Surgery gives Cork new life

AFTER a weekend when the championship landscape was changed irrevocably by seismic shocks, this All-Ireland SFC quarter-final produced the expected result.

When Cormac Reilly brought proceedings to a halt, Cork had a cushion of nine points and a semi-final joust with Dublin to look forward to. Roscommon departed as gallant losers after a season still termed a success after they swept to a surprise Connacht title.

But while the result was widely forecast, the manner in which it was achieved was not. Cork struggled to stamp their authority on this game. Their first-half performance was strewn with errors and the initial stages of the second half unfolded in an anxious fashion.