Whereas Cork threw away a 10-point lead to lose to Down at this stage last year, they showed their spirit to wrestle victory from the jaws of defeat here. “With 10 minutes to go, seven points down, it didn’t look like it was going to be our day,” said the Castlehaven native. We thought we were getting good scores, but I was just afraid we were going to start panicking a little bit. “When the game was there for the taking, we drove at it and drove at it and got over the line. So we’re thrilled with that.”Cleary felt those experiences steeled Cork down the home straight.

Source: Irish Examiner January 25, 2026 20:41 UTC