John Meyler has stepped down as Cork senior hurling team manager.
By Cian O'Connell
Following a bitterly disappointing All Ireland SHC Quarter-Final exit John Meyler acknowledged that Cork over relied on Patrick Horgan and Alan Cadogan for scores.
Horgan, the prolific Glen Rovers attacker struck 3-10 and Cadogan contributed four fine points from play, but Kilkenny still advanced to the penultimate round.
Cork manager Meyler admitted that the damage was done early in the second half when Kilkenny seized control. “I’m disappointed, I thought we got a great start," Meyler reflected.
"We really drove into it and we were running through Kilkenny early on and it was tit for tat really in the first half. Then we went in 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, and 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 passed 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 (Cadogan) and Hogie (Horgan) and it’s just disappointing.
“We’ve always depended on Hogie. but we need to spread it out. We’ve always said we need other guys to take responsibility. Hogie came good with 3-10, Cads was good, but we needed more scores and we didn’t have it."
Patrick Horgan struck 3-10 for Cork including a brilliant first half goal.
Meyler also praised Kilkenny's daring defiance which was rewarded with victory. “It’s just typical Kilkenny," Meyler states. "You know what you get, you know what’s coming.
"They will play whatever way you want and they introduced Walter (Walsh) and Bill Sheehan and they got a couple of critical scores whereas up at the top end it was either Cadogan or Hogie and we were depending on the two of them. These games are 50-50 and the goals, Richie’s goal after half-time killed it really."
Despite the latest Croke Park reversal Meyler still believes the future is bright for Cork. "I think we need to go again," Meyler says.
"We need to dig deeper again. We have the Under 20s 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).
"Look, it's just 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."
