By Paul O'Neill
Bríd Stack believes Cork's experience of winning big games stood to them as they pulled off a dramatic victory over Dublin in the TG4 All-Ireland Championship Ladies' Football final
Cork have won every All-Ireland decider they have appeared in but that proud record looked set to come to an end with 15 minutes remaining in Sunday's clash with the Dubs.
At that stage Cork trailed by all of 10 points but they produced a stunning surge to reel in their opponents and finish with one point to spare as they managed to retain the crown.
Defender Stack, whose bulging collection of honours now includes nine All-Ireland medals, admits the Rebel County feared the worst as they found themselves so much adrift with three quarters of the game gone.
But she says Cork never know when they are beaten and did not panic even when they were staring at a defeat in the battle for the title.
She recalled: "For sure it was not looking good for us when Dublin moved so far ahead and I know some people watching must have thought it was just a case of how much they were going to win by.
"Not much had gone right for us and up to then it had been one of the most lacklustre performances we had turned in for quite some time.
"We actually looked at a recording of the game when we were on the bus travelling back to Cork the following day and it brought home just how poor we were. For example, our shooting for scores was bad and we gave away the ball far too often.
"It was uncharacteristic stuff on our part and we desperately needed to get a foothold in the game and try to turn things around.
"Dublin, to their credit, did not make it easy for us with the way they played. They tackled fiercely, showing great hunger and a high work-rate, and they picked off some fine scores to help them take control.
"However even though things were going against us and the clock was ticking down, we were determined not to give in.
"You could say our failure to stop chasing what might have seemed like a lost cause came from the fact we had won so many important games in the past.
"Many of them were All-Ireland finals and that can give you the confidence to keep plugging away in even the most difficult circumstances.
"Of course we had fought back from nine points down in the second half to win when we played Dublin in last year's Championship so we knew we were well capable of rallying and going in front."
For three Cork players, the win over Dublin gave them a second All-Ireland success in 15 days.
Dual stars Rena Buckley, Briege Corkery and Angela Walsh also featured in the Cork camogie team that overcame Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.
And Stack revealed that Walsh spoke at half-time in the Dublin game of how the Cork camogie side had to dig deep before securing their win against Kilkenny.
Stack said: "At the break our dressing-room was quite calm, even though we had been struggling so much and were six points down at that stage.
"Obviously the management outlined how we might be able to improve and Angela talked about how the camogie team had come from six points behind to win their final.
"We asked ourselves did we want the win enough and, returning to the pitch at Croke Park, everyone was ready to get stuck in and battle to the end. There were still 30 minutes to play and a lot could change in that time.
"The longer the second half went on, the more we needed a goal and thankfully we got one through Rhona Ní Bhuachalla while another followed from Eimear Scally and we were really in business then.
"Certainly the contribution of both Eimear and Rhona really underlined the strength in depth we had in our squad this year because they had started the final on the substitutes' bench.
"The switches went well for us and made a big difference in the end."
Those changes were made by boss Eamonn Ryan, who has been the mastermind behind all of Cork's nine All-Ireland triumphs – as well as 10 Munster Championships and eight Division 1 National Leagues. And Stack hailed the part he has played in making Cork so successful.
She concluded: "Eamonn deserves huge credit for what we have done over the last 10 years.
"Remember when he took over Cork had never won a Munster Championship – let alone an All-Ireland. He has got the best out of us and has shown great belief in us too.
"We are lucky to have such a brilliant manager."
