CORK will aim to bag their first win in Ennis in 16 years when they face Clare on Sunday.
But Rebels skipper Rob Downey insists their recent woes against the Banner will be irrelevant when the teams collide for the first time since last summer’s All-Ireland SHC final.
Downey’s brilliant goal helped his side race into a seven-point lead in the Liam MacCarthy Cup decider, only for Clare to prevail after extra-time.
The All-Star centre-back said: “You always take things from the previous year. It’s obviously good to look back and kind of have a look at the year and summarise it and things like that.
“But last year is in the past and we can do nothing about it now. We’re just trying to move on and get the best out of ourselves for the next couple of weeks and months.”
Having suffered three defeats on the spin, Clare eased their fears of relegation from Division 1A with an impressive win against Limerick on Sunday.
Cork, who will return to Ennis on April 20 for their Munster SHC opener, have failed to beat Brian Lohan’s side in their last six attempts.
And Downey said: “We’ve probably had a poor enough record against Clare in general in the last couple of years.
“But look, we won’t be dwelling too much on that. We’ll train away this week and put our heads down for that and see what the weekend brings.
“Clare played very well against Limerick. They put in a huge performance and we’re going up to Ennis now on Sunday. You’ll never get anything easy up in Ennis and we’re well aware of that.”
Downey, who made his senior inter-county debut in 2019, has taken his game to another level while becoming a key player for Cork over the last two years.
The 25-year-old said: “I’ve probably gotten a bit older and a bit more mature. And the bit of experience too, it all helps.
“On the strength and conditioning side of things, I’ve probably gotten a bit stronger as well.
“It’s probably a blend of a lot of things really. You could never say you’re flying or anything like that. You can always improve and that’s what we’re all trying to do.”
*ROB DOWNEY was speaking at the launch of the Cork Super Cup, which will see Cork City take on Celtic at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on July 8.
