CORK’S worrying second-half trend refuses to go away – and John Cleary knows it could cost them dearly if it isn’t fixed soon.

For the eighth time in nine competitive outings this season, the Rebels lost the second-half battle, despite beating Limerick in their Munster SFC opener. Cork were outscored 1-9 to 0-6 after the break, a familiar drop-off that has become a growing concern within the camp.

Their only second-half ‘win’ this year came against Tyrone in Division 2 of the league. In every other game, Cork have either fallen away or lost momentum after the interval. It’s a pattern Cleary admits is difficult to explain.

‘We spoke about it at half-time of the Limerick game that we’ve been here before and our second halves have been poor enough,’ the Cork boss said.

‘Maybe we switched off and thought the game was won. Fellas were maybe strolling around. I don’t know, I can’t put my finger on it at this particular time, but we’ll definitely address it and work on it.

‘Sometimes it’s great to get lessons when you win a match. We were disappointed and we won by nine points. If it was the opposite way around and you switched halves, we’d be cock-a-hoop coming out of here. We’ll definitely have to address it during the week and see if we can improve on that second-half performance.’

The numbers underline the issue. Before the Limerick game, Cork had already come out second best in the second half against Cavan (1-9 to 0-11), Louth (1-7 to 0-7), Offaly (0-13 to 1-6), Meath twice (1-10 to 0-8 and 1-12 to 2-5), Derry (0-21 to 0-5) and Kildare (1-13 to 0-9).

It points to a recurring vulnerability, and one that will be tested further when Cork travel to Semple Stadium to face Tipperary in the Munster semi-final on Saturday, April 25th. Beyond that, a potential provincial decider against Kerry looms, making it an issue that must be resolved quickly.

Cleary insists it is not a simple case of conditioning, pointing instead to momentum swings and in-game factors.

‘It isn’t the first time this has happened this year. Against Offaly, we had that game put to bed. Against Kildare, they came back in. It’s not a lack of fitness, because there are other days we finish well,’ he said.

‘With the modern game, there are a couple of things. If you lose momentum, it’s going to be very difficult to get it back. Also, being down to 14 men for 20 minutes means you’ve only ten defending against 11. It can be a big punishment and we suffered big time in the second half for it.’

While Cork still ran out comfortable winners against Limerick, the nature of the second-half display has ensured there is no complacency in the camp. Instead, it has sharpened the focus ahead of their next outing.

‘That would be the hope really,’ Cleary added when asked if the performance could serve as a timely warning.

‘The last couple of times it happened, we got a positive response and that’s what we’ll be looking for now going into the next game.’

There were positives to take, however, not least the impact of Bantry Blues’ Dara Sheedy on his senior championship debut. The 19-year-old forward made an immediate impression, scoring a superb solo goal to set Cork on their way.

Sheedy’s afternoon was cut short when he went down in the 22nd minute with what initially appeared to be a serious injury. Thankfully, it proved less severe, and he was withdrawn at half-time as a precaution.

Cleary explained that the decision to take him off was influenced by both the knock and a busy schedule that has seen Sheedy feature prominently at U20 level.

‘Dara just got winded,’ the manager said.

‘He came off as a result of the knock and the position we were in at half-time. We were trying to protect him as best we could.

‘He had a very good first half, pulling the strings for us. He had a game on Thursday night and the U20s are playing again next Thursday. The plan was, if we could, we would rest him and that’s what we did.’