League will be tighter than people think says Counihan
PREDICTABLY, Conor Counihan wasn't prepared to attach too much significance to Cork's four-goal haul against Down, although he admitted it was a key factor in smoothing the path to victory
"The goals probably secured it for us, but there's plenty of room for improvement I think, because Down were short quite a number of their regular defenders, and this performance wasn't a true reflection of their worth. It's never easy to get a result on the road in the league, but when you are as under-strength as they were, it's especially difficult.
"I suppose the third goal before half time really killed Down off, and Donncha (O'connor) took it very well from a penalty. Donncha looked very sharp at full forward, he was central to a lot of what we achieved up front, but I thought other fellas chipped in well too, and it was basically a solid team display," said the Cork boss.
Counihan admitted he was disappointed with the start, but he was pleased with the way the team responded after falling three points behind. "In fairness to the lads, they pushed on a bit before half time, and once we got three goals, it left Down facing a major uphill battle in the second half.
"I didn't expect we would have it so easy, because Down had beaten Donegal the previous weekend, and I felt they were bound to give us a stern test. But, as I've said, the goals made a big difference, and you can't expect to score four of them too often, so you would have to say we were just lucky that the breaks fell our way today."
Counihan said it was a plus going forward to be able to give some gametime to close on thirty players over the two league games to date, adding that the intention is to look at as many players as possible in the weeks ahead. "To have picked up three points from two games isn't too bad heading into a threeweek break, but we still need to get two more wins at least to be secure in terms of relegation.
"Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, I believe it will be nip-and-tuck in Division 1, and most teams could be facing into the last series of games under the threat of relegation and still in the hunt for a top-four spot, it could be that tight.
"The break is something new, and it gives us a chance to get a few of our players on the injured list ready for the next game against Donegal.
"Donegal will be very formidable at home, so it's going to be a big challenge to get the job done up there, and we will have to get focused on that straightaway," he concluded.
- Noel Horgan
