Rebels stage another rising

IT was difficult not to draw parallels with events from last August in Croke Park yesterday afternoon.

Another wafer-thin success for the Cork footballers over Dublin. Another improbable second-half revival propelling Conor Counihan’s side over the finish line in first place.

And another day that stirred up a well of regrets for Pat Gilroy as he observed his team cough up a winning advantage. The symmetry between last season’s All-Ireland semi-final and this Division 1 football league decider was undeniable.

But on this occasion the end result seemed more remarkable. Consider the state of play when Diarmuid Connolly knocked over the 40th minute point that pushed Dublin into a 2-12 to 0-10 lead. The home fans in the 36,438 crowd were in full voice after their team had produced a blistering start to the second-half. Their marquee man Bernard Brogan had uncorked a fizzing drive to the net immediately after the interval, Kevin McManamon was weaving his way through the Cork rearguard for tidy points and the pairing of Michael Dara MacAuley and Denis Bastick were edging the midfield duel. Eight points up and the living was easy.

Cork’s prospects looked grim. They had contributed much to a vibrant and riveting opening half of play but a spate of injuries before the break looked to have drained their resources.

In a chaotic nine-minute period Fintan Goold limped off with a calf problem, John Miskella’s day was brought to a shuddering halt with a blow to his back and a hamstring injury ended Paul Kerrigan’s participation on the pitch.

By the time Counihan sent his troops into action for the second-half, he was down nine of the 20 men who featured in last August’s All-Ireland semi-final. He had three players — Ken O’Halloran, Denis O’Sullivan and David Goold — who have never sampled senior inter county championship action, while Fiachra Lynch has yet to make his senior championship debut.

Yet Cork overcame the adversity facing them on the scoreboard, made light of their inexperience on the pitch and produced a stunning recovery.

They outscored Dublin 0-11 to 0-2 in the last 32 minutes of action. McManamon’s 56th minute point transpired to be the last time that Dublin forced the umpires at the Hill 16 end to raise a flag. Slowly and methodically Cork chipped away at Dublin’s advantage, displaying composure on the ball and exhibiting no sense of panic in their play.

Fiachra Lynch restored them to a position of equality with a fine point in the 63rd minute and it was Ciaran Sheehan who crowned the comeback with the lead score with only three minutes left. That Sheehan point marked the first time Cork had been in the ascendancy on the scoreboard since the 26th minute.

Sheehan’s point stemmed from the alert play of Patrick Kelly who swept in a free from the right wing and it was appropriate that they combined for the match-winner. Sheehan grew in stature as the second-half progressed, with his probing runs from deep, and he weighed in with four vital points during the game.

Kelly was the creative heartbeat of the team and Counihan’s decision to entrust him with the number 11 shirt this season continues to reap a handsome dividend. The Ballincollig flourishes in the playmaker role with his lines of running, foot-passing and decision-making all first-class.

Cork’s novice players showed up admirably. Jamie O’Sullivan recovered from a sticky opening patch to put manners on Tomás Quinn and made a few courageous blocks in defence. Substitute Denis O’Sullivan put his hand up for championship inclusion with a forceful and energetic display. When Cork needed them, Michael Shields in defence, Pearse O’Neill at midfield and Donncha O’Connor in attack all stepped up to the plate.

If Cork’s resurgence was one key tale written in the game, then the demise of Dublin was another. Their prospects were certainly hindered by the enforced withdrawals of Brian Cullen and Bernard Brogan in the second-half through injury.

The totemic presence of Brogan was sorely missed in attack. He had shown flashes of genius in the first-half with a searing run in the 7th minute placing Quinn for Dublin’s first goal and he registered a sparkling point in the 20th minute to help Dublin to a 1-10 to 0-10 interval lead.

But without Brogan in the second-half, Dublin looked rudderless up front. Their shooting was abysmal in the closing stages as they spurned seven chances to notch points.

Substitute Dean Kelly’s close-range miss late on was the most ghastly. The opportunities were there for them to stop the flow of Cork’s dominance and the fact that they failed to do so will gnaw at Pat Gilroy as he plots the rest of their season.

Conor Counihan admitted afterwards that Cork were not without their faults either. Their defence was cut open a few many times for his liking in the first-half and they needed the steady shooting of Daniel Goulding to keep them in touch in the early stages. But they delivered the goods when they were needed most and this victory will serve as a major fillip entering the summer.

Scorers for Cork: D Goulding (0-2f), C Sheehan 0-4 each; D O’Connor (0-1f), P O’Neill, P Kelly 0-3 each; F Goold, J O’Sullivan, N O’Leary, F Lynch 0-1 each.

Scorers for Dublin: B Brogan 1-3 (0-1f); T Quinn 1-2; K McManamon 0-5; D Connolly 0-2; K Nolan, B Cahill 0-1 each.

Subs for Cork: F Lynch for F Goold (inj) (26), D O’Sullivan for Miskella (inj) (28), D Goold for Kerrigan (inj) (36), N Murphy for A O’Connor (64).

Subs for Dublin: D Daly for Cullen (inj) (47), P Burke for B Brogan (inj) (50), D Kelly for Connolly (54), P Andrews for Daly (63), D Lally for Cahill (72).

Referee: J. McQuillan (Cavan).