Consistent Corcoran's Countdown conundrum
Dinny Corcoran spent the morning answering media questions after being unveiled as the SSE Airtricity League player of the month for February.
By mid-afternoon, the Bohemians striker was again making a media appearance and again, perhaps, being careful to mind his p’s and q’s.
A bit more literally as it turned out, as the man more familiar with the surrounds of Dalymount Park was playing in front of an international audience in the Channel 4 television quiz show Countdown.
The striker had kept it all low-key and failed to mention it to the journalists earlier in the day, while also keeping it quiet from his team-mates.
"I didn’t tell anyone," said Corcoran, this time with nowhere to hide as timing had proved perfect.
He had been lined up to appear as a guest on the RTE Soccer Podcast, just minutes following the television appearance, which was recorded in England recently.
"My mother was a big fan growing up and I watched it with her. She thought I was very good so she applied for me and I just happened to make it.
"They rang me to do a test over the phone and I passed it. It was that simple, then they booked the flights and I was on the show."
Corcoran put in a fine shift on the challenging television show, however came up short against a very accomplished opponent.
In the numbers round, Corcoran was tasked with coming up with the perhaps football-themed total of 442, while the conundrum (anagram), which turned out to be 'washboard', could alternatively have been revealed as 'Bohs Award' on the day that the striker received the league accolade.
Corcoran was trending on Twitter by the end of the show and the striker will have to face the dressing-room music from his biggest critics, no doubt, at training later this evening.
"I struggled to keep it quiet but I didn’t think so many people would be watching Channel 4 on a Monday afternoon," Corcoran laughed.
"Unfortunately, I couldn’t get away with it, so I’m not looking forward to training tonight."
And while the striker can handle himself against the toughest of opponents on a Friday night under the lights of Dalymount Park, he more than met his match against a top-class contestant.
"She was very good," admitted Corcoran, who left the show with a respectable total of 50 points, and more importantly, a Countdown goodie bag.
"I was the fourth person in a row that she had beaten. My mother was devastated that I came up against someone so good."
Corcoran’s February form led to the first monthly award of the season as the in-form striker hit three goals in as many games for the Gypsies.
And Corcoran believes that the Dublin side, who have gone five games unbeaten at the start of the 2019 campaign, can maintain their form throughout the rest of this year’s campaign.
"It has been a very positive start. Because if I’m honest, I was unsure about the team.
"We lost a lot of key players and then with some of the young lads coming over from England that I didn’t know.
"The young lads are technically very good players and they have adapted very quickly and we look good. Hopefully we can keep on improving and stay up there as long as possible.
"It has given us a lot of belief and confidence. On our day, we are going to be a hard team to beat for anyone and that will allow us to stay up there for a while and see how we get on."
And on a personal level, Corcoran is reaping the rewards of an injury-free pre-season, which, he believes, is showing in his performances on the pitch.
"Last year, I was injured through pre-season and I never trained consistently, and I even carried my injury into the start of the season. So it took me half the season to get to where I should have been.
"This season has been completely different. I have stayed injury free. Worked hard in the off-season, worked hard in the pre-season and I am looking after myself a lot better.
"I’m feeling physically fitter and the performances have been showing that on the pitch."
Things are looking good all round up at the Dublin 7 institution with the Sold Out signs hanging outside the home of Irish football on more than one occasion already this season, while it's looking a lot tighter in the league table with several clubs looking to challenge this season.
"There is definitely a real buzz about Dalymount this season," added Corcoran.
"It helps that we are doing well but there are people sitting on the steps and everything watching the matches as there wasn’t an empty seat in the stadium.
"And I think the league is a lot more competitive this season. I think Cork and Dundalk have maybe weakened a little and then the likes of Pat’s, Rovers and ourselves have closed the gap.
"It’s so hard to call at this stage, as it is very tight. And for the neutrals, it is the most interesting league for a while.
"And as a result, I think there is a real buzz about the league with the uncertainty. It doesn’t look like it will be a one or two-horse race this season."