In JBM We Trust

15th Aug 2012

You wouldn’t usually find yourself leaving Croke Park after a defeat in any state but inconsolable. We lost to a fine Galway side in Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final by five points but most fans were tempering their disappointment with genuine hope for the future. It was disappointing because with steadier heads we all felt the lads might have won it. With a three point lead Galway backed off with about twenty minutes to go piling men behind the ball – wisely gambling that Cork wouldn’t or couldn’t shoot from distance.

Pa Cronin shoots over the bar in the second half

Even though we knew the youthful exuberance lacked a steady hand and that old mid-naughties trait of total calm in the jaws of defeat we couldn’t help but dissect the missed opportunities and the could-have-beens:   

Darren Sweetnam’s wide from under the Hogan Stand when he had pointed from there moments earlier, Nasher’s late free that you would have expected him to rocket home and Pa’s catch on the square that could have been a green instead of a white flag. Still, Galway had some atrocious wides too. And the consensus was that they deserved it and fair play to them.

Cads played a stormer

Historically, Galway fans have had far more miserable experiences in July and August than ourselves and haven’t been to a final since Seán Óg and the lads made short work of them in 2005 so we wish them well taking on whatever member of the axis of evil they face on September 9^th.

It has been an exciting and highly entertaining season for us hurling fans. From the throw-in down at Pairc Ui Rinn against Waterford in the league when the name Conor Lehane first passed into local parlance, to the excitement around Hill 16 on Sunday at half time when it became clear that Cork could actually perform this much lauded ‘manic intensity’ and that we were very much in the game.

He'll know what to do next

The new look Cork team has been flooded with highly skilled young hurlers, many of them barely finished their leaving cert and possibly still experiencing growing pains. In years gone by you would worry that the progress of 2012 would not be capitalised on in 2013 but with JBM at the helm fans trust that he will make all the right moves between now and the first puck of championship 2013 so that we kick on and not kick up.

Nice one for a great season lads. We’ll miss it but thankfully pride has been restored and we’ve got the football to look forward to now.