Three talking points from Cork's hammering by Roscommon

1: PROMOTION: One of the targets at the start of the campaign was promotion. That now is over after a third defeat in five games. Hugely disappointing as Cork's aim to get back to the top tier for the first time since 2016 will go on for at least another 12 months.

Cork had four points from the first three games, but two losses on the bounce to Monaghan and now Roscommon have put pay to promotion.

Before the start of the last campaign, Cork were one of the fancied teams to get promotion. The drop off since the progress from the 2023 season is alarming. Back to the drawing board.

2: PERFORMANCE: Whatever about losing and sometimes you just come up against the better team, Cork will have massive regrets with the performance.

They started brightly in the opening 17 minutes, but after that, it was one-way traffic.

Cork were direct and moved the ball at pace early on and got scores, but then went back to lateral play that we have seen so often from this team over the last few years.

Just before half-time, one Cork supporter behind the media box in the upper tier yelled to the players to kick the ball in.

There was utter frustration from the fans that were present as the game wore on. The majority of the 22,193 in attendance for the hurling beforehand had long left the stadium by the end of the football game.

Crowds in the North Stand watching the first half of Cork v Roscommon. Picture: Larry Cummins

Credit must go to Roscommon, they came down and did a job, but they were helped by a disjointed Cork performance.

Defensively and up front was worrying. Other than Mark Cronin, who scored 0-8, not many stood out.

3: WHAT NEXT ?: Cork football was going around in circles for too long but there was a sense that they were turning a corner after reaching a second successive All-Ireland quarter-final in 2023. But since, Cork have regressed.

Last year, a fourth place finish in the league was followed by a disappointing championship where the Rebels lost to Louth in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.

This year, yes they have injuries, but every team has injuries, the performances haven’t been great.

Avoiding relegation and the Tailteann Cup is now the priority. Louth are next at home in two weeks.

The management and style of play will come in for scrutiny again. But, are the players there? One thing Cork are producing is the same type of players. Full of athleticism, but the quality maybe is lacking.

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