“Cork have failed against Kerry” – Joe Brolly
Joe Brolly has stood by his sharp criticism of the Cork football team despite their victory over Down in the All-Ireland quarter-final on Saturday.
A Gaelic Life column by Brolly drew the ire of Rebel fans in the run-up to the Croke Park clash with Down.
Before the Rebels’ 2-20 to 0-14 victory, he wrote: “They have been able to bludgeon and bore their way through every team in the country with their primitive approach, but as we saw for the umpteenth time in the Munster final, the Kingdom are far too smart for them.”
In a heated Sunday Game discussion with fellow analyst Tony Davis, the former Derry star stated that Cork “played like champions” in a “smooth” 2-20 to 0-14 victory.
But, according to Brolly, Cork’s record in big games against Kerry is still damning, and the reliance of Conor Counihan’s men on certain key forwards is another limitation.
He said: “The reality is that they struggle from numbers 5 to 9 to score.”
With Kerry and Cork on a collision course in the All-Ireland semi-final, Brolly concluded: “This is a pretty refined criticism of Cork. They are a great side, there is no doubt about that, but the reality is they have failed against Kerry and the issue is, ‘how do they cure that problem?’.”