JOE BROLLY LAST NIGHT slammed Cork for “quitting” in their National Football League final trouncing by Dublin.
Brian Cuthbert’s side were on the receiving end of an 11-point hammering as the Dubs wrapped up their third straight Division 1 crown.
Cork scored just one point in the opening 25 minutes, and managed just three scores from play in total, as they went down 1-21 to 2-7.
It is the second time as many years that the Dubs have inflicted a serious league defeat on their southern rivals. In last year’s Division 1 semis, they came from 10 points down in a remarkable comeback to win by seven.
That reverse seemed to have a knock-on effect on Cork’s Championship campaign and Brolly believes the same will happen again, labelling the Rebels’ 2015 season as dead.
“It was so humiliating,” Brolly blasted on League Sunday.
I thought of the difference in self-respect of, for example, Kerry compared to Cork. Kerry at their lowest ebb would never allow that to happen.
“Cork, they quit, and they quit so suddenly just as they did in the semi-final last year.
“I think that’s the end of them for this year. It was such a bloodless effort.”
He added: “They quit. You can sense it in the way a team plays without spirit.
“After 12 minutes the score was 0-5 to 0-0 and the game was over. I was at the ground and the game was over.
It was very slack. The Dubs were able to do as they will. Now the Dubs at times looked very, very good but they will look like that unless you bring war to them.
“The point that I’m making is that Cork are not Derry. Cork are a team with serious pretensions, prior to today, to do well in Championship. They were coming here today to test themselves and that’s the outcome.”
I was thinking the same yesterday. Can you imagine a player like Aidan O’Shea was left on the bench for a whole game. There would be a mutiny the day after their championship campaign ended.
@Ned Flanders: cheap shot. O’Shea showed he is the ultimate team player by switching to a totally new position over the last 2 games to help the team get over the line. I guess haters are always gonna hate though
@Pepper Brooks: ultimate team player? That particular tactic nearly blew up in mayos face. In the replay he was soloing around his 21 half way through second half and trying 40 yard outside of boot passes that ran out over the line. If kerry hadnt panicked and had taken points earlier rather than going for goals when 7 down it could have been a very different
@Pepper Brooks: O’Shea wouldn’t make the Dublin bench.
Juniors maybe
@johnnyA the game is also about opinions,for you it’s bitter and twisted against Dublin,while us Dublin fan’s are enjoying every minute of this great Team,so happy days for us Ha Ha ha
@alan dodrill: *fans
It’s a great achievement to show humility when you’re strolling through the championship. Fair play to the Dublin/AIG players for being such good winners. If Gavin exerts such control he must endorse or at least turn a blind eye to the playacting. Cooper at it again yesterday. McCarthy and McCaffrey at it the last day – good footballers but while their fans have brought the worst aspects of UK terrace culture to Gaelic Games the players have brought Neymar type playacting into our national sport. Great lads all the same.
@Johnny A: Why not just enjoy the football instead of always having a bitch , life is too short
@Tony Talbot: the football championship used to mean something. Now it’s completely hollow. Very few meaningful contests – certainly none when Dublin/AIG are involved. Instead of mitigating their natural advantages – population, money, home advantage – the GAA have bolstered these and set them in stone. Teams like Tyrone and Monaghan now come up to Croker with ridiculous defensive systems just to keep the score down. The GAA have to look at the population and reconsider a split – for example Dublin North/AIG & Dublin South/HSBC. There should be an equalisation process with the corporate loot – they should be allowed keep 20-30% with the rest being redistributed. And they should be kept out of Croker a lot more – why not make them play an away semi final for example. I’ll enjoy it then.
@Johnny A: have to hand it to you mate you have bitterness to a new level. Short memories like most non dubs. This golden era has more to do wirh jim gavin than anything else.Maybe he should only be allowed manage smaller counties?
@Johnny A: explain 1995 – 2011??
If you split Dublin now you’d risk an all Dublin All Ireland final and that would be worse! Did you see the bench. Dublin A Vs Dublin B would be some game!
Other counties need to stop making excuses… Kerry has the same population as Wicklow as is the most successful football county by far
Also, let’s split Kilkenny into North & South and actually while we’re at what about the most successful football county, Kerry…well over due a split!!
@Brendan Farrell: if you think a 2 way split isn’t enough and they’d still be too strong then a 4 way split would be ideal. Could be 4 Dublin zones – AIG1, AIG2, AIG3, AIG4. Have their own provincial championship. The metropolitan cup or something like that.
@paddy: I wouldn’t call it bitterness – more like constructive hate.