Kilkenny 1-14 Cork 1-11 Even if posterity's distaste for favourites in this fixture wasn't sufficient to derail Kilkenny's back-to-back ambitions, the victory train rattled rather than steamed into the station. But yesterday's Guinness All-Ireland hurling final still provided enough material to confound the consensus forecast, writes Seán Moran.

For a start it was a poor affair. Despite all the talk, it won't be surprising if the football final at the end of the month is a more riveting spectacle.

Then the belief that Kilkenny's generally outstanding team would be comfortably too much for the new Cork side proved as wide of the mark as the Munster challengers' shooting.

So we ended up with a match that Kilkenny were apparently doing their best to leave open for their opponents. If Cork manager Donal O'Grady had been told last week the champions would give what was easily their worst display of the summer and be forced to make do with only one consistently functioning forward, he would have fancied his chances.

But that would have been to underestimate some magnificent displays in Kilkenny's defence and Cork's dreadful finishing - and crucially the booming impact of that one forward, Martin Comerford.

There was excitement in the end as Cork tried to rescue the match, which never drifted more than four points away from them during the final stages and was still within sight when the full-time whistle signalled the Leinster champions' triumph.

Manager Brian Cody and the county at large won't be too concerned by the style in which such a substantial achievement was recorded. As one Kilkenny man put it after the match, "You and I will be dust and it will still just say 2003: Kilkenny".

The lack of fireworks may have contributed to a subdued mood afterwards but that was probably down to the small number of Kilkenny supporters left after the disproportionately large Cork contingent had departed.

The match seemed to promise more majesty in the opening stages when Kilkenny mounted a full press on Cork and looked likely to wring the life out of their opponents and the contest by a very early stage. Cork played their part by registering a litany of wides but by half-time the momentum had tailed off and the champions can't have been happy with a meagre six-point lead.

At the very start Tommy Walsh's fitness test on Friday began to look significant, as the young Tullaroan player roared into action from the wing and popped a point after nine seconds. By the 15th minute he had three, all deftly picked up from the ball breaking around the Cork half-back line, and should have had a fourth in the 23rd minute when he ad-libbed on the rehearsed script by going for goal when a handy point was available.

By the end of the first quarter the champions were leading 0-7 to 0-1. The indicators weren't good for Cork. Walsh was a slightly unexpected scoring threat but mainly on the basis of a quiet semi-final and the fuss that surrounded his availability last week. But other sources were more worrying for the Munster champions.

Henry Shefflin started on the wing and turned Seán Ó hAilpín a couple of times after James McGarry dropped puck-outs in behind the Cork wing back.

At centre forward John Hoyne proved awkward for Ronan Curran even if the centre back speedily enough got on top of his brief. And Martin Comerford led Diarmuid O'Sullivan by the nose, scoring two and being brought down for Shefflin's 14th-minute free.

But instead of kicking on from this promising position Kilkenny managed only to share scores in the second quarter, 0-2 each. Their own warning signs became apparent. In the corners of the attack Eddie Brennan and DJ Carey were making no impact. They weren't getting gilt-edged service but Cork's corner backs, Wayne Sherlock especially, were well on top.

Kilkenny's backs were doing well even if JJ Delaney was under more pressure than expected from Ben O'Connor. James Ryall marked Setanta Ó hAilpín vigorously and didn't give the rookie of the year much room to embellish his c.v.

It was just as well Noel Hickey and Michael Kavanagh were in spellbinding form. Hickey probably shaded Comerford for "man of the match". He kept Joe Deane to one point from play and time after time emerged from the goalmouth thickets with the ball intact and made his clearance.

Yet Cork had created goal chances. In the 24th minute a slip allowed Deane in on goal and his hand-pass to Setanta Ó hAilpín was cut out by McGarry at the cost of a 65.

There were two ways of interpreting it all at half-time. In the Munster final Waterford hadn't made their possession count and Cork knocked them off in the third quarter. But the Munster champions would have been aware Kilkenny had kept their least convincing stuff for the first half of the matches with Tipperary and Wexford before opening their shoulders in the second half.

Other talking points were a slight controversy over the match ball, with referee Pat O'Connor intervening to check what sliotar Cork were using, and an incident going in at half-time when Diarmuid O'Sullivan clashed with Cody at the entrance to the tunnel.

Cork made no changes at half-time. This lack of options on the bench would be set in stark contrast in the closing stages when Cody played his final hand.

But Cork started well and cut the deficit to four after 10 minutes. Setanta Ó hAilpín had also missed a chance after Ryall had slipped in the 40th minute.

Kilkenny reconfigured the attack, running a great wall along the half-forward line of Comerford, Hoyne and Shefflin. But their efforts were sluggish and there was no sign of the drive and penetration that opened up Tipp and Wexford.

Carey's disappointing personal season continued and even if he had the honour of lifting the Liam McCarthy, he would have wished for a commensurate performance. Eddie Brennan, having been Kilkenny's main strike forward up to yesterday, had a shocker, hardly touching the ball and hardly managing a single clean strike.

The champions looked to be paying the price for their worst display of the year when Cork, having closed to within three points, struck at the start of the last quarter. Ryall missed a Cusack puck-out and Setanta Ó hAilpín got inside and finished well to level the match at 1-8 to 0-11.

A minute later Niall McCarthy edged Cork in front for the first and only time. The champions were on the ropes. But McCarthy added two misses - one off the post and one wide - and Comerford made a significant intervention to tie the match with a great shot from the left wing.

Cody then sprang the crucial changes. Ryall had looked a bit rocky after the goal and had also given away a couple of frees and was replaced by Richie Mullally, with Delaney moving back to the corner. Both played out the match in fighting form. Delaney got a grip on Ó hAilpín, while Mullally showed a sharp appetite for loose ball.

Last year's captain Andy Comerford replaced Mullally's brother Paddy at centrefield and provided a solid, bullocking presence in the closing minutes.

Endgame came with Shefflin pushing Kilkenny ahead in the 62nd minute, and three minutes later the hammer fell. Mullally dug out the ball and his clearance was broken by Hoyne for Shefflin, who placed Martin Comerford. His finish beat Cusack. The lead was cut to three but Cork's last gambit - an injury-time free tipped from Deane to the onrushing O'Sullivan - ended up in the safe hands of Peter Barry.

KILKENNY: 1 J McGarry; 2 M Kavanagh, 3 N Hickey, 4 J Ryall; 5 S Dowling, 6 P Barry, 7 JJ Delaney; 8 D Lyng (0-1), 9 P Mullally; 11 H Shefflin (0-6, four frees), 10 J Hoyne, 19 T Walsh (0-3); 13 DJ Carey (capt), 14 M Comerford (1-4), 15 E Brennan. Subs: 20 C Phelan for Walsh (45 mins), 18 R Mullally for P Mullally (61 mins), 21 A Comerford for Ryall (61 mins), 22 J Coogan for Brennan (70 mins).

Referee: P O'Connor (Limerick).

CORK: 1 D Cusack; 2 W Sherlock, 4 D O'Sullivan, 3 P Mulcahy; 5 T Kenny, 6 R Curran, 7 Seán Ó hAilpín; 8 J Gardiner, 9 M O'Connell; 10 B O'Connor (0-1), 11 N McCarthy (0-2), 12 T McCarthy (0-1); 13 Setanta Ó hAilpín (1-0); 14 J Deane (0-5, four frees), 15 A Browne (capt). Subs: 22 J O'Connor (0-1) for O'Connell (38 mins), 21 S McGrath (0-1) for B O'Connor (66 mins).

Yellow cards: Kilkenny: T Walsh (28 mins). Cork: N McCarthy (69 mins).