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 13 September 2004 Irish Independent | |||
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HE could have allowed James Ryall to pick and clear as he liked but instead he hunted hard down the Hogan Stand sideline as if the game was only in its infancy. The day needed a snapshot and Brian Corcoran was keen to provide it.
A year ago he sat in the top deck of the Hogan Stand content that when he walked out of a beaten dressing room for the last time in 2001 after a Munster semi-final against Limerick it was the right decision.
Now he was scurrying down the sideline and colliding into the Kilkenny corner-back who had been switched to shadow him some 20 minutes earlier.
At that stage the red hordes were preparing to descend from the stands in salute to a magnificent second-half performance and liberation at the prospect of stealing ahead of Kilkenny again in the roll of honour. It was 0-16 to 0-9 and the game was up for the champions.
However, electrified by the atmosphere and buoyed by how spectacularly the gamble of coming back to inter-county hurling after a three-year retirement had paid off, Corcoran was like a young colt as he barged past Ryall and into the Canal End corner.
With two Kilkenny defenders closing, a quick lay-off looked the most sensible and obvious option, but Corcoran engineered himself into a scoring position. A strike off his left side took an eternity to limp over James McGarry's crossbar but when it did Corcoran fell to his knees and raised his arms in the air. Andy Dufreyne wasn't as elated when he crawled to freedom through the sewers of Shawshank prison!
"I knew at that stage we had the game. Just before that it was announced that there was just one minute left so that score was the icing on the cake," he smiled.
When Corcoran walked back into the Cork dressing room on Wednesday April 7 he left his reputation at the door. He knew the gamble a 31-year-old without a game at this level was taking.
Yesterday he defied the convention that Gaelic games are the preserve of young men and fanatical athletes. And it felt good.
"When we lost last year I was on the top deck of the Hogan Stand, gutted for the lads but still feeling I had made the right decision to be sitting where I was. Hindsight is a great thing and I'm glad I came back."
There were no regrets along the way. "There were a few disappointing days with the club. Newtown blew us away with the club (Erin's Own) but I never regretted making a comeback with Cork. They are the nicest guys I've been involved with and it's a great backroom team.
"It was hard to explain this week. You could see it in the lads' eyes. They really wanted it and they weren't going to let it slip like last year.
"A lot of guys were hurt after last year. We had a team meeting the other night, everyone had their say. I wasn't involved last year but I lost in '92 and lost the football in '93 and I know what it's like to lose.
"We knew if we were beaten today it would be by a better team. We've just won an All-Ireland and everyone in that dressing-room is absolutely shattered. We've given everything.
"The biggest factor was the lads lost last year. The three in a row or superiority on the roll of honour didn't matter. We lost last year, we didn't want to lose this year and that was it."
Corcoran admits he's undecided about his future with Cork. After a hard day it's not a thought to give consideration to. "I honestly never thought I'd see this day. When I was retired I was full sure that was it. I won't worry about the future for three or four months, I've no club championship so I'm off until next year anyway."
Further down the Cork corridor, goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack speaks of having "a huge weight lifted off our shoulders."
It was Cusack's bravery in spreading himself to save Henry Shefflin's 56th minute pile driver from point blank range that felt like the second half's most important moment, the same bravery he showed as one of the senior playing figures to confront the institutional Cork Co Board and seek better conditions for players in December 2002.
With the aspiration of an All-Ireland title achieved, Cusack feels "that chapter can now be closed."
"We put so much effort into this over the last couple of years. All we wanted was one in a row and a lot of work was put in, on and off the field.
"A lot of things were publicised during the strike, a lot of stuff went on that only we knew ourselves as well. It was a serious time for us that took its toll and obviously now we can close that particular chapter."
The save from Shefflin - Cork were 0-12 to 0-9 ahead at the time - happened so fast his recollection is vague.
"It was one of the things Donal said to me this morning to stand up as much as I could. Luckily enough I was able to get up straight away and clear the ball."
The game was turning in Cork's direction at that stage anyway as they moved into overdrive. "Diarmuid (O'Sullivan) has just told me that we held Kilkenny scoreless for the last 25 minutes and just two points from frees in the second half. I think that says it all."
That and a sprightly 31-year-old sinking to his knees.
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