Not all doom and gloom for Dublin

Dublin could have won but Cork deserved to win on the day. Sharper, more fluent in possession and possessing a greater cutting edge in terms of the forward unit as a whole, Cork probably merited a greater winning margin than two points.

Dublin supporters will point out that they created three goal-scoring opportunities and certainly the game might have changed considerably had Brian Stynes or Declan Darcy found a way past the very impressive Kevin O'Dwyer. However, in the context of the overall game I thought Cork were worthy winners.

If you analyse the contributions of the respective forward lines, it underlines the fact that Cork boasted the more potent attack: they had four forwards scoring from play while only Darcy and Dessie Farrell achieved that for Dublin. There is also the fact that Dublin kicked nine wides as opposed to their opponents' five. They could ill afford to squander those opportunities.

Cork's defence earned a reputation in this season's National League as being particularly effective, dogged and unrelenting in their tackling. They confirmed that in this match. Some will point the finger at the peripheral role played by Dublin's two corner forwards, Brendan O'Brien and Niall O'Donoghue.

In mitigation they did not receive much ball, certainly not of the early variety where their pace might have posed problems. Conditions did not favour smaller players either and they would probably be more effective when top of the ground is the prevailing underfoot conditions.

The Cork defenders were quicker and sharper in the tackle. Even Farrell who won a lot of ball against Sean O hAilpin didn't manage to get much of a return. He kicked a few wides on his weaker right foot and for that O hAilpin deserves credit. He may not have been first to the ball on many occasions nor may he like playing full back but he did not concede too many scores.

Farrell still showed what a good footballer he is for Darren Homan's goal; it was his quick thinking that provided the opportunity and his strength always posed problems for the Cork defence. It's not all doom and gloom for Dublin. They won an amount of ball but did not translate enough into scores. Farrell was a constant target and perhaps that made Dublin a little one dimensional.

But it is a formula that got them to a National League final and in fairness when you're winning you are right, it is only when you lose that you are wrong. Without O'Dwyer's saves the Dubs might now be champions but I thought that Cork midfielder Nicholas Murphy had a tremendous game in the second half. He caught several clean balls at a time when Dublin threatened to dominate on a day when the visitors struggled with their high fielding.

Cork's defence was generally better, they get in closer, quicker and were just that much sharper. I think that it also helped that they settled quickly. Cork dominated for the first 10 minutes, with the exception of Stynes's goalscoring chance, and looked like putting Dublin in a great deal of trouble. Michael O'Donovan was excellent at corner back, O hAilpin did a good job and there were meaty contributions right throughout the team.

Larry Tompkins's substitutions also worked better, Don Davis being a classic case in point. I can't see Tompkins doing much tinkering with the team before the start of the championship. The Cork backs defend and come forward with equal facility and a guy like Mark O'Connor will find it very tough to reclaim his place.

Davis looked good when he came on, Damien O'Neill will come back into contention and there are others like Ronan McCarthy who offer great strength in depth at midfield. Mark O'Sullivan had a quiet game at full forward, well marshalled by Paddy Christie, but it would be foolish to question his footballing ability. Cork managed scores elsewhere and in doing that were not likely to change from a successful formula.

Dublin have more work to complete before the championship. They have quality defenders like Ian Robertson and Paul Croft to return. Before yesterday's match many would have singled out the Dublin full back line as a potential weak area but they certainly dispelled that assertion.

Midfielder Ciaran Whelan carried a leg injury into the match and suffered a bang on the calf which limited his effectiveness.

For Dublin it is possibly a case of making decisions with regard to midfield and perhaps looking to be a little more direct in distribution to the forward line. There is a huge reliance on some rather than all of the forward line.

Jason Sherlock's sending-off encapsulated Dublin's frustration on the day. I didn't see what it was for but the referee obviously believed that it warranted his dismissal.

Sherlock might take a little while to adjust to the different demands of Gaelic football. I think on the firm pitches he can enjoy a more positive influence than he did yesterday. For Tommy Carr the priority will be on refining the talent available to him.

Cork's day yesterday and no one can quibble with what was a merited success.

In an interview with John O'Sullivan