Cork do just enough to progress

ALL-IRELAND SFC QUALIFIER ROUND THREE Cork 0-12 Wexford 0-5:THE DRIVING rain and strong wind that blew straight down the pitch at Wexford Park offered some mitigation but failed to completely exonerate the players from the largely poor fare that 6,500 hardy souls were forced to endure in yesterday's All-Ireland senior football championship third round qualifier.

Cork’s was a largely bloodless coup, the 11 yellow cards and occasional off-the-ball spats notwithstanding. The visitors set the tone for their victory, not with the four- point buffer they established, wind assisted, by half-time but the four scores they registered within eight minutes of the resumption.

Of those, three came from frees as Wexford’s lack of discipline during that period turned a potential molehill into a mountain.

Cork manager Conor Counihan acknowledged as much in the aftermath when elaborating on what he had said to the team during the interval. “We said, ‘let’s not panic,’ and to try and get on top early in the second half. Thankfully that’s what we did. We got numbers behind the ball and tried to catch them on the break.”

It was an effective gambit but Cork were facilitated hugely by their hosts’ lack of vision and composure in possession.

Wexford were relegated to long -range shooting, lacking the patience and guile to work the opportunities. It was merely an extension of their first half performance, only this time assisted by the strong wind. The home side played the game in a narrow funnel down the centre of the pitch that was cluttered with red jerseys and when their hard -working half back line raced forward closer to the sidelines, they were invariably ignored.

Mattie Forde, Ciarán Lyng and Shane Roche played in a straight line down the centre of the pitch, isolated for virtually the entire first half as Wexford withdrew their remaining forwards to contest the middle third of the pitch.

Cork adapted from the opening whistle handing the excellent Graham Canty a roving commission, nominally in the halfback line, switching Michael Shields to full back and handing him the task of policing Forde while John Miskella operated at centre half back.

Cork were athletic in possession during the first half, driving forward in support of one another and offering several options for the player in possession. It was that work ethic that allowed them to forge ahead on the scoreboard. Canty was the game’s outstanding player. Aidan Walsh, Pearse O’Neill and substitutes Paul Kerrigan and Nicholas Murphy (he was forced off with a cut over his eye) also caught the eye.

The half back line pushed forward at every opportunity and – with the exception of midfield following the introduction of Brendan Doyle from the Wexford bench – Cork dominated most of the personal battles. Although Counihan didn’t allude to it, there were several aspects of the performance that were substandard.

Cork scored just six points from play and kicked 10 wides, many from close range. At no stage did they look threatened in terms of the scoreboard and it was difficult to escape the suspicion that they just did enough to maintain a reasonable cushion.

Wexford turned over far too much possession, the ball-carrier hunted down and ushered into red-shirted cul-de-sacs.

Disappointment was etched on the features of Jason Ryan as he considered the defeat.

“I’m gutted. We felt good at half-time; I suppose we would have liked to have been a bit closer. They scored a few early frees after half-time that allowed them to pull away and because of that they didn’t leave the gaps and space that we needed to exploit to get back in the match. Every point (of theirs) hits the confidence.

“We weren’t as clinical (when the chances arose): too many balls dropped short, into their goalkeeper’s arms. The fact that the boys fought to the finish shows the spirit of the side. The wind was so much stronger in the first half than the second. Their handling was superior to ours in the difficult conditions.

“We gave it everything but did not perform to our capabilities.”

Forde couldn’t get into the game, starved of possession while Lyng literally shot on sight whether it was the right decision or not. Nicholas Murphy stymied Doyle’s midfield influence and Cork’s passage to the final whistle was reasonably stress-free.

For Wexford the disappointment was not in losing the game but the fact that they didn’t do themselves justice.

CORK: A Quirke; R Carey, M Shields J O'Sullivan; G Canty (capt, 0-1), J Miskella (0-1), P Kissane; A O'Connor, A Walsh (0-1); P Kelly (0-4, four frees), P O'Neill, F Goold; D Goulding (0-3, two frees), C Sheehan (0-2), C O'Neill. Subs: P Kerrigan for Goold (35 +1 mins); N Murphy for O'Connor (half-time); D Kavanagh for Murphy (blood 60 mins); N O'Leary for Kissane (67 mins); J Hayes for C O'Neill (67 mins); F Lynch for P Kelly (69 mins). Yellow cards: M Shields (8 mins), R Carey (15 mins), F Goold (33 mins), A O'Connor (35 +4 mins), J O'Sullivan (70 mins).

WEXFORD: A Masterson; J Wadding, G Molloy, B Malone; A Flynn (0-1), D Murphy (capt), A Doyle; E Bradley (0-1), D Waters; C Morris, R Barry, C Byrne; C Lyng (0-1, free), M Forde (0-1), S Roche. Subs: B Doyle for Byrne (23 mins); P Naughter for Waters (54 mins); PJ Banville for Roche (54 mins); D Carter for Wadding (69 mins) B Brosnan (0-1)for A Doyle (70 mins). Yellow cards: M Forde (8 mins); A Flynn (35 +4 mins), D Murphy (43 mins), B Malone (47 mins), G Molloy (51 mins), C Lyng (70 mins).

Referee: G Ó Conamha(Galway).