CONOR O’SULLIVAN STRUGGLED to come to terms with the fact that Cork and Clare will have to do it all again in three weeks’ time.
Corner-back Domhnall O’Donovan was the unlikely hero of yesterday’s All-Ireland senior hurling final, scoring his first Championship point deep into stoppage time as Clare forced a dramatic 0-25 to 3-16 draw.
The sides meet again on Saturday 28 September with the GAA confirming that it will reduce ticket prices for the replay.
“Ah it’s just the biggest anti-climax ever,” Cork’s O’Sullivan said afterwards.
“You’re coming up and you’re expecting to be finished hurling for the year one way or the other. Now they’re saying we’ll be playing in three weeks. It’s just a strange feeling.
“At half-time we would have killed for the draw. We went up a few points then. You’re happy and you’re sad in one way. You just don’t know how to feel.”
O’Sullivan battles against Conor McGrath (INPHO/Morgan Treacy)
Cork never led until the 72nd minute when Pa Horgan scored to give them a one-point advantage. With time running out, it looked like the Liam MacCarthy Cup was heading back to Leeside for the 31st time before O’Donovan intervened to snatch a deserved draw.
“When [Conor Ryan] came through near the end and he put the ball over, they went three or four up. I thought that was the game,” O’Sullivan said.
“There was unreal fight out of us. I don’t think too many teams would have done what we did.
If you told us we’d keep a clean sheet and we’d score three goals, we’d have been happy and thought we’d win it.
It just wasn’t to be there today.
I aged a year in chrocaigh yesterday!!! Can’t help feeling clare gave it away and of course with cork teams you can’t give them an inch. Hopefully clare will come through on the 28th…
I don’t think cork can play as bad as that again but Clare looked on top of their game. Great game great atmosphere, hopefully the rebels can sneak it next time.
Claire dominated from start to finish yesterday and couldn’t put Cork away.
Cork won’t be that poor again, here’s hoping for another cracker on the 28th!
*Clare!!! Fecking autocorrect!!!
My sex life is my own business!!
I thought I was going to have a coronary in Quinns yesterday!
To be honest Cork’s poor first touch had me worried in the semi as well, I thought Dublin then and Clare yesterday had far better ball skills.
I see the replay going one of 2 ways – Rebels sneak it due to having a slight bit of momentum, and due to Clare’s young lads being knackered after the U21. Or Clare will do like Kilkenny last year and run away with it.
Heart says the former option, but head says the latter.
In any case, have no complaints about the draw, or the ref blowing up after the 2 mins, as there’s no way Clare deserved to lose that game. Would’ve been daylight robbery if they did.
With all the controversy with ref decisions throughout what has been an amazing hurling year, would anyone back the idea of:
a) having two referees at top inter county hurling matches. Ensures that they are up with play. Works well in AFL and in compromise series.
b) that umpires themselves at top matches be qualified referees, who are able/allowed to make impartial decisions/interventions to the main match referee as happens in rugby with touch line officials.
The way things have gone, it’s hard to expect the ref to see everything. His officials should be of more assistance, and their interventions should be acted upon if they are qualified to make them.
Clare threw the kitchen sink at Cork, they played out of there skin’s,but they still couldn’t put Cork Away, Cork are like snakes in the grass,they strike when u won’t expect it, the rebels all the way the next day,,chorcaigh abu