A VERY encouraging effort from Cork in a cracking game where only the width of the post denied Brian Hurley a dramatic goal and a win over Dublin deep into added time.

It might be defeatist to suggest John Cleary's charges should be satisfied with their showing at Páirc Uí Chaoimh when they were beaten but you have to consider where they're coming from. This was a thriller in front of a big crowd against one of the leading contenders for Sam Maguire. Such occasions have been few and far between in the modern era of Cork football.

They lost their marquee midfielder Ian Maguire to a very harsh red card which, while offset by the cheap dismissal of Lee Gannon soon after, put the responsibility on the likes of Colm O'Callaghan, Mattie Taylor, Sean Powter and the majestic Hurley to be leaders when they fell 0-14 to 1-6 behind and looked in real trouble. Even better was the maturity and confidence shown by younger guns like Luke Fahy and Tommy Walsh. 

Walsh and Maurice Shanley denied Con O'Callaghan a certain goal late on; Fahy was still thundering out from his own end line in the 76th minute and Rory Maguire carried possession through the centre repeatedly. Daniel O'Mahony had his hands full with Dean Rock yet tackled ferociously throughout. 

Taylor's superb goal sparked Cork back to life in the last quarter and Dublin needed the nous and class of All-Star subs James McCarthy and Jack McCaffrey to get them over the line. 

And even then Hurley could have snatched the victory at the death.

Conor Corbett was impressive in his cameo but Cork could have done with the injured Cathail O'Mahony as an impact shooter. The Rebels leaned heavily on Hurley and only had four scorers compared to Dublin's nine, though Eoghan McSweeney did chip in with 1-1 before running himself into the ground.   

Brian O'Driscoll was extremely effective as a link-man and while subs Ruairí Deane, Killian O'Hanlon and John O'Rourke were good, only O'Rourke is a natural scorer.

That Cork appeared deflated at the final whistle is a good sign. They were gunning for the two league points, not a moral victory. The pity is they didn't show the same tenacity in coughing up three goals in the opening round loss to Meath. 

They'll have regrets though.

Cork needed to be more clinical in the first half with the wind. None of the seven wides they hit in that period were gimmes but they were scoreable for sure. Four came from the boot of Steven Sherlock (three from play and a free), who is normally deadly in the Páirc. 

Chris Óg Jones' ball-winning caused the Dubs problems and he cleverly assisted McSweeney's goal but he should have converted his opportunity after a slick dummy. The Iveleary attacker also teed up a goal for Shanley, which was unfortunately chalked off for a borderline square ball. 

Hurley has shone regularly in the space of Croke Park and here he'd 0-3 from play by half-time and another effort from a mark. He was securing possession in space and his ability off both feet made him difficult to curb. That he continued to torment the Dubs' defense in the second period is a credit to the Rebel captain.

Despite impressing for those first 36 minutes, the Rebels went in 0-10 to 1-6 in arrears, the visitors' potent full-forward line of O'Callaghan, Rock and Cormac Costello each clipping a point from play apiece to undo Cork's good work. 

It was a similar sceál in the second half, Dublin that bit more composed in front of the posts, adept at retaining possession to engineer opportunities around the D whereas Cork dropped three distance efforts short. 

The big takeaway is that the Meath loss was an outlier. Next up is another home game on Sunday, a must-win against Limerick as part of a double-header with the hurlers, who fact Westmeath.

COLLEGE CONNECTION:

It was great to see the UCC squad in the Páirc with the Sigerson Cup on Sunday. 

UCC's rain-soaked victory last Wednesday was a huge boost because of the nucleus of young Cork footballers at its heart.

Mark Cronin was the official Man of the Match after seeing off UL in extra time, with Éire Óg's Jack Murphy the captain and another Ovens native Dylan Foley the super keeper who made big saves at key moments throughout the campaign.

Still on a World Tour. George, the lads and GAA President Larry McCarthy in Pairc Ui Chaoimh @ElectricIreland @UCCSport pic.twitter.com/ghEqlx0EnG

— UCC GAA (@ucc_gaa) February 19, 2023

When the College captured the 1999 county title they were dubbed UCK because of the Kerry influence but on this occasion, there were Cork 11 starters. Cathail O'Mahony, Daniel O'Mahony, Shanley and Brian Hartnett have featured heavily for the Rebels at senior level previously while Shane Merritt and Fionn Herlihy, impressive in every outing, can push on from here.

Nemo's Briain Murphy and Kilshannig's Bill Curtin contributed hugely to the Skull and Crossbones' 24th Sigerson Cup-winning season and Liam Wall (Kilmurry) and Clon's Dan Peet came on in the final in Waterford.

Having Leeside legend Billy Morgan, another former Cork manager Brian Cuthbert and Dr Paul O'Keeffe, Barrs boss, in the set-up is a major help to the development of these players.