Cork v Offaly U20 player ratings: Young Rebels deliver at Semple Stadium

Brion Saunderson: Excellent puck-outs, mixing up with long with the pinpoint accurate out wide or to the 65. Two assists for good measure. 8 

Mark Howell: Had his hands full early on with Adam Screeney but after being moved to left wing-back, cut off the supply inside and used possession well. 7

Shane Kingston: Immense, as he has been throughout the run. An early yellow card didn’t limit his aggressive drives out to snap long deliveries. Strong in the air too. 9

Darragh O’Sullivan: Like Howell, he struggled initially when put on Screeney before shutting the Offaly dangerman down. Ideal option to carry out short puck-outs. 8 

James Dwyer: Rock solid again. Strong in the air, he broke up a pile of play in the half-back line. 7 

Ben O’Connor: Showed some flashes of his undoubted brilliance, including a few magnificent puck-out catches. 7 

Eoin Downey: Selected at wing-back, he was swapped to the sweeper role and excelled in that deployment. 8

Micheál Mullins: Outstanding, in the second half especially which opened with his stunning solo goal. Two assists to go with 1-1 but also covered acres of ground and tackled like a demon until the last play. 9

Tadhg O’Connell: Used as a holding midfielder, rather than the hard runner we’d seen up to now. 1-2 in assists, fouled for a free and clipped a lovely point. 7 

William Buckley: So good at drifting into pockets of space to thieve points, finishing with 0-4 and showing well to receive puck-outs from Saunderson. Official TG4 MVP. 9 

Ben Cunningham: Usual quota of classy points from play and frees, top-scoring with 0-10. The marquee forward all season, he didn’t disappoint here. 8 

Diarmuid Healy: Hit 1-1, the goal vital at a juncture when Cork looked in trouble. He also had three assists, was fouled for a free and hoovered up dirty ball. 9 

Ross O’Sullivan: Lively showing at corner-forward. Didn’t hit a point but had two assists and was fouled for a free. Showed well for angled passes. 7 

David Cremin: Didn’t get a huge supply of clean ball and lanced over a fine point and worked very hard. 7 

Jack Leahy: Returning from injury, he was back to his lethal best. 

Grabbed 0-4 from play and had the Offaly backs under pressure throughout. 8 

Subs: 

Eoin O’Leary, Adam O’Sullivan, Colin Walsh, Brian Keating, Ciarán Doolin: All five Cork subs came in when the game was effectively over but added energy, with O'Sullivan nailing a point and Walsh unlucky to hit a wide after a high fetch. 7