Gaelic Games

Goal-hungry Cork shock Donegal as unbeaten record goes up in flames

Cork are now top of the group and if they navigate their final match against Tyrone they will go into the All-Ireland quarter-finals

Cork's Rory Maguire scores against Donegal. Photograph: Nick Elliott/Inpho

Seán Moran at Páirc Uí Rinn
Sat Jun 1 2024 - 17:48
Cork 3-9 Donegal 0-16

There appeared to be excessive caution about this All-Ireland Group 3 fixture, a suggestion that Donegal would be seriously tested on their first championship road trip outside of Ulster despite not having lost a match all year or conceded a goal this championship.

Cork had gone to Donegal in the league and lost by double digits. So, what could go wrong? On a blazing hot June weekend, the home side made the best of themselves to spring maybe the surprise of the season to date.

Maybe a lack of urgency was to blame. In the early stages of the match, when it looked like Donegal were comfortably creating scoring chances, Patrick McBrearty made sure of two points when there had been a definite sight of something better although it took a good save from Chris Kelly to stop the first.

Goals win matches. The Ulster champions mightn’t have conceded any so far but neither have they scored any, now in the past four matches. When you give away three goals on turnovers, that takes a lot of points to compensate.

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Donegal were up to it for most of the afternoon but having done the hard part by reeling in a five-point deficit and when Aaron Doherty showed composure to kick the teams level, there was hardly a person in the 7,251 crowd who didn’t think the game was up for Cork.

But composure was in short supply and instead of driving home the advantage, Donegal dithered. Cork, buoyant at having taken the contest this far down the road, refocused for the endgame.

Steven Sherlock and Colm O’Callaghan got the vital scores – each the direct result of opponents who were a long way from their best and failed to make their final possessions count. Ryan McHugh is in the frame for a wide and a shot dropped short but at least he grasped the urgency of the situation and attempted to address it.

Cork were excellent at exploiting opposition weaknesses once they began to appear. The first goal came in the 19th minute when Seán Powter dispossessed McHugh and sent flying wing back Matty Taylor on his way. He surged forward and confidently finished to the net past Shaun Patton, who had been forced to back-pedal from an advanced position.

Donegal's Caolan McGonagle and Conor Corbett of Cork. Photograph: Nick Elliott/Inpho

At the start of the second half, Powter helped himself, getting on the end of a move started when Peadar Mogan was short with a Donegal attempt. Powter ran in and shot the second goal.

Within a minute, Cork were back working down the left flank with Brian Hurley and O’Callaghan combining. Patton saved the shot but it ballooned up nicely for the other wing back Rory Maguire to palm home for a four-point lead.

Net effect: Cork were now in full cry and Donegal knew that they were in deep trouble.

Cork manager John Cleary was asked had the turnovers been a targeted area for the team.

“It’s definitely part of training and it’s part of the modern game because we knew that when Donegal kick out the ball, they don’t give it away easily. We felt that if they came into the scoring area, we had to be really at them because they were going to get scores all day long.

“They did at times and we couldn’t get at them but some of our turnovers, even the last one there when the pressure was on, were outstanding.”

It was to Donegal’s credit that they didn’t give up. Hurley pushed Cork four ahead in the 53rd minute but in the final quarter, the big push came. McHugh, Oisín Gallen, a free, Caolan McGonigle and finally Doherty closed the gap.

Cork's Colm O'Callaghan celebrates after the game. Photograph: Nick Elliott/Inpho

For a team that had given what many consider the best display of Jim McGuinness’s second stewardship a week previously, this may have been a reaction, just like the flat display against Tyrone in the Ulster semifinal a week after the Celtic Park coup against Derry.

“Cork are a very strong running team,” said McGuinness, “and they asked a lot of questions on the transition, and that was something we knew pretty clearly coming into the game, and they were very good on their own kick-outs.

“Most of their kick-outs go long and they are prepared to go 50-50 and they are very well coached in that regard and they can find a way to come up with a lot of those breaking balls.

“We probably had more turnovers today than in the whole of the provincial championship,” added McGuinness. “That is certainly something we’re going to have to look at on the back of the performance. I’m not going to be overly critical of the players. They’ve put a hell of a lot into the last number of months. We have to take this on the chin and move on.”

They next face Clare but their fate is out of their own hands, as Cork can top the group if they avoid defeat against Tyrone and claim the prized direct All-Ireland quarterfinal place.

“Today was a day when we needed a big performance,” said Cleary. “To get a win is a bonus on top of that. Hopefully now that the summer is here, the supporters will stay behind us because we have some very big games coming over the next couple of weeks.”

CORK: C Kelly; K Flahive, D O’Mahony, M Shanley; R Maguire (1-0), T Walsh, M Taylor (1-0); I Maguire, C O’Callaghan (0-2); P Walsh (0-1), S Powter (1-0), B O’Driscoll; C Óg Jones (0-2), M Cronin, B Hurley (0-3, two frees).

Subs: C Corbett for Powter (45 mins), S Sherlock (0-1) for Jones (50 mins), T Clancy for T Walsh (57 mins), R Deane for Cronin (65 mins), E McSweeney for Hurley (71 mins), S Meehan for P Walsh (74 mins).

DONEGAL: S Patton; EB Gallagher, B McCole, P Mogan; R McHugh (0-1), C McGonagle (0-1), C Moore (0-2); J McGee, M Langan; S O’Donnell, C Thompson, D Ó Baoill; P McBrearty (0-7, three frees), O Gallen (0-3, two frees, N O’Donnell (0-1).

Subs: A Doherty (0-1) for Ó Baoill (half-time), O Doherty for McGee (42 mins), J Brennan for N O’Donnell (53 mins), J Mac Cealbhuí for S O’Donnell (61 mins).

Referee: B Griffin (Kerry)

Seán Moran

Seán Moran

Seán Moran is GAA Correspondent of The Irish Times

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