Keeping their heads in the game

I HAD an ideal view of proceedings from the Hogan Stand at Croke Park yesterday and amid all the chaos and tension of the last 15 minutes, I’d have to commend the collective calm on the Cork sideline.

There aren’t many upsides to losing repeatedly to Kerry at Croke Park over the years, but it was clear to a blind man in the closing stages yesterday which side had the experience of these pressure-cooker situations – and which one hadn’t.

There’s little point patronising Pat Gilroy by telling him how far Dublin have come, but it remains a fact.