"We didn't play well, nowhere near our full potential" was the succinct verdict of Mayo manager Pat Holmes who, although his three-year contract has now expired was non-committal as to his future in Mayo football.

"We lost the game because of that, not playing at our best. The goal came too late; maybe had it came a bit earlier it might have given us a little impetus. We are very disappointed with the way we performed. You have to give credit to Cork. They played very well. The best team won on the day and we have no qualms about that."

Holmes added: "We never got into our stride like we have done in other games. We kicked too many wides, silly wides. Maybe had one of those shots that the Cork goalkeeper saved gone in, it may have enabled us to get a bit of momentum going and allowed us to have a right cut at them.

"This was my final year in charge of Mayo and I was hoping that we would have had a serious run. We have good under-21 players coming through and it was disappointing for them to see the way we performed. I believe the future of Mayo football is bright," concluded Holmes.

"The end result was very disappointing," said Mayo full back David Heaney. "We don't seem to fulfil our potential in Croke Park. Our heads dropped a bit early. We couldn't get it going." Of his immediate opponent (Colin Corkery), Heaney said: "He has a remarkable turn of speed - the first five yards he's gone"

"I don't know what happened out there," said Mayo midfielder David Tiernan. "It was very warm but that's no excuse. Very disappointing, we never started. We were ready for it and up for it but the better team won on to day."

Cork manager Larry Tompkins did his best to get in a few words in his rush to the train. "We came to win and did the business but I am not too happy with shooting so many wides. This is something we will be working on. It was hard work in the heat but the players responded well," he said.