These Dubs will lose an All-Ireland before finally winning one
First off, it was a significant win for Dublin, whose starting XV contained only four of the side which lost last August’s All-Ireland semi-final. Last season, Cork were widely perceived to have the strongest panel of players in the country but that mantle now rests with Dublin.
Goals win games and although Cork looked the better team for long periods, it was the three Dublin goals, two of which came out of nothing, that made the margin of victory as comprehensive as it turned out. Cork had pulled back the deficit to a point after conceding two first-half goals but the third goal, by Barry Cahill, gave Dublin the oxygen to go on and close out the game. Dublin were clinical with their goal chances and the only goal chance they did not take might have resulted in a penalty for a foot block by a Cork defender.
