Corkery central to Cork's chances of progress

Two teams still searching for consistency this summer, and also searching for the success that has eluded them in recent seasons.

Cork may be able boast the perfect championship record over Mayo but neither side come to Croke Park this afternoon exactly loaded with confidence.

Fate almost brought the teams together in the fourth-round qualifier because of Cork's controversial use of substitutes in the Munster final. But common sense prevailed - even if the rulebook didn't - and it was Mayo who were left to bypass Tipperary just over a week ago.

Both teams endured their share of anxious moments in getting this far in the championship. Cork took full advantage of a disorientated Kerry in the Munster semi-final, but were then shaken to the foundations by Tipperary in the final. Clearly rattled by Tipperary's enthusiasm, they relied heavily on the boot of Colin Corkery to see them through to another day.

Yet Cork were practically faultless in the replay. The defence tightened up significantly, especially Anthony Lynch, and the new midfield pairing of Nicholas Murphy and Graham Canty also back-boned a vastly improved team performance. That was the sort of victory that manager Larry Tompkins felt his team had always been capable of producing, yet the question remains if they can reproduce it here.

Still they do seem to be learning from each passing game. Corkery is clearly on top of his form at the moment - more than any forward in the country - but Croke Park hasn't always been kind to him, and the wider, faster surface may not be to his suiting either.

Fionan Murray needs another striking game, but with Joe Kavanagh and Philip Clifford also settled back into the attack, the options do seem to be growing. Corkery's role, however, remains central and a bad day for him could spell disaster.

What Cork also have to their advantage is a couple of fearless young players in Brendan Jer O'Sullivan and Seán Levis, whose work-rate is rarely questioned.

When Cork played their own sort of game against Tipperary they were tidy, productive and as clinical as most teams around and another performance like that this afternoon is likely to see them progress.

Mayo have had an even greater problem with consistency this summer. It is now widely accepted that they had the beating of Galway in Connacht but just couldn't go that extra yard.

There were a lot of mixed performances in the subsequent games against Roscommon, Limerick and Tipperary, and that's reflected in manager Pat Holmes' starting line-up for this afternoon.

Only a handful of players hold their same positions as the Galway game - goalkeeper Peter Burke, corner back Gary Ruane, wing back Aidan Higgins, midfielder David Tiernan, and full forward Brian Maloney. Many were dropped and others brought back but all that switching about can't be good for team morale.

David Heaney looks well settled now at full back but he has the mammoth task of limiting Corkery's impact on the scoreboard. James Horan and Stephen Carolan are both scoring well and with the introduction of Kieran McDonald a formality Mayo won't be short of scoring power. McDonald's flair for the big time is an added bonus.

To their credit Mayo have gathered some impressive scoring totals. They are still a little inclined to over-estimate their own abilities yet the time and setting to deliver one of the finer displays couldn't be better. A taut and high-scoring game then, but Cork to end it with their noses in front.

CORK: K O'Dwyer; S Levis, C O'Sullivan, A Lynch; E Sexton, R McCarthy, M Cronin; N Murphy, G Canty; BJ O'Sullivan, J Kavanagh, M McCarthy; P Clifford, C Corkery, F Murray.

MAYO: P Burke; K Mortimer, D Heaney, G Ruane; N Connelly, J Nallen, A Higgins; D Tiernan, D Brady; C McManaman, T Mortimer, J Gill; S Carolan, B Maloney, J Horan.