GIVEN that we predicted a Cork victory over Kildare by four and they surpassed those expectations with a nine-point winning margin– while kicking 1-31 – you’d think Cork football followers like myself would have headed home with more than a spring in our steps.

Yet, there was nothing like the satisfaction that everyone felt after the rousing win over Meath at the same venue just three weeks earlier.

Were we being too harsh? Perhaps. Cork had just secured their fifth win out of six games to go back to the top of Division 2 by virtue of their head-to-head record against the Royals. But the sense of mild disappointment came from another poor second-half showing in a game where Cork flew out of the traps in an outstanding first half.

Kildare in the first half were as hapless as we have ever seen in the flesh at inter-county level. Cork kicked two-pointers for fun under no pressure from a visiting defence that was in total disarray.

Steven Sherlock, Chris Óg Jones, Mark Cronin, Dara Sheedy and a rampaging Luke Fahy all kicked scores from beyond the arc. Jones added a goal to give Cork a 16-point advantage at half time, 1-22 to 1-6. A huge goal chance was spurned earlier also when the returning Brian O’Driscoll overcooked an easy pass with three Cork players inside the non-existent Kildare rearguard. Cork extended the lead to 19 points early in the second half before the performance levels fell off a cliff.

Just as they did earlier in the campaign against Offaly, Cork allowed inferior opponents to claw their way back into a contest they had no right to make any sort of fight of.

Worryingly, as in previous contests, Cork’s difficulties stemmed from pressure on the Cork kick-out. Ian Maguire and Colm O’Callaghan lost control of the midfield battle and Kildare fed on the breaks from a slumbering Cork outfit. Kildare pulled within ten points when Patrick Doyle tried to make amends for an errant kick-out by intercepting a Kildare attack. When he was beaten to the ball, he had no choice but to pull the Kildare attacker down and referee Liam Devenney awarded a penalty and a black card.

Kildare were annoyed because a goal looked certain if he allowed the play to develop, but they still had the chance to hit Cork with a double whammy from the penalty spot. Substitute goalkeeper Micheál Aodh Martin was equal to Alex Beirne’s effort and Cork were let off the hook. Seven points with a man short is no lead in modern football. Cork didn’t learn their lesson, though, and Martin had to make three more saves from presentable Kildare goal opportunities.

We will get to the positives presently, and there were plenty, however we have to point out that Cork’s habit of under performing in the second halves of games has cost them dearly in the scoring difference stakes. Cork lost the second half to Derry by 16 points and allowed Offaly and Kildare to close the margin by nine and ten points respectively. Should promotion come down to that particular deciding mechanism, those second-half slip-ups could prove very costly.

On the bright side for Cork, they can remove that scenario from the equation by attaining a result away to Tyrone on Sunday. A single point will do to secure promotion, and a win will guarantee top spot even if Meath join us on 12 points.

Meath had an impressive win over Tyrone last weekend and will surely take care of Offaly in Tullamore on Sunday to claim promotion and a place in the final. We suggested last week that a Louth win over Derry would throw the cat amongst the pigeons in the division – the Wee County duly obliged. Again, a penalty save by Niall McDonnell from Shane McGuigan extinguished the Derry comeback in this one.

Louth and Derry on eight points now lie behind Cork and Meath in the promotion hunt, with only relegated Offaly left with nothing to play for but pride in the final round. Tyrone lie on five points and are not yet fully assured of staying in the division, with Cavan on four points and Kildare on three right behind them. It would take an unlikely set of events to drag Cork’s opponents into the mire, though, with Cavan needing to win away to Derry and Kildare requiring a home win against in-form Louth in addition to a 29-point swing in scoring difference.

What is more likely is that Derry will return to form and see off their Ulster neighbours in Celtic Park, while Louth are fancied to send their Leinster rivals Kildare down to Division 3 with what would be their fourth win in a row. With relegation decided, Louth and Derry would sit on ten points each. Louth are not in contention, in reality, given they have a vastly inferior scoring difference to Derry and would lose out on head-to-head with Cork even if Cavan did them a favour, so it will be the Oak Leaf men looking anxiously to Omagh assuming they do their bit against Cavan.

The overall picture may look quite complicated, but the scenario is quite simple for Cork: a result is required in Omagh to ensure we are not looking anywhere else for favours. The Cork team that showed up in the first half last week and earlier in the campaign against Louth and Meath, in particular, is more than capable of going to Tyrone and beating a home side that is out of form and potentially missing Darragh Canavan. The Cork forwards sparkled in the first half last Saturday, with Jones and Sherlock especially lethal in combining for 1-19 between them.

There was a time when two or three points from play represented a decent day’s work for an inside forward, however in the era of three up and two-pointers, more is expected. Jones and Sherlock duly delivered, with Mark Cronin remaining consistent and Dara Sheedy continuing to make a name for himself. Sean McDonnell and Paul Walsh are less prolific, but offer size and work-rate in the half-forward line. Brian Hurley made a return for Castlehaven in the league last weekend and will be expected to feature in Omagh also.

Wearing my critical cap again, the management could be accused of being quite conservative with their substitutions against Kildare and through the league. Cork sprang Ruairi Deane, Sean Walsh, Rory Maguire and Matty Taylor last weekend as well as Micheál Aodh Martin, and they are all players that we know all about at this point.

Understandably, Cork felt they needed some impetus around the middle as Kildare took over, however none of the above managed to reverse the momentum significantly in Cork’s favour. There was no sign of Conor Corbett, David Buckley or Cathail O’Mahony after all featured in the away loss in Derry. It looks very much like Cork have a favoured 20 or 21 and opportunities have been limited for others to break in.

It is churlish to dwell on being critical too much, as Cork head into the final round with promotion and a place in the Division 2 final in Croke Park in their own hands. In a league that has been full of huge games, it all comes down to this one: 1.15pm in Omagh on Sunday, live on TG4’s Youtube channel. In addition to Hurley and O’Driscoll, Sean Brady and Tommy Walsh returned against Kildare, so Cork have near enough a full deck to choose from.

Management have a decision to make in goal again after Doyle’s second-half struggles and his replacement’s heroics, but no matter who they decide to go with, they will need Maguire and O’Callaghan to get back to their best around the middle. If that duo can produce what they are capable of, and for a full 70 minutes or near enough this time, then Cork have the firepower to prevail and secure a long-awaited return to Division 1.

I’m backing them to do the business, and we will be previewing a return contest with Meath in the final in next week’s edition. Up the Rebels.