Cork manager Ronan McCarthy not interested in moral victories
Sunday 23 June 2019 10:37, UK
Ronan McCarthy stressed his Cork side were not happy with a moral victory, following the Rebels' narrow loss to Kerry in the Munster final.
Cork recovered from a slow start, trailing 1-5 to 0-1 in the early stages, to reel in the Kingdom and cancel out the deficit in the second half. Nonetheless, Peter Keane's charges had enough in reserve to see out the result.
It was a much-improved Cork performance from 12 months ago, when they succumbed to a 17-point defeat.
However, the Rebels boss still cut a dejected figure at full-time.
"We came to win the game, that was our objective. We didn't and we are thoroughly disappointed," McCarthy sighed.
"[If] you give any top team a seven-point start you are going to put yourself on the back foot. Obviously really pleased with the response and the way the team went after the game.
"It's hard to know what to make of it really."
While the home side raised three green flags, they spurned a number of other goal chances, and perhaps that was crucial in their loss. McCarthy lamented some of the missed opportunities:
He said: "We had goal chances in the first half as well, certainly Mark [Collins'] one that was saved, he should have off-loaded it to Brian Hurley who was free. It's something we are very good at and Mark is very good at actually - picking out the guy in a better position.
"With that said, they had a fairly clear-cut chance with Gavin White at the other end in the first half. But look, we ultimately came to win the game, we haven't done that and there's a great sense of disappointment in the dressing room."
The Rebels must now pick themselves up for their Round 4 qualifier match. Although there are some high-profile potential opponents including Mayo and Tyrone, the Munster side will be confident of a victory that would see them join the Leinster champions and Roscommon in Group 2 of the Super 8s.
Sky Sports' live GAA coverage continues on June 29, with a crucial double header in the football qualifiers.
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