Easy for Rebels as Donegal roasted

IT’S stating the obvious Cork would have preferred not to have had their anticipated place in the All-Ireland football semi-final wrapped up at such an early stage in Croke Park yesterday.

But that was the inevitable outcome from a game in which they were so dominant in every single aspect – lacking only the consistency of a 70-minute display which manager Conor Counihan alluded to afterwards. Donegal, to be brutally honest, fell flat on their faces.

The result, as good as guaranteed even before Cork turned over at half-time leading 0-13 to 0-3, was all the more surprising in the context of them being inactive for over a month and Donegal having put a string of good performances together in the qualifier series, culminating in an impressive win over Galway the previous weekend.