Let's finish the job, says Shields

The relief in the Cork dressing room may have been palpable, after a nerveless final spurt got them over the line against 14-man Dublin, but their full-back Michael Shields has quickly shifted the focus to next month's All-Ireland SFC final.

Inspired by talismanic forward Bernard Brogan, the Dubs led for 66 minutes of yesterday's semi-final before the Rebels, showing the sort of composure that comes with six successive last-four appearances, hit back with a match-winning late rally.

Donncha O'Connor played a pivotal role, pinging a penalty in off the post and converting three late frees, with substitutes Colm O'Neill and Derek Kavanagh and the tireless Paddy Kelly also registering points.

At the other end of the pitch, Dublin's top scorer Brogan had run himself into the ground. He bagged an early 1-1 off marker Ray Carey and showed remarkable accuracy under pressure.

However, as the second half wore on, Shields fared better in negating the influence of the Footballer of the Year elect.

Reflecting on a rare red letter day for Cork at Croke Park, Shields said: "If you go back to 2007 we were a young team, Kerry hammered us and they deserved to hammer us, but every year since we've been progressing.

"That was experience there today. We didn't panic, we stuck to our task and we knew we'd get our chance."

A flurry of wides threatened to derail Cork in the opening half, with Dublin's defensive screen frustrating them at times and forcing them into long range shooting.

Near misses and past failings in semi-finals and finals could have come back to haunt Shields and company.

In the end, Dublin's naivety and crumbling discipline let them down, but there can be no denying that Cork stepped up to the mark and won a game that was slipping from their grasp at 1-10 to 0-8.

"We've probably lost games in the past where we've fallen away in the last 10 minutes - when the chance was there to take it, we didn't - but when it came to the crunch today we drove on and finished the job," added Shields.

"At the start of the year, our goal was to get back where we were last year, but now we want to drive on and finish the job."

Winning that elusive All-Ireland will be all the harder as two of this summer's form teams will contest the other final spot.

Shields, the pride of the St. Finbarr's club, readily acknowledges that Cork will have to raise their game significantly if they are to lift the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time since 1990.

"We haven't played well all year and we didn't play to our potential today and I'd say Down and Kildare, having looked at that, will fancy their chances," he surmised.

Asked his opinion of Dublin danger man Bernard Brogan, whose handsome 1-7 haul took his Championship tally to 3-42, Shields was in no doubt as to the quality of the St. Oliver Plunkett's/Eoghan Ruadh ace.

"If he went on to win the Footballer of the Year award, I certainly wouldn't begrudge him.

"(Myself moving to mark him) was just the way it panned out. When he got the goal and the point we tried something different, they put me in there in the second half and I did my best to try and quieten him.

"Dublin play a very good system, with just two inside to give Brogan a lot of space to work with, but he's a great player and you've got to give him credit.

"In the second half he kicked two points off his right and another off his left and that's the sign of a class player."