John Meyler’s hurlers then took on Wexford — and lost — on a pockmarked field.
“The pitch was in a horrible state, to be honest with you, for hurling,” Tomas Mulcahy told RTÉ radio afterwards.
“Trying to play hurling after you’ve played football previously… there were lumps of sod all over the pitch. Players were going to pick the ball, failed to pick it; not just the first time – you could excuse that at this time of the year – but four and five times failing to pick up the ball. Falling into holes and stuff like that, a lot of throws-in.
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“I think it was disappointing from a Cork perspective on that basis alone to have the pitch in the way that it was. But then the performance afterwards… there’s no excuse for it.”
Peter McKenna, Croke Park stadium director, indicated before Christmas that ‘remedial work’ would have to take place on the pitch and spectators at the redeveloped Marina venue yesterday quickly realised why.
“We knew before the game that the surface was pretty bad,” said Wexford boss Davy Fitzgerald, “and you can see that we knock the ball around pretty okay, whether it’s ball to hand or on the ground.
“We made up our minds that no matter what the surface was like – you’re coming down thinking things will be pretty good, the stadium is incredible and I love it, so it’s a pity about the top of the surface.
“It’s actually quite solid, I don’t know why it’s tearing on top as much as it is. Even when I was a player, one place I loved coming was down here. They need to have a look at it, I’m sure they’ll get it right.”
Fitzgerald’s visitors ultimately ran out four-point victors but the Rebels camp insisted the underfoot conditions were no excuse for the home side, who face Clare at the stadium in a fortnight’s time.
Davy Fitzgerald in the stand with his coaching team. Ken Sutton / INPHO
Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO
“There’s no secret about it, the surface was tough,” said hurling selector Donal O’Mahony afterwards.
“Especially the way we play, we want to play fast hurling and then the ball is getting stuck and things like that.
“They’d be physically stronger than us so it probably suited their gameplan a bit more than ours. I thought they out-muscled us at times but definitely the surface didn’t help.”
He continued: “We don’t look for excuses. It’s not an excuse why we lost the game. They were better than us on the day, they outworked us and they outfought us. The pitch was as bad for them as it was for us.
They are physically stronger than us, it became a dogfight there in the middle third, the two half-back lines, they came out on top and that’s more the reason why we lost the game rather than the pitch.”
The county’s football boss Ronan McCarthy, meanwhile, admitted the pitch cost Cork at specific moments, but echoed the sentiment that it was the same for both teams.
“The one bit where the pitch really affected us was the penalty,” he said.
“We actually got a great block down on the Kildare player shooting for a point and it ricocheted up into the air; Ronan O’Toole, who was standing under it, lost his footing. That is where the pitch affected us. It players unsure of their footing and their passing. It was the same for both teams.”
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State of Páirc Uí Chaoimh pitch under the spotlight after tough day on Leeside
THE PÁIRC UÍ CHAOIMH pitch is under renewed focus today after yesterday’s double-header on Leeside.
The sod at the new stadium looked in very poor condition after the county footballers’ defeat to Kildare.
John Meyler’s hurlers then took on Wexford — and lost — on a pockmarked field.
“The pitch was in a horrible state, to be honest with you, for hurling,” Tomas Mulcahy told RTÉ radio afterwards.
“Trying to play hurling after you’ve played football previously… there were lumps of sod all over the pitch. Players were going to pick the ball, failed to pick it; not just the first time – you could excuse that at this time of the year – but four and five times failing to pick up the ball. Falling into holes and stuff like that, a lot of throws-in.
“I think it was disappointing from a Cork perspective on that basis alone to have the pitch in the way that it was. But then the performance afterwards… there’s no excuse for it.”
Peter McKenna, Croke Park stadium director, indicated before Christmas that ‘remedial work’ would have to take place on the pitch and spectators at the redeveloped Marina venue yesterday quickly realised why.
“We knew before the game that the surface was pretty bad,” said Wexford boss Davy Fitzgerald, “and you can see that we knock the ball around pretty okay, whether it’s ball to hand or on the ground.
“We made up our minds that no matter what the surface was like – you’re coming down thinking things will be pretty good, the stadium is incredible and I love it, so it’s a pity about the top of the surface.
Fitzgerald’s visitors ultimately ran out four-point victors but the Rebels camp insisted the underfoot conditions were no excuse for the home side, who face Clare at the stadium in a fortnight’s time.
“There’s no secret about it, the surface was tough,” said hurling selector Donal O’Mahony afterwards.
“Especially the way we play, we want to play fast hurling and then the ball is getting stuck and things like that.
“They’d be physically stronger than us so it probably suited their gameplan a bit more than ours. I thought they out-muscled us at times but definitely the surface didn’t help.”
He continued: “We don’t look for excuses. It’s not an excuse why we lost the game. They were better than us on the day, they outworked us and they outfought us. The pitch was as bad for them as it was for us.
The county’s football boss Ronan McCarthy, meanwhile, admitted the pitch cost Cork at specific moments, but echoed the sentiment that it was the same for both teams.
“The one bit where the pitch really affected us was the penalty,” he said.
“We actually got a great block down on the Kildare player shooting for a point and it ricocheted up into the air; Ronan O’Toole, who was standing under it, lost his footing. That is where the pitch affected us. It players unsure of their footing and their passing. It was the same for both teams.”
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Cork GAA cut up GAA Heavy going Hurling Pitch