'In fairness to Donegal, we stole it in the end'

All-Ireland SFC Quarter-Final/Cork v Donegal: Billy Morgan called it best. Maybe a draw would have been the fairest result but with four minutes of injury time on offer - as if a call had come through from the high offices in Croke Park to avoid a replay at all costs - Cork had the poise to seize the day. And with Kerry storming back into their traditional role as All-Ireland champions elect, it seemed only natural Morgan would appear to try to trip them up. Again.

"I must confess we were extremely lucky," Morgan said quietly afterwards. "In fairness to Donegal, we stole it in the end and they deserved a draw. But fair play, they played some very good football. Funny enough, after the Munster final I just had a feeling we would be meeting again and that is how it turned out. It is heating up now.

"We did not play well today and it is important to get results when you are not going well."

That was the truth. And it was not a game that invited brilliance, a stop-start affair littered with mistakes and nervous play. But Cork were by far the more economical team and played with growing purpose. Significantly, they learned to win - and score - on a day when James Masters was well shadowed and benefited from Nicholas Murphy's traditional midfield effort, all hard work and high, clean fielding.

"Well, Nicholas has been immense for the last two years," said Morgan when asked about the Carrigaline man. "He was the same last year. He doesn't get a mention when there is talk about All Stars. But that's another story. Who cares about All Stars?"

He suppressed a laugh when asked if he was happy at half-time.

"Well, I was happy we were only two points down at half-time. They could have been six or seven points to the good at the break. They went three up and then we hit four on the trot and then I thought we might go way from them but, in fairness to them, they hit back and it was a battle again."

For Donegal manager Brian McIver, it was a heartbreaking end to a very encouraging first year in charge: "Our inexperience cost us and we were panicking on the ball.We dominated large spells but we couldn't get the scores. We had loads of possession and runners free inside but there were times we took unbelievable shots.

"One thing about Cork, who are not that experienced a side either, was that they didn't panic in possession. The difference between success and failure is very fine. I thought we had a draw. I felt maybe we deserved it today."

Because of the odd billing of the day, Donegal had the honour of being the last Ulster team left in the championship, if only for an hour or so.

"Bad day for Ulster is right," said the Ardboe man. "A big clash now between Cork and Kerry in the semi-final. We would have loved to have come back but it wasn't to be.

"Kerry have a lot to prove but without doubt Cork are good enough and they have a lot of good young players coming through. Nicholas Murphy gave us trouble all over the field and even though we played James Masters very well, he still made a contribution."