Cork 0-16 Mayo Mayo 1-10
Cork manufactured a terrific team performance to fend off a flimsy Mayo challenge in the first of today’s Bank of Ireland football quarter-finals at a sun drenched Croke Park.
Mayo have never beaten Cork in the championship and struggled badly against their well drilled opponents. Larry Tompkins’ side, who go on to meet Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final, were rarely out of cruise control but relied on magnificent saves from goalkeeper Kevin O’Dwyer to keep the Mayo challenge a distant one.
Neither side dominated the opening stages but nevertheless dished out a tasty feast of football. Mayo opened the scoring through David Brady while Cork were denied a sure goal after only four minutes when ‘keeper Peter Burke made a superb block to deny Joe Kavanagh from close range.
Cork were dealt an early blow when corner forward Philip Clifford, who had scored a superb point moments earlier, was forced off with a knee injury after 15 minutes. But the Rebels kicked on from that setback and extended their lead through Graham Canty, substitute Colin Crowley and the inspirational Colin Corkery.
Mayo were playing from deep and worked the ball well up field but slipped up in front of the posts with sloppy shooting. Midfielder David Tiernan missed an honest scoring opportunity from play while James Horan and James Gill inexplicably blasted close range frees hopelessly wide.
Mayo manager Pat Holmes reacted by substituting Gill for charismatic forward Kieran McDonald. The shaggy haired star brought an element of composure to the Westener’s attack after Cork had opened up a sneaky five point lead with two scores from Brendan Jer O’Sullivan and another from Corkery.
McDonald and Trevor Mortimor combined to restore some respectability on the half-time score. Cork enjoyed a four point (0-9 to 0-5) lead at the break - which could have been less had O’Dwyer not saved well from Brian Maloney.
The second half was a drab affair with Cork becoming somewhat lethargic with their lead. But Mayo lacked the creativity to expose Cork’s lull and struggled to piece together match altering plays. Cork, on the other hand, recovered and proceeded to pick off scores and extend their advantage.
Colin Corkery scored what some may view as the point of the championship to spark the Cork fans back into voice. The Nemo Rangers man raced down the right flank unchallenged and smacked a curling effort with the outside of his boot straight between the posts to reinstate Cork’s five point lead.
Cork were threatened late in the game but O’Dwyer’s reflexes were up to scratch and he denied Maloney for a second time. McDonald slotted home a penalty deep in injury time to reduce the gap to three points but Cork had already done enough to guarantee a semi-final showdown with Munster rivals Kerry.