Late bloomer Matty Taylor taking his chance with Cork

Joe Kernan took our call last week to tease through Armagh’s Division 2 silverware prospects.

Whilst raking back over the county’s Round 7 stalemate on Leeside a few days earlier, the All-Ireland winning Armagh boss picked out one Cork player that he felt exposed chinks in the Orchard armour.

“Their No.7,” said Kernan, “broke through a couple of times and was able to ride the tackles. There were gaps and he went through them”.

Their No.7 is of course Matty Taylor.

Clare, the same as Kernan, picked out Taylor ahead of their Munster quarter-final with Cork this weekend last year. They had to. He had spent the entire 2023 League breaking lines and riding tackles. Cork netted 14 goals last spring. Taylor chipped in with two of them from left half-back.

He played every minute of Cork’s six-game championship campaign in 2023. He played every minute of this year’s League. He is ever-present and ever reliable. Has been since 2019.

Over the past five years, Cork have played 20 championship matches. Taylor has started all 20. He failed to finish just two.

Only midfield totem Ian Maguire can rival him for match minutes during the period in question. And if you’re in the same Cork football bracket as Maguire for consistency, then you’re not doing half bad.

The Mallow clubman turned 30 last November. He made his league and championship debuts in 2018. From that, you can quickly do the math. A 24-year-old debutant and late developer.

Not alone that but his six minutes at the end of the county’s Round 2 League win over Down that 2018 spring was his first competitive appearance in a red shirt - at any level.

From standing unnoticed outside the tent all through his underage years and first half of his 20s to now being one of the first