Cork had to do it the hard way to get to league final in 2011 

Twelve years ago this week, Cork defeated Armagh 2-15 to 1-12 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and booked their place in the Division 1 decider on the last day of the round-robin stage of the competition.

The Rebels were defending champions and looking to win back-to-back titles for the first time in their history. This was all being done with Sam Maguire in the trophy cabinet and the U21s had just demolished Kerry 2-24 to 0-9 in the Munster final at Páirc Uí Rinn. 

Coláiste Chríost Rí were also just after bringing the Corn Uí Mhuirí back to Leeside for the first time since 2005 and the mood around Gaelic football in Cork was euphoric.

It wasn’t a guarantee that Conor Counihan and his players would be playing Dublin in the league final, as Kerry and Down were right behind them, meaning the Rebels had to win against an Armagh team desperate to stay in the top tier of the football league. There was no shortage of subplots or drama on the afternoon of April 10, 2011 and Counihan made sure to heighten the sense of occasion in his pre-match interview.

“It is a championship game in many ways in the sense that the points are important to both teams for different reasons,” he said.

The league has been very competitive with the expectation being Dublin who have clearly been ahead of the rest. 

"Everyone else is nip and tuck and it is down to the wire today,” he said later on in the interview with TG4.

Cork had lost just two games all season in the league, they were also beaten by Kerry in the McGrath Cup semi-finals but that felt like ancient history by the start of April. It was all about getting a win and progressing to the league final, which also offered an opportunity to take revenge on Dublin after they beat Cork in the second round at Croke Park.

What slightly complicated the day was the fact that Kerry were playing Down at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, meaning there was a strong chance that one team could go level on points with Cork at the end of the day.

DEPTH

One thing that Cork had going for them above all else was the amount of firepower on the panel. Daniel Goulding was largely responsible for this and he finished off the group stages as top scorer with 0-48 put over in eight games.

Goulding ran the show in the first half by kicking six points, and this helped the Rebels take an early one-point lead. The second half opened up with Donncha O'Connor getting fouled by Armagh goalkeeper Paul Hearty and referee Maurice Condon pointed to the penalty spot. He put the ball straight down the middle and made it 1-7 to 0-7.

Armagh hit back almost straight away with Aaron Kernan raising a green flag. Then Eoin Cadogan was given a red card for an off-the-ball incident with Stephen McDonnell. What once looked like a comfortable lead was suddenly in jeopardy, especially with Cork to 14 players. 

They responded by pushing high into the Armagh half and a shot from Paddy Kelly came off the post. The ball went to O’Connor and he fired it in.

Cork ended up winning by six points, a margin that failed to reflect the even nature of the game. It didn’t matter at the full-time whistle as the Rebels were into the National Football League final and Armagh ended up staying in Division 1 with Galway and Monaghan relegated.

Even though O’Connor got the two goals, Goulding finished as top scorer with 0-7 put over against Armagh. The feeling around the Cork camp was raw euphoria and this came across in the post-match interviews. Nobody felt this more than O’Connor, who finished the game having scored 2-3.

“We’re through to another final and the feeling at the start was that we had to get a win no matter how we got it,” he told the Irish Examiner. “The second half was tough but we got through it in the end are we have to be happy with that.” 

Cork faced Dublin in the league final on April 24 and they won 0-21 to 2-14 at Croke Park. That secured successive National Football League titles, and it made sure that the feeling of goodwill around football on Leeside would continue into championship. 

Unfortunately, there was no retention of Sam Maguire as Kerry beat Cork in the Munster final in Killarney but injuries to key players like Ciarán Sheehan, Colm O'Neill and Daniel Goulding undermined their progress and they were knocked out by Mayo.

While it was a disappointing end to the year, the footballers still had one trophy to hold onto through the winter.