AISAKE'S GOALDEN TOUCH JOGS THE MEMORY; Cork find the natural successor to Setanta.Byline: PAT NOLAN Patrick J. Nolan (born 1950) is an American lawyer, politician, and activist. Nolan began his career as a conservative activist. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California. Offaly 1-12 Cork 3-19 AISAKE O hAilpin discovered the goalscoring touch for Cork to see off Offaly and get the Rebels' All-Ireland ambitions back on track on Saturday evening. The towering full-forward built on the promise shown against Tipperary to net two key goals either side of half-time that sickened Offaly as their challenge wilted in the final quarter with Cork running out easy winners. Indeed, there were shades of Noun 1. shades of - something that reminds you of someone or something; "aren't there shades of 1948 here?" reminder - an experience that causes you to remember something his brother Setanta's outstanding debut season in 2003 about the way he took both goals, with thunderous finishes from tight angles on each occasion. "There is a likeness in the way they play, there's no doubting that," said Cork boss Denis Walsh Denis Walsh (born 22 January, 1965) is a former Irish sportsperson. He was a dual player with Cork who played football and hurling in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Early & private life Denis Walsh was born in Ballynoe, County Cork in 1965. afterwards. "They are the same physique, same style as well, and the way he goes about his business is very similar to Setanta, so I suppose you would have to make that likeness. "I think he played very well in the second half against Tipperary. He was out of hurling for so long and he only joined us four weeks into my reign. . "He really had nothing done; he had only four weeks training done before the Tipperary game, so with all due respect to him it's very hard to get up to the pace of it. "He played well, he got encouragement from that and we focused on the improvement he would make the next day." Despite the final 13-point margin, Cork didn't have it all their own way in O'Connor Park as Offaly stuck with them for long periods. However the second half fadeouts which have been all too frequent with this group of players surfaced once again as they failed to arrest the Cork tide instigated by sub Horgan's 44th minute goal. However, manager Joe Dooley Joe Dooley (born 1964) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Seir Kieran and with the Offaly senior inter-county team from the 1980s until the 2000s. He is the only Offaly player to have won three senior All-Ireland medals. pointed to injury problems he encountered before during the game as the main reason for Offaly's demise. "We were well in it and we felt at half-time we were in a good position," said Dooley. "Shane (Dooley) got an injection to go out for the second half, then losing Joe Brady right after half-time and then David Franks, they are seasoned campaigners. "But fair play to Cork, they upped their game in the second half and they are a very strong panel. "They have a lot of good hurlers, five of that team played in five All-Ireland finals, there are another five or six who have played in four. "They are a very experienced outfit and they just overran o·ver·ran v. Past tense of overrun. us really in the end. HARD "If you lose six or seven of your first choice players in a county like Offaly it's very hard. "It's easy to say 'fadeout', but against a team like Cork it's not that easy to keep it going. "I'm not blowing them up but they are probably the second-best team in Ireland at this stage or very near it." Dooley, who troubled Eoin Cadogan in the first half, scored a well-taken goal in the 19th minute that helped to keep Offaly in touch but it appeared that they were hanging on more than anything else and O hAilpin's first goal in the 32nd minute put Cork four points clear. However, Offaly replied with two points before half-time for a 1-10 to 1-8 deficit but Horgan's goal opened a four-point advantage once again and Cork never looked back. The result was sealed by O hAilpin's second goal 16 minutes from time as he whipped the ball past Brian Mullins Brian Mullins is a former Gaelic football player for Dublin and is the current Director of Sport for University College Dublin. Brian Mullins was the manager of the TG4 'Underdogs' team that played Dublin in its inaugral year. having outfoxed David Kenny and Cork clipped over the points to condemn Offaly to an embarrassing defeat in the end. With the Offaly footballers' defeat in Wexford earlier that day, it rounded off the county's worst Championship season since 1977, though the hurlers still have to negotiate a relegation play-off system to safeguard their top-tier status for 2010. No such worries for Cork though, as they await the winners from next weekend's games in phase three. "We're well aware that from now on whoever you're getting is going to be a very tough encounter," said Walsh. "The way the GAA has done the draw is well orchestrated. It's much more competitive now," he added. MAN OF THE MATCH SHANE O'NEILL Seán Ó Néill (c. 1530 - June 2, 1567; known in English as Shane O'Neill, also known as Shane the Proud) was an Irish chief of the O'Neill clan of Ulster in the mid 16th century. (Cork) - 8/10 THE Cork full-back line endured somedifficult moments in the first half-half but O'Neill was a rock of consistency throughout, particularly in the second half as the Rebels conceded a measly measly said of beef, pork and mutton because infected meat has a speckled appearance thought to resemble measles (1) in humans. See also cysticercus. 0-4 to their opponents. CAPTION(S): BATTLING Offaly''s Shane Dooley and Eoin Cadogan of Cork POWER PLAY Aisake O hAilpin celebrates finding the net for Cork on Saturday night PRESSURE Offaly''s Conor Mahon is tackled by Sean Og O hAilpin of Cork FOCUSED Brendan Murphy and Graham Callanan UP FOR IT Aisake O''hAilpin rises above David Kenny |
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