Hurling Analyst: ULTIMATELY, WHEN the real pressure came, Cork were unable to stay with Galway. I can't see how the backbone of this team who won the 1999 All-Ireland and reached their peak with the 2004 and 2005 All-Irelands can get back to the intensity required to add another.

It looks like the end of the road for many of them and what is coming behind doesn’t inspire much confidence either. A difficult rebuilding period is required in Cork.

Pa Cronin did okay, before being replaced, but newer players such as Patrick Horgan failed to deliver. Aisake Ó hAilpín looks like someone who needs a couple more of years hurling to regain his touch after living in Australia. I expect him to become a fixture in the attack over the coming seasons and he did win a few valuable frees to at least justify his selection at full forward.

Joe Deane and Diarmuid O’Sullivan calling it a day this year is just the start of the exodus.

Shane O’Neill is a very good corner back and proved as much, while Eoin Cadogan showed well at full back. They don’t always have this problem, but on Saturday night they mirrored Tipperary’s half-forward line who can’t win enough clean ball on their own.

The Galway half-back line of Damien Joyce, John Lee and Eoin Lynch won that battle hands down, with Cronin and Timmy McCarthy eventual hauled off.

Despite signs of an aging Cork, Galway still had to go out and beat former champions that they have historically struggled against. They were hungrier and more energetic, making crucial inroads once they sorted their tactical approach at the start of the second half.

Conditions didn’t help matters, but the standard of hurling was poor in the first half. It became a battle of free-takers with Joe Canning striking some marvellously-angled points. Ben O’Connor ensured Cork held in there with some solid striking of his own.

I would seriously question the positioning of Canning at corner forward and then as a third midfielder before the break. His best work always comes marking the full back and it made no sense to have him away from goal, especially with the wind on their backs.

Galway’s approach in the opening 35 minutes was tactically wrong. They didn’t seem to have learned the lessons from the Clare match of giving good, early ball into the full-forward line. Cyril Donnellan and Damien Joyce took on and missed extravagant long-range shots instead of letting ball go inside. I presume the management got through to them at half-time, because Andy Smith’s point was an immediate adoption of a more thoughtful approach. The use of the shorter ball meant a complete turnaround, especially when “Chunky” Hayes came in.

Joe Gantley’s goal was the winning of the game and confirmation of Galway’s superiority. Again, it came from a short ball from Hayes when he could have shot for a point. His clever delivery to Canning was well saved by Donal Óg Cusack, but Gantley was on hand to finish off the rebound.

There were others who stood out, such as Damien Hayes and some quality distribution from Ger Farragher. Aonghus Callanan and Andy Smith were others to improve from the Clare match.

The form of Niall Healy is the only obvious concern. In general, Galway have attained a level of consistency that we haven’t seen from them for years. They are hitting and working really hard up front. For all Donellan’s faults in possession, he puts serious pressure, along with Smith, on opposing defenders attempts to alleviate pressure. It was this kind of desire that broke Cork. They looked a team on their last legs and were unable dig any deeper once Niall McCarthy’s goal chance went a begging.

They conceded cheap, needless and, above all, highly costly frees that Canning was always going to punish. I was surprised to see John Gardiner particularly guilty of such indiscretions.

It is shaping into a fine campaign for Galway with a decent performance against Kilkenny followed up by beating Clare in Ennis and Cork in Thurles. Uncharted territory for so many of them. They will welcome the challenge of Waterford next.

In the other game on Saturday, Laois put up a great display against Limerick, whose scoring ratios are not up to scratch. Fourteen or 15 points from play per game gives Dublin a real chance in a fascinating All-Ireland quarter-final.