Job done, but much to do

MISSION accomplished for Cork, as they eased past Antrim in yesterday’s All-Ireland SHC quarter-final, but the Leesiders didn’t have it all their own way for long periods in Croke Park.

The northerners kept in touch until Niall McCarthy’s goal late in the first half and maintained their disciplined, determined display even when Cork began to edge away from them following that crucial score.

For all that, the game was never going to be mistaken for the full-blooded encounter which followed yesterday afternoon in headquarters: Cork were able to find scores with relative ease bringing the ball through the heart of the Antrim defence. Time and again, they opted for points from middle distance; if the game had been closer there’s no doubt Paudie O’Sullivan and Tom Kenny, for instance, would have gone bald-headed for goal on a couple of occasions instead of popping cheap points over the bar.