Longford will reslish

the Munster final, it added to the perception that Cork were on an irreversible downward curve.

Developments last weekend have provided some badly needed solace for the new Rebel management, however, and it wasn’t primarily because Cork safely negotiated the first hurdle in the qualifiers.

Beating Limerick in Thurles was never going to be regarded as a major turning point in what has been a traumatic season for Peadar Healy and the rest of the Cork backroom set-up so far.

Indeed, it would have been viewed as another blow to the team’s pride and self-belief had they experienced even the slightest difficulty in dispatching the Shannonsiders, who are firmly berthed in the game’s lower echelons.

It was easy to see why, as Limerick were woefully inept, and from the outset it was obvious they lacked any semblance of conviction and purpose, and had accepted that this was a game they were never going to win.

Cork didn’t exactly set the world on fire either, but they got the job done with the minimum of fuss at the same time, and it was understandable that the players found it difficult to remain fully focused throughout, given that there was a definite sense of inevitability about the outcome with the contest very much in its infancy.

The bottom line is that the game provided little concrete evidence to show that Cork have polished up their act since the shock defeat by Tipp, and it was impossible to draw any conclusions regarding how the rest of their season is likely to unfold on the basis of what transpired in what amounted to nothing more than a useful work-out at Semple Stadium.

Yet, Cork’s chances of making further progress received a sizeable boost when the draws were made for the next round of the qualifiers last Monday morning and it was revealed that Longford would be the team barring their path to a place in the last 12.

It couldn’t have worked out any better for Cork, as, with due respect, Longford would have to be rated as the weakest of the four teams to emerge from Round 2B of the qualifiers last Saturday.

Longford did pull off the shock of the summer when ousting last year’s Ulster champions Monaghan on the road in Clones, and they will obviously draw a lot of encouragement from that achievement heading into the showdown with Cork.

At the same time, the fact that Monaghan were playing a third championship game in the space of fourteen days meant they were bound to be a bit vulnerable, and it has to down as a mitigating reason for the Farney County’s demise.