Ó Sé's absence leaves Kerry with a void to fill in midfield but Cork will need a massive overall improvement  if they are to emerge victorious in the replay.

IT REALLY looked like a foregone conclusion when Pat O'Shea replaced Declan O'Sullivan with four minutes of normal time remaining. Declan is such an important player for Kerry that this sent out a clear message, to both teams but Kerry players in particular, that the game was all but over as a contest.

O'Sullivan is not the type of guy you withdraw if there is even a remote chance of defeat. Tactically O'Shea got a lot right yesterday but this was a costly error.

Cork will realise how lucky they were to salvage a draw. It has to be said, they got out of jail. Almost to a man they played badly yet somehow scraped a draw. It leaves them in an ideal position heading into the replay.

Conor Counihan is still learning his trade but this will provide some valuable lessons. He can take encouragement from the fact his team played so badly yet their character and sheer force of will got them back into it.

Again, when it comes to someone taking responsibility, it was no surprise to see Graham Canty thundering into the area to earn the late penalty in similar fashion to his late contribution that saw off Limerick.

Cork's forwards never functioned as a unit. They seemed bereft of ideas and painfully overused the high ball into Michael Cussen, who is not the best at fielding over his head for such a big man. They should have brought corner forwards John Hayes and Daniel Goulding into it more often.

But this was the best display from the Kerry full-back line this year. Tommy Griffin did his job simply, that is he broke ball in front of Cussen allowing Marc Ó Sé and Tom O'Sullivan to gather and initiate attacks.

Another obvious Cork flaw was they seemed more interested in winning the physical confrontations when they would have been better served by settling down and playing some football.

Kerry completely took over after Darragh Ó Sé's dismissal with Cork looking desperately unsettled and they seemed set for a collapse on a par with last year's All-Ireland final. That they didn't succumb is a credit to them as men. They were unable to get any decent possession as Kerry's holding game saw it sprayed into open space, in front of the forwards. That so many, normally so reliable, Kerry forwards had an off day in the shooting stakes saved Cork.

O'Shea can be criticised for withdrawing Declan O'Sullivan but he must equally be lauded for other decisions. Séamus Scanlon had his best game of the campaign, dropping deep and in front of Cussen. He was joined by Kieran Donaghy, who complemented him as the second-half wore on.

Donaghy moving into midfield when Darragh Ó Sé departed was the right move but should not be a permanent consideration for the replay. Kerry are most effective when Donaghy and Colm Cooper are working off each other near to goal.

It yielded a serious amount of scores in the first-half, including the goal. Still, the Cork full-back line held up well considering the intense pressure, especially the early bombardment.

Kerry have other options to replace Darragh. Big Micheál Quirke regularly marks him in training but whether he has the mobility for Croke Park remains to be seen.

Tommy Griffin should stay at full back so the next choice would be Ogie Moran's son, David. Tommy Walsh could also be moved out there but he continues to grow into an important forward.

The Ó Sé sending off needs to be examined more closely as initial replays didn't provide a clear picture but it's apparent Pearse O'Neill has the ability to rub the Kerryman up the wrong way. That's twice now he has been red-carded for clashing with O'Neill.

Both managers will be aware discipline and control now become critical to determining the replay.

I was disappointed to see the behaviour of Aidan O'Mahony in getting Donncha O'Connor sent off. Kerry players don't normally do that. They don't go out to intentionally get other players sent off. It is not a manly thing to do.

The impact of Eoin Brosnan and Darren O'Sullivan off the bench was again apparent but Brosnan could have fisted that goal chance over the bar as it would've left Cork seven points adrift.

Cork goalkeeper Alan Quirke atoned for last year's All-Ireland final, however, with a decent save and another earlier stop from Tommy Walsh.

I still see this result as daylight robbery. Kerry were superior in every department, be it skills, decision-making, vision or clever use of the ball. They should win the replay but Cork should also improve.

Masters can come in from the start to provide that instinctive footballer's approach, while Kevin McMahon is a good option for a struggling half-forward line. That Canty and Nicholas Murphy have some valuable game time under their belts is another positive.

Winning an All-Ireland is about addressing and correcting problems as a team progresses. Kerry have a few issues at midfield, while Cork have weaknesses in most departments. It should be an interesting week on the training field.