Pat Ryan was incredibly sporting in defeat after Cork’s loss to Clare in the All-Ireland final.
Cork were defeated by 3-29 to 1-34 after a thrilling finale in Croke Park with Clare coming out on top after extra-time.
Cork manager Ryan gave a sporting interview after the game, firstly congratulating Clare and then thanking his own team for how they represented the jersey.
It looked like Clare were set for victory in normal time only for a Patrick Horgan free sending the game to extra-time. Cork started well in extra-time as they had done in normal time but in the end, Clare came roaring back to seal their first All-Ireland in eleven years.
For Cork, their last Liam MacCarthy was back in 2005 and the hurt goes on. But Ryan showed his class in defeat.
“I’m devastated for our players,” he told RTE.
“Massive congratulations to Clare. They played brilliant. We were probably chasing the game at times, really representing the jersey which is what we’ve asked of them all the time. They really stuck in there, and just couldn’t get over the line.
“We missed a couple of chances at the end, but that’s the way the game went. A fantastic advertisement for amateur player to put on that show.”
“There’s areas we’ll look at, but all credit to Clare. They deserved their victory today.”
“It is a consolation, because what we ask the lads to do is represent our people. So proud of our fellas for what they delivered. We have to lick our wounds and see what we can do to get better.”
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