Horgan played every minute of All-Ireland final with hamstring injury
Piaras Picture: Cork ó More In Said Play One Intends Horgan To Mídheach/sportsfile He Patrick Year: For 2025
Patrick Horgan prefaces his remarks about referee Johnny Murphy with the admission Cork didn’t play to the standards they had set themselves.
“I just don’t think we were at our best for any part of the game,” concedes Horgan, who carried a hamstring injury into Sunday’s All-Ireland final. “We started well but after that we were just kind of hanging on, and we were still that close, so who knows, like.
“Again, and I don’t want to make a big deal about them, but there were a couple of decisions that in a tight game like that, it’s a big deal. I’d say if you were on the Clare side then, there were probably decisions that maybe might have went against them the same. It’s just the time they came at for us, it was kind of a bit of a downer, you know.”
The three calls are obvious at this stage: Horgan denied a chance to take a 65 after a Seamus Harnedy deflected shot was wrongly waved wide, an already booked David McInerney’s pulldown on Robbie O’Flynn only resulting in a free and then Conor Leen’s tug on O’Flynn’s jersey as he attempted a last-gasp equalising point in extra-time that went wide.
“The most important obviously was the last one, because that’s the end of the game,” reviews Horgan. “I just thought he (Murphy) could have (awarded a free)….and I don’t think he was far away, I think when he blew the whistle he could have been three or four yards from that position, and you know, it’s a hard enough job and he done really well.
“What do they say, if you look at one decision you could look at probably 100s (of times) in a game. But that would be number one, Harnedy’s chance would probably have been number two and the penalty decision was kind of… I kind of asked the question, if it was a free why wasn’t it a penalty? Because he (McInerney) brought him down and it was a goal chance, so I don’t know. Look, we had a couple of decisions earlier on in the year and I suppose our luck just ran out.”
Horgan realised he couldn’t sprint after tweaking his hamstring early into the final. He picked up the injury the Saturday before yet lasted the 100 minutes or so of hurling. “All week I knew, I never ran or anything. I knew after five minutes there was no sprinting, like, so.
“Just delighted I kind of lasted as well then so, the last thing you want is to be looking on and watching the boys, you want to give your most to the team, as much as you can.”
As expected, Horgan should be back for an 18th season in 2025. How could he go? “I hope so. The last time I said I was available to be selected, I got blasted, I don’t know why.
“Like, it’s hard for me because the group of players that are there, this is no messing, the players we have, and how close we all are, it would be really hard for me not to have that relationship with them that we go training every night and get to know each other more.
“It’s probably the best environment I have been in since I played with Cork, this and the time Jimmy (Barry-Murphy) was there. Jimmy and Pat (Ryan) are very similar, they create an atmosphere within the players that is hard to explain. That’s just how Jimmy and Pat carry themselves naturally.
“Pat has just been unbelievable for us, especially the older fellas. When a new manager comes in, you don’t know what is going to happen but he is so sound and everything is about, ‘If you are playing well, you are in.’ He proved that all year, even with Jack (O’Connor) coming in (as an All-Ireland final substitute). He was hopping out of his skin for two weeks.”
Comparing this latest All-Ireland final defeat, his third, with the 2021 rout to Limerick isn’t possible, Horgan says. Limerick were at “their peak” whereas now “it stings more, thinking we should probably be winning this.”
When Horgan returns to training, he won’t be looking for many favours even if he turns 37 next May. “No, I think it wouldn’t be fair on the other fellas on the panel. I wouldn’t want any special treatment, or anything like, ‘Oh, he’s this age, leave him come back later,’ or don’t do a training. I’m not going to stand on the line and look at 37 other fellas breaking their backs.”
He continues: “Probably people thinking about the, ‘Oh the winter training,’ and all that. That’s a dream to be able to do all of that, to be down with the boys early on in the year especially because you always have something to work towards.
“The championship is early so you want to be hitting the ground come February because you’ll only have March and then you are in April. Obviously it’s exciting, and the team we have makes it even more exciting because we have a really serious team. You see the players this year, the two boys (Eoin and Rob Downey) from my club, unbelievable, (Shane) Barrett, Fitzy (Darragh Fitzgibbon).”