday.
“It’s definitely important that we get the best out of ourselves now with the rest of this U21 championship. Hopefully we can build on our performance the last day and do ourselves justice against Wexford.
“It’s going to be a very tough battle. It’s going to be a dogged, dogged battle.”
One he’s relishing.
- This piece was originally published at 16.22
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