Capital return for Cork

ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE, DIVISION ONE FINAL: Cork 0-21 Dublin 2-14: YESTERDAY'S Allianz Football League final arrested some of the giddier notions that had gained currency during the campaign and reset the game's working assumptions going into the championship.

Cork, for all their injury problems, still managed to play for a sufficient period to win by a point and Dublin, the controls apparently set for a first league title in 18 years, fell to pieces in the last quarter.

So the team that has swashbuckled unbeaten through the spring won’t have to worry about defusing the hype before the Leinster championship.

It’s important to bear in mind that, with Alan Brogan suspended, an already weakened attack had to cope with the departure of brother Bernard at the end of the third quarter. Yet the inability to protect a five-point lead even in the absence of the footballer of the year will reopen a whole host of unhappy precedents.

Cork’s clinical response to the most unpromising of circumstances was further evidence that their big-match temperament has become diamond hard. Their patient control of possession and probing for fault lines combined with calm finishing to nudge them a point ahead with five minutes left.

For all Dublin’s reawakened angst this was, however, a greatly entertaining match. It even featured a revival of that old cultural staple, “the tunnel incident” – more about which Michael Shields and Philip McMahon will presumably hear anon.

While they were ticking over, Dublin looked in fine fettle. All of the forwards, apart from Paul Flynn and Bryan Cullen, got on the scoreboard from play in the first half although, in a premonition of what was to come, the team followed a goal by conceding the initiative and falling a point behind before finishing the half strongly to lead by three at the break.

Bernard Brogan was in customary menacing form and although Shields competed manfully he couldn’t stop his marker kicking two points and setting up 1-1, the goal a good finish by Tomás Quinn in the seventh minute – a move that was replicated two minutes later but which drew a good save from Ken O’Halloran.

Michael Dara Macauley had an exceptional first half, taking the opportunity to argue eloquently that, after a league of experimentation, centrefield is his best position. His strong running created havoc in the Cork defence and started moves that led to 1-3 on the scoreboard.

Kevin McManamon maintained his good campaign by kicking four from play in the first half and ending with five although he ran out of steam in the final quarter, by which stage he would normally have been relieved but for the fact that two forwards had already been replaced.

Cork had to overcome their own problems. Paul Kerrigan started but had to be substituted before half-time. John Miskella sustained what looked like a recurrence of his back problems and he too was replaced by the impressive Denis O’Sullivan, who built on previous good displays in this year’s league.

Fintan Goold also got injured after a good 26 minutes and was replaced by the hard-working Fiachra Lynch, who kicked the 62nd-minute equaliser. Patrick Kelly was consistently effective, both in his use of the ball and shooting, and scored three points whereas his colleagues in attack raised their game when needed.

Ciarán Sheehan kicked four from play, including three really important scores in the second half, two of which came as Cork teetered on the brink – after Brogan had lost Shields from a Quinn line ball and hammered the ball into the net for a 2-11 to 0-10 lead just minutes into the second half – and the third which ultimately proved to be the winner.

Dublin extended the lead by a further point before the wheels became a little loose. Whether Cork sensed this or not, they certainly raised their game and increased the pressure on their opponents’ defence where Paul Brogan and Michael Fitzsimons played well – the latter restricting Daniel Goulding’s input and the former keeping Donnacha O’Connor quiet for most of the afternoon; the partial qualification is always important with O’Connor whose two points in successive minutes brought Cork within range with an hour gone.

Throughout the second half Dublin made a range of enforced replacements. Defender Darren Daly came on for Cullen and if the intention was to supplement the defence at a stage, the 47th minute, when the lead was already beginning to slip, Brogan’s hamstring pull shortly afterwards and the withdrawal of Diarmuid Connolly (also injured) gradually created an urgent need for forwards to score.

Of the four who came into the attack, none raised a flag as Dublin entered a netherworld of poor decision-making and doubt. Replacement Dean Kelly and Barry Cahill had very bad wides and the usually reliable Quinn missed a sitter of a free as well as one from a very acute angle.

All the while Cork pushed and incrementally scored, beating Dublin by 0-11 to 0-2 over the final half hour. Nicholas Murphy came off the bench to steady centrefield in the closing minutes and with the Hill going frantic at the amended script, Cork almost serenely pocketed their seventh league title to underline their status as the top football county.

CORK:1 K O'Halloran; 4 J O'Sullivan (0-1), 2 R Carey, 3 M Shields; 5 N O'Leary (0-1), 6 J Miskella, 7 P Kissane; 8 A O'Connor, 10 P O'Neill (0-3); 15 C Sheehan (0-4), 11 P Kelly (0-3), 12 F Goold (0-1); 13 D Goulding (0-4, 0-2 frees), 14 D O'Connor (0-3, 0-1 free), 17 P Kerrigan. Subs:F Lynch (0-1) for Goold (26 mins), D O'Sullivan for Miskella (28 mins), D Goold for Kerrigan (35 mins). Yellow cards:Sheehan (24 mins), O'Leary (48 mins), J O'Sullivan (67 mins), Carey (69 mins).

DUBLIN:1 S Cluxton; 4 P McMahon, 3 P Brogan, 2 M Fitzsimons; 5 B Cahill (0-1), 6 G Brennan, 7 K Nolan (0-1); 8 D Bastick, 9 MD Macauley; 12 P Flynn, 11 K McManamon (0-5), 10 B Cullen; 13 B Brogan (1-3, 0-1 free), 14 D Connolly (0-2), 15 T Quinn (1-2). Subs:D Daly for Cullen (47 mins), P Burke for B Brogan (51 mins), D Kelly for Connolly (55 mins), P Andrews for Daly (63 mins), D Lally for Cahill (72 mins).

Referee:J McQuillan (Cavan).

Attendance:36,438.