Tony Leen: Derry keep Cork at arm's length and Kerry guessing

Wherever else Cork came up shy in a bid to elbow their way back into the final four, it wasn’t in the production of presentable scoring opportunities.

DUMMY HOP: Derry's Conor Doherty goes past Ruairi Deane to score his goal

IT was, by some distance, the mundane All-Ireland quarter-final. Derry as competent as needs must, Cork plainly missing the spark that might detonate the Ulster champions’ super-structure.

It won’t cause Ciaran Meenagh any distress that Derry remain the most awkward semi-finalist to get a fix on. Where Kerry and Dublin brought the good stuff to Croke Park and Monaghan survived like only they can, the Oak Leafers advanced to the last four with a whiff of stealth and a hint there’s something still there to pull from the bottom of the deck.