Three reasons Cork beat Donegal: Fans drove Rebels over the line

1. Goals: 

TO have any chance of winning this game against Donegal, the Rebels had to raise green flags. 

They scored three and could have scored more. Cork cut open Donegal at will at times but the key to that was the pressure applied on Donegal when they moved forward.

The first goal was a peach by Matty Taylor, made by Seán Powter. The two other goals came a minute between each other, three and four minutes into the second half as Cork took the game to Donegal. Powter and Maguire were the finishers, calm and composed. Something that had been lacking previously. 

2. Crowd: 

In front of an attendance of 7,251, there was an electric atmosphere in Páirc Uí Rinn and the Cork faithful got right behind the team from straight to finish. When the game was in the melting pot, the Rebel roar was in full flow and it made the difference. What a day to be a Rebel. An outstanding occasion.

3. Experience: 

Donegal had Cork on the ropes heading into the closing stages. They kicked four points on the trot to draw level after 67 minutes. 

The Sam Maguire contenders were favourites to finish the job, but Cork were cute out as they just calmed the game down and kept onto the ball and it helped them refocus. They didn't panic. The two points from Steven Sherlock and Colm O’Callaghan in added on time were magic.