McCarthy’s Cork secure important forward momentum

Like their half-time advantage of one point, Cork weren’t in any way flattered by the final result as they dismissed Down with relative ease.

Hundreds of home supporters in the 2,983 Páirc Esler crowd had left before Down substitutes added a couple of additional time points to give the scoreboard some respectability. But little could take away from the manner of the visitors’ victory as they firmly put their opening day defeat to Tipperary behind them.

Cork should have been much more than 0-7 to 0-6 up at the interval and Ronan McCarthy knew it. Largely through Mark Collins and Seán White, they had galloped into a four-point lead by the 14th minute before they conceded a series of makeable frees.