‘I’ve massive belief in the players, my belief in them has only grown,’ says Kieran Kingston

Cork manager Kieran Kingston. Photo: George Tewkesbury/Sportsfile

Michael Verney

May 23 2022 02:30 AM

The easiest thing to do when things are going wrong is to self-implode, but Cork have stood firm and refused to rip up their script despite the walls caving in around them.

A hat-trick of defeats between the league final and their first two Munster SHC outings meant that the knives were being sharpened on Leeside, and further afield, with manager Kieran Kingston admitting that “the obituaries were written for the whole group”.

Back-to-back victories – including inflicting the biggest defeat of arch rivals Tipperary in 80 years at Semple Stadium yesterday – have resuscitated their summer aspirations, though, and they stand more united than ever heading into the All-Ireland series.

“We got harsh lessons but the key thing is even after losing those three big games in a row, the group never panicked,” said Kingston. “The players didn’t panic, we didn’t panic. They believed in what they were doing, we believed in the group we have.

“It has united the group actually in a funny sort of way, I think the group, players and management, are a lot tighter than maybe they were three or four weeks ago after losses like that and I think it showed the last two games.”

There is no sense of getting carried away by their resurgence, however, with “an awful lot to learn” and plenty of points still to prove in their native land.

“We always have a point to prove in Cork because unless you win, you have a point to prove the next day. And again, today is irrelevant unless we back it up the next day,” the Rebel boss reflected after their 12-point victory secured the all-important third place in Munster.

The template has been adapted with a greater variety of short and long deliveries into attack – combined with a greater work ethic – but Kingston’s belief never wavered. He gave the job another crack for one reason, and one reason only.

“I wouldn’t have taken this job a couple of years ago when they asked me to if I didn’t believe in this group of players. I’ve massive belief in this group of players, massive belief. And my belief in them has only grown,” Kingston said.

The Rebels are a dangerous beast heading in through the back door with three weeks to prepare for their preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final on away soil against the Joe McDonagh Cup winners. They have their mojo back, none more so than Conor Lehane.

After being dropped by Kingston in 2021, the Midleton maestro returned to the fold amid much fanfare and the 29-year-old has dazzled in their last two games with 0-7 from play against Tipp, including 0-6 from six shots in a sensational opening half.

Although keen not to single anyone out, Kingston saved special praise for Lehane while also laying the gauntlet down to him.

“Conor was exceptional and that’s what he can do. He’s proven that he was right to come back and we were right to ask him back and he was right to agree to come back.

“I’m really, really thrilled for him but we’d put it to him again to do it the next day.”

Cork are back on track, but there’s two sides to every story and Tipperary’s is a grim one after finishing the provincial round-robin with four defeats – they have lost their last six championship games. For a county of their stature, the post-mortem will be unforgiving.

Colm Bonnar’s men raced into a 1-3 to 0-0 lead and were still four to the good when Noel McGrath stood over a penalty in the 11th minute. It hit the post and just 28 seconds later, Alan Connolly had the sliotar in the net at the other end when firing his fourth goal in three games

Those are the breaks, but the Premier aren’t used to playing second fiddle and Colm Bonnar returned a beaten man having watched his side being out-thought, out-fought and out-muscled with Alan Flynn’s dismissal on the hour mark rubbing salt deep into their wounds. “We’re in shock,” a dazed Bonnar said. “We didn’t see that coming down the tracks. We thought we were building something.”

While admitting that Cork will “have a big say in this championship”, an emotional Bonnar found it hard to digest the idea that his squad could yet face another game next month, a Munster play-off to save their place in the province, should Kerry land the McDonagh Cup.

“We didn’t really discuss anything like that. We were just . . . our hearts are just sunk here. We didn’t even mention that but I know that’s on the radar if Kerry can do something but that’s for another day,” he said. As things transpired elsewhere, Tipp only needed to beat Cork to qualify but that was never on the cards after a display with “no positives”.

“I said this thing could happen very quickly and I still believe that when a Tipp player puts on a jersey, they should be good enough to compete well but to go down like we did, we’re shell-shocked,” he said.

“We can take positives out of a lot of other days.

“We can take positives out of the younger lads that came in and so many in terms of their championship debut and getting a run but, no, we can’t take anything from today and that’s why it’s so hard.”

‘I’ve massive belief in the players, my belief in them has only grown,’ says Kieran Kingston

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