GAELIC GAMES/Cork v Down:IT'S PROBABLY as well not to spend too long psycho-analysing tomorrow's GAA All-Ireland football final teams, but it's an issue. Accept that Cork and Down arrive with dramatically different profiles, the former afraid of losing yet again and the latter blithe in the knowledge that they have never lost a final.

The consensus is that the Ulster county thrives on its historical ability to arrive from nowhere, yet of their five All-Irelands just one came without warning, 1991, and two if you add in 1960 (by which stage two successive Ulster titles and a national league had been bagged) without the presence of All-Ireland medallists on the team.

Cork, on the other hand, always struggle to their All-Irelands.

You have to go back 65 years to find a football team from the county winning Sam Maguire without the presence of players who had already lost a final.

The county has a choice of precedents: Galway lost three All-Irelands in four years in 1971, ’73 and ’74, whereas Dublin finally fell over the line in 1995 having been defeated in two finals and one semi-final in the preceding three years.

Cork redeemed themselves in 1989 after losing the two previous finals, but, like Dublin six years later, actually registered some improvement in their game – which so far Conor Counihan’s side hasn’t managed.

But a spotless finals record can create pressure as well as reassurance. Counihan made an uncharacteristic foray into psy-ops during the week by saying he wouldn’t like to be heading back along the M1 having become the first Down team to lose an All-Ireland.

On one level that’s a side-issue for a team that has shown such improvement this season and reached late September by playing with style and verve. Yet, it’s there.

DJ Kane said at the end of 1994 that during that year’s final against Dublin he had, during a break in play, looked up at the Sam Maguire and wondered would he be the first big-day Down captain not to lift it.

The counties met in an under-21 All-Ireland last year and Cork robbed the title in the last minute, a larceny that may motivate Down or else indicate that Cork have a swagger of their own when not down in the trenches with Kerry.

But these things are retrospective. Either side can say after winning that they were a) driven by their defeats or b) inspired by their county’s great record, but neither consideration should have a role once the ball is thrown in and an All-Ireland has to be won on its merits.

Cork have subdued form, but are hard to beat – impossible over the past six years if they’re not playing Kerry. Down have been on an upward curve since learning fast from the Tyrone defeat.

Beating Kerry and Kildare has given them momentum and they are the less anxious county arriving in Croke Park tomorrow.

Nonetheless, the title will be decided on the field, and even at their most sluggish Cork have cumulative strengths that neither an under-strength Kerry nor Kildare possess – athleticism and strength in defence, now bolstered by Eoin Cadogan’s specialist marking, a target-rich environment around the middle and a potentially dangerous full forward line.

We can’t be certain, but the optimal configuration of the team would appear to demand that earlier ball goes into Daniel Goulding. His displays may have been diffident, but with the right service, something he hasn’t always enjoyed this season, he will pose serious questions.

Martin Clarke and Benny Coulter have been the most dazzling aspects of Down’s progress, but Danny Hughes’ conversion from a buzzing, gadfly forward to a workhorse with a thoroughbred’s pace has also been impressive.

If Clarke gets the space he can destroy the opposition. But, apart from the difficulty in getting Bernard Brogan into a smaller paddock, allowing their opponents freedom hasn’t been one of Cork’s besetting sins. The defence has cut its teeth on coping with Cooper, Donaghy and Declan O’Sullivan when Kerry are in full flight.

The major reservation about the favourites and the destination of this year’s All-Ireland is the question mark over Graham Canty’s fitness. For the team to function at its best Cork need their captain in peak condition, not operating at even 90 per cent. The calling card that gets frequently ignored when Cork’s mental credentials are being questioned is last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Tyrone, the second great team of the last decade. Yes, the Ulster champions were without Seán Cavanagh, but Cork played over half of the match a man short and still won comfortably.

Canty’s freedom to roam was part of that performance and it’s impossible to believe even if he does start that he could play as well tomorrow with so little football in the past six weeks and just out of rehab for a hamstring tear.

The question then is – will Cork have to be at their best to win? That’s not certain.

Down’s most admirable displays beyond the Clarke-Coulter axis have been at centrefield where Kalum King has been a real discovery. His strength and aggression in preventing opponents getting any foothold in the sector have been immense contributions to the team, and Peter Fitzpatrick’s aerial ability complemented him perfectly in the semi-final.

But neither the Kerry nor, in the absence of Dermot Earley, Kildare centrefields can be compared to Cork’s given Counihan’s range of options and big men in the middle.

Aidan Walsh has attracted negative reviews for his shooting, but if he concentrates on his strengths as a fielder and non-stop worker he will play his part. Similarly an out-of-sorts Alan O’Connor will get through enough heavy lifting to set the stage for Nicholas Murphy’s inevitable cameo.

If that area is disrupted the problem won’t be so much that Down’s forwards will suffer – although that will happen – but that the spotlight will fall on their defence.

Built around an ingeniously drilled system of almost perfect inter-changeability, which provides cover for both adventurous running and a bit of defensive risk-taking, the backs have acquitted themselves very well so far, but with a formidable barrier in front of them they haven’t been exposed to the sustained running attack of the type Cork and, particularly, Paul Kerrigan can launch.

Although they were worthy winners against Kildare, Down also rode their luck, particularly in the extraordinary finale when they looked less than convincing under intense pressure.

Both teams are capable of winning and Canty’s situation adds to the imponderables. But Cork are in a final with both experience – no one’s been around the block as much: two finals and three semi-finals in the past five years – and as much room for improvement as any finalist, including Kerry last year, in many seasons, as well as an under-rated resilience.

They deserve to be favourites.