Cork bounced back from last weekend's loss to Tipperary to spark a push for a league final, thanks to a 1-22 to 2-16 win over age-old foes Kilkenny.
It was an extremely tough week for the Rebel county after the passing of former player and brother of current manger Pat Ryan Ray Ryan who died suddenly during the week.
Patrick Horgan made his first start of the year, scoring ten points, while Diarmuid Healy was in sensational form, scoring 1-5 from play in a man-of-the-match performance.
Speaking to TG4 after the game, Rob Downey explained how they turned things around in the second half in a performance which they hoped pleased their manager and his family following the very sad passing of Pat's brother Ray this week.
“It was a very tough game,” Downey said.
“Anytime you play Kilkenny, it will be a tough match, and today was no different. We're just delighted to get out the right side of it.
At halftime, we chatted about not working hard enough, not getting to the breaks, and not getting the tackles. In the second half, we tried to rectify this, and it paid dividends in the end.
It's still early, and we're still building. There are plenty of things to work on, but we did plenty of things right tonight. You must take a few lessons from a game every time you go out.
It’s been a tough week for the group, Pat, and the Ryan family. Pat is the leader of our group. We love him to bits, so we were very conscious about putting in a performance that he would be proud of and that his family would be proud of as well, and hopefully, we did that.”
#CORvKIK
'I wouldn't score in training marking these boys'
Smaointe ón Rob Downey agus Laoch na hImeartha Diarmuid Healy tar éis an chluiche.
BEO/LIVETG4 AR @TG4TV 📺 #GAABeo #AllianzLeagues @AllianzIreland pic.twitter.com/FxezYqJzAi— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) March 1, 2025
Speaking to RTE, Ryan spoke frankly about a hugely challenging week for his family.
"We’re struggling, to be honest with you. It’s really tough, especially on Ray’s wonderful wife Aishling and three wonderful kids, McKenna, Rory and Elliot.
"We got great support, great support from the GAA community, from the Glanmire area. Family and friends were really good to us.
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Ryan Delighted With Bench Impact
Pat Ryan also weighed in on a sloppy performance but was delighted with the impact of their bench, especially with Healy's outing.
“Ah, we look delighted to have won after last week's loss,” Ryan said.
"It was a patchy performance, but we came out well in the end.
We weren’t moving the ball fast enough in fairness to Kilkenny we weren’t working hard enough I thought Cian Kenny caused us loads of problems also but look we gave away a sloppy goal we will look at those things there areas in which we can improve on its only the first week of March we’ve seven weeks until championship and that’s what were preparing towards
We have gotten a good bounce off the bench in the last two weeks, and we were delighted with that aspect. It's something we have been targeting to get a good bounce because we have a good panel, so we should be getting a good bounce, so lads should be given their start. We will be back in training Monday and Tuesday night and then on to Clare next weekend.
We're trying to see who’s doing well in training. Lads who are playing well in training will get their opportunities. That’s the key. It's not about just throwing in fellas for something they're not able or comfortable with. So the lads showing well will get opportunities, and we expect them to play well. In fairness, we knew Diarmuid was. He was flying and had a great performance there today.
He's only a young fella and will have ups and downs. We knew he would be a good player and be around for a while, so it's not all on this year.
We will take the Clare game very seriously next week and look at our options. It will be a big game, and we're looking forward to facing the All-Ireland champions.”
#CORvKIK
'The lads that are showing well will get opportunities'.🗣️
Labhair Pat Ryan linn tar éis an chluiche.
BEO/LIVETG4 AR @TG4TV 📺 #GAABeo #AllianzLeagues @AllianzIreland pic.twitter.com/qk9eKt6RZf— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) March 1, 2025
Kilkenny finishes off the league with a trip to Tipp and the rescheduled game against Limerick, with TJ Reid making his first outing tonight. Their eyes are now firmly on Leinster.
