Rebels edge gripping battle

THEY got knocked down but they got up again. Cork reclaimed the Brendan Martin Cup at Croke Park yesterday just over a year after a quarter-final defeat to Tyrone loosened their grip on a trophy that had come to feel like something of a birthright.

This was title number six in just seven years but the joy of victory was tempered by the early departure of captain Amy O’Shea soon after the interval with what appears to be the third cruciate ligament injury of her career.

O’Shea did at least have the not insignificant consolation of accepting the cup from the Hogan Stand, which she ascended with the aid of crutches, and raised it aloft with the added satisfaction that Monaghan had made them earn their success.