Paidi O'Se is wearing his famous Kingdom grin. The crew-cut general of the sidelines is happy. Kerry was were in a game today. The old master knows. "They cut into us in the first 10 minutes. We just kept pulling the lead back," he says.

"I'd have to say that all of last year's hard games stood to us. I was delighted that we showed a lot of maturity - had a lot of leaders on the field and that we weren't depending on the old faithful all of the time."

Any fears that the new qualifying system would dilute the theatre of this ancient Munster rivalry were quickly washed away in the tidal rush of early Cork fervour. Yesterday was, if anything, more ferocious than the raw encounters of the past two summers.

"It didn't take the heat out of it at all. The sign of our success was the unbelievable respect we gave them. They might have thought that we were vulnerable, that we wouldn't have shown them that respect but they were wrong, because we did.

"And there was some good hard skelps both given and taken. It's nice to see that. It's nice to see the old skelping between Kerry and Cork - good, clean full skelping is still there."

Everything that has defined this rivalry was still there. As ever, it hinged on a half-chance. If Mike Hassett had not managed to get his finger-tips to the ball as Fionβn Murray broke through, who knows? The substitute's intervention has already been dipped in that sonorous Kerry folklore.

"Sure I'll be telling people there was 20 Cork men around me anyway," laughs Hassett. "I don't know, I was just following my man and the ball seemed to bobble up in front of him and I was lucky enough to get my hands on it. I suppose if they had scored a goal at that stage we would have been in danger."

But the champions have retained last year's great strength. For all their silkiness, these Kerry players are survivors. They are industrious souls. The only consolation for Cork is that they discovered that they are able to live with the best.

"I have no doubt that this team is good enough to go further now. We'll just have to keep the heads up for this week," shrugged said Ciarβn O'Sullivan before heading off through the tunnel underneath the Park.

Colin Corkery is resting on the bench, the steaming dressing-room clearing fast. The city boys are heading for the local haunts. The Big Fella was at his most majestic yesterday, giving the Leeside faithful a privileged afternoon.

"Ah, didn't get the breaks, the rub of the green," he says ruefully later. "We are in the draw the same as Kerry anyhow. We are disappointed but I think that we proved our critics wrong."

Philip Clifford, Cork's captain to two years ago, is idling by the door, red bag slung across his shoulder.

"You know, by the talk of the lads, I don't think it will be too hard to pick it up. We will meet again on Tuesday and reassess it but really, we are happy to still be in it and see if we can win a couple of games from here."

Larry Tompkins, though, has not yet turned his thoughts to future games. The born winner in the Cork manager finds it impossible not to dwell and labour over the small issues that turn these magnificent days. He is beginning to see a conspiracy developing. These last two seasons have proven treacherous to his side.

"Cruel way to lose. I just felt that we didn't get the break of the ball by decisions that were given out there. "I don't know how many frees Kerry got but it was unbelievable. During a vital stage, the ball went in there, Mike O'Donovan fisted the ball in and he (the referee)gave a free in. Unbelievable.

"Like, you prepare a team hard all year and then you have to put up with that. Michael O'Sullivan was decked on the ground and he allowed play go on while the linesman flagged for two or three minutes. I don't know . . . It's just infuriating . You just wonder like, that it's very unfair to guys that you don't get fair play and this is the second year in a row."