Cork keep their heads to deny plucky Louth

GAELIC GAMES/All-Ireland SFC Qualifier (Round Three)/Cork 0-16 Louth 0-14:The collective sigh of relief from the Cork players was very apparent and only natural at the end of an exhilarating game which will be remembered for the staunch resistance by Louth at O'Moore Park, Portlaoise on Saturday.

Cork were repeatedly asked to walk the proverbial tightrope without a safety net. Ultimately, their capacity to remain cool - helped, no doubt, by their greater experience - enabled them to survive.

Courage, determination, method and undoubted skills were the fortes of a young and ambitious Louth team.

A witty cynic in front of the media area declared that the only unexpected incident on the day was when the referee was laid low accidentally by a belt of the football.

Sligo referee Martin Duffy was almost knocked out by the flying leather in the first half. Irish boxing champions Bernard Dunne, John Duddy or Andy Lee would be unlikely to land head shots with such force.

Cork selector John Corcoran was fulsome in praise of the Louth team after the game. "People were saying last week that we got the easiest draw, but as was demonstrated today this could not be further from the truth.

"Our opponents had a good game-plan. They played with ferocious intent and desire and only because we had the ability to up the tempo in the second half and run at them we would have found ourselves in serious trouble."

Billy Morgan's Cork team seemed to be in certain discomfort during the second quarter when, after they had built up a convincing three-point lead, 0-6 to 0-3, they were caught and passed out by the interval. The persistent Louth challenge was not to succumb easily.

The rallying scores that gave Louth a 0-9 to 0-8 interval lead were provided by Shane Lennon, Brian White, Aaron Hoey and Colin Judge.

Donnacha O'Connor levelled for Cork shortly after the interval, but Lennon replied with yet another lead point from the Leinster men and this time the advantage was developed for a three-point lead.

Cork's greatest moments were to follow and they covered six points without reply from Kevin McMahon, Pierce O'Neill and James Masters.

Cork were thus heading for victory against a side who persisted in trying to turn the game around in a situation where a lesser team would have wilted.

Louth manager Eamonn McEneaney was convinced that the whole exercise and tough opposition from his charges would bring Cork on a lot. "I have no doubt that this very competitive match will stand Cork in good stead in the quarter-finals.

"I always felt we would need a goal or two to win it, but I have no doubt that had we increased our three-point lead in the second half to four we would have succeeded."

Judge, one of the heroes of the Louth side, attracted the loudest applause of all when retiring with a strained groin towards the end.

McMahon was highly convinced by the high level of play in the Louth defence. The heroes of that sector were Alan Page - who had arrived at the venue by helicopter having filled the role of best man at his brother's wedding - Colin Goss and John Neary.

James Masters was Cork's highest scorer, accounting for five of the points. The Cork attack as a whole benefited from the excellent contributions from midfielders Derek Kavanagh and Nicholas Murphy.

Perhaps the best tribute was paid to the Cork defence when the Louth manager decided to introduce fresh players into their attack in the last quarter. Graham Canty at full back, Kieran O'Connor and Michael Shields on the flanks were outstanding. Canty's runs deep into midfield were something of a highlight.

A truly unexpected occurrence concerned the fact that Michael Cussen, Cork's 6ft 7in full forward, failed to raise a flag on this occasion. He was in fact remarkably the only Cork forward not to score, but, in fairness to the big man, his excellent work in distribution was a factor in the victory.

CORK: P O'Shea, M Shields, G Canty, K O'Connor (0-1), J Miskella, G Spillane, A Lynch, D Kavanagh (0-1), N Murphy (0-1), C McCarthy (0-1), P O'Neill (0-1), K McMahon (0-3), J Masters (0-5, three frees), M Cussen, D O'Connor (0-3, frees). Subs: S Gould for McCarthy, D Goulding for McMahon, E Sexton for Shields.

LOUTH: S Reynolds, A Page, C Goss, J Neary, P McGinnity, M Fanning, J O'Brien, P Keenan, M Farrell, B White (0-2, frees), A Hoey (0-4, two frees), M Stanfield (0-1, 45), C Judge (0-2), S Lennon (0-2), R Carroll (0-1). Subs: D Clarke (0-2) for White, D Finnegal for Farrell, D Finnegan for McGinnity, JJ Quigley for Stanfield, J Murray for Judge.

Attendance: 14,350.

Referee: M Duffy (Sligo).