Cork ...1-13 Dublin ...0-10: It would be misleading to suggest that a largely young Dublin team merely lacked the legs to deal with a well structured Cork side in soft going at Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday.
Dublin manager Tommy Lyons said: "We never got out of the blocks." His Cork counterpart Larry Tompkins saw Dublin as "a good team, but we were first to the ball".
On the evidence of Cork's combined play out of defence and clearcut dominance in midfield where they had man of the match Nicholas Murphy turning everything he touched into gold, Tompkins can feel assured that he has a team laden with promise for the months ahead.
"I told them to build on last week's win over Galway. We are looking for consistency and hoping to inject confidence into what is a young side," said a pleased Tompkins.
Cork were so adept in finding their men that their goal came surprisingly late, four minutes from time, and it resulted in a defensive blunder. Substitute Fionán Murray provided the tentative lob towards the Dublin posts and goalkeeper Brian Murphy and full back Peadar Andrews got their calls wrong. Diarmuid O'Sullivan was also contesting on the fringe of the Dublin square but the ball rebounded back off a cluster of players and Brendan Jer O'Sullivan was on hand to capitalise.
Overall - despite Kevin O'Dwyer's block on a worthy effort by Ray Cosgrove - the issue had been decided long before O'Sullivan's goal. Containment had long since become a serious priority for Dublin.
Anthony Lynch's ability to subdue the pontential threat of Alan Brogan in the right corner of the Dublin attack was typical of the home team's edge at the back.
The confidence of Cork midfielders Murphy and Micheál O'Sullivan to go for their catches against Dublin's less positive original midfield pairing - which was eventually scrapped - did not bode well for the visitors from an early stage.
"They crushed us in midfield," said Lyons. Ciarán Whelan was eventually taken out of attack and allowed to show his undoubted ability in the middle. When the Raheny man was given a central berth Cork showed signs of vulnerability, however slight,in the area.
"Tired and lethargic" was Lyons' summing-up of his team's performance. "Maybe we did too much work in training last week. It was a big test for us and we failed it."
Lyons admitted he was very disappointed with the outcome but added: "They are young and they tried hard." He singled out wing back Barry Cahill of St Brigid's as his team's man of the match. A choice few would quibble with.
Cork had a point cushion at the interval, 0-7 to 0-6, with the advantage of a strong wind, augmented by periodic driving rain, to come. Dublin morale at this stage and that of their supporters in the 3,000 crowd was rock bottom.
Changes, such as Declan Darcy switching from centre back to the 40 or even Whelan coming out to midfield, were not going to turn the game on its head.
Cork came out for the second half with guns blazing, hungry for the kill. Four long-range and unanswered points went over the Dublin crossbar from the boots of Phillip Clifford (twice), Murray and Diarmuid O'Sullivan who had starred for his county's hurlers against Wexford on the same pitch 24 hours earlier.
Dublin's immediate answer had to be admired though and it said a lot for the determination of Cosgrove. Sixteen minutes of the second half had passed when the Kilmacud Crokes player came in on the end of a fluent move to drive over the bar. It was Dublin's first score of the second half.
Unfortunately for Dublin, they were lacking in similar levels of drive and determination for most of a game that was controlled by the smarter Cork side. "They are fighting for places," said a pleased Tompkins of his promising crew.
CORK: K O'Dwyer; M O'Donovan, C O'Sullivan, A Lynch; E Sexton, R McCarthy, S Levis (0-1); N Murphy, M O'Sullivan; B J O'Sullivan (1-0), C Murphy (0-1), N O'Leary; P Clifford (0-5, one free), D O'Sullivan (0-2), C Crowley (0-1). Subs: P Kissane for Sexton (10 mins), F Murray (0-3, one free) for C Murphy (half-time), N O'Donovan for O'Leary (68 mins), J O'Donoghue for N Murphy (60 mins), P Holland for Clifford (70 mins).
DUBLIN: B Murphy; P Christie, P Andrews, C Goggins; B Cahill, D Darcy, P Currran; D Homan, D Magee; C Whelan (0-4), S Ryan (0-1), P Casey; A Brogan (0-1), J McNally (0-1, from a 45), R Cosgrove (0-2). Subs: J Magee for McNally and S Connell for Christie (both at half-time), K Darcy for D Magee (46 mins), E Bennis for Homan (54 mins), B Cremin (0-1) for Darcy (57 mins).
Referee: J Bannon (Longford).
