TWO out of three ain’t bad – brilliant victories for the Cork footballers and the Irish rugby team, but the less said about Spurs the better. I can’t have it all.

Expectations heading to Páirc Uí Rinn on Sunday afternoon were high, and Cork duly obliged with a 1-23 to 1-21 win that kept the Rebels at the summit of Division 2 and right in the promotion conversation.

This was a belter of a game, and for Cork to see out the victory with 14 men for the closing 14 minutes added another layer of satisfaction to an enjoyable day at the office. The celebrations at the final whistle were more akin to a championship win. While we must caution against getting too excited about two points from a league game, the players, management and supporters were more than entitled to enjoy the moment.

We flagged this one up as meaning a little bit more than your typical, garden variety league game, and the manner in which the game panned out only added to the significance. I may be accused of hyperbole here, but this could well have been the Cork senior footballers most important win since the Munster success of 2012. Too strong? Well, bear with me for a minute.

Cork’s biggest wins in recent times were championship successes in the same venue over Donegal and another in the bigger venue down the hill against Kerry. Unfortunately, both those successes were soured by what happened in the games just after. Having pipped Kerry with Mark Keane’s last-minute goal in 2020, Cork then failed to back it up in the Munster final against Tipperary, deservedly beaten on the day. When Cork beat Jim McGuinness’ charges on a sunny day two seasons ago, they went on to lose to Tyrone before departing the championship with a whimper against Louth.

Remember also, those games were played under football rules that now feel like a relic from a bygone era. Think of Matty Taylor’s goal in the Donegal game – Cork turn Donegal over in their own half of the field and Taylor runs 80 yards untouched to rifle the ball to the net, with not a single outfield player in Donegal’s half when Taylor took possession. That same scenario can literally never happen again in today’s adventurous new world. We are talking about two very different sports.

Thank the Lord, the day of 15 players behind the ball in their own half is dead and I’m inclined to disregard previous results achieved using this MO. Cork showed in this contest that they have the capability to take on and beat most of the teams in the country playing vibrant attacking football.

To put this win further into context, an article came up on my phone last week ranking the Gaelic football teams in the country ahead of the weekend. In their wisdom, the pundits placed Meath at No. 6 in the country with Cork, top of the league ahead of them, a lowly 13th. Again, I am mindful that it is only February and a place in the top two has not yet been secured, even if Tyrone’s loss to Louth was another welcome result. Nonetheless, Cork have put themselves within touching distance of a long overdue return to Division 1 football.

It looks now to be a three-horse race between Cork, Meath and Derry, and Cork will make the long trip up to the Oak Leaf county this Sunday with renewed confidence in their veins. Doing so without captain Ian Maguire is disappointing, but last Sunday was a day when new leaders stepped to the plate after Maguire’s dismissal and in the absence of last year’s captain Brian Hurley. Those two men have been Cork’s go-to players for a decade and more now and will continue to be key individuals as the season goes on, but they look to have more support around them now than at any time in their long-serving careers with Cork.

Looking back at Sunday before we look ahead to Derry, virtually every Cork player deserves their flowers for an outstanding team performance. Micheál Aodh Martin was generally solid despite a few iffy kick-outs late in the game when Meath were applying major pressure. Cork’s full-back line all did well after shaky starts. Promisingly, Sean Meehan settled into the game to have his best outing in quite a while for Cork, with one block on a goal-bound effort from tricky substitute Aaron Lynch a particular highlight. Daniel O’Mahony did likewise on a late Meath shot for a point and generally limited the dangerous Jordie Morris in general play. Maurice Shanley held his end up well also.

Luke Fahy was possibly the pick of the half-back line even if Tommy Walsh ran him close. It’s great to see him return to form and fitness after a difficult 2025. Fahy’s last-minute block on Adam O’Neill when a two-point effort dropped short saved the game and the points for Cork. Matty Taylor had a good second half, looking more like the player from two years ago. Maguire and Colm O’Callaghan won midfield hands down and are a match for most any midfield pairings around at the moment.

Maguire’s suspension for an off-the-ball incident that most of us in the opposite stand didn’t see is about the only cloud over a hugely positive day. Paul Walsh worked hard yet again to provide extra support to the midfield duo in the battle against Meath’s big men. Cork more than held their own in the ground and aerial battles and generally had the legs on Meath around the pitch then once they got their hands on enough possession.

Chris Óg Jones celebrates scoring his goal in Cork's crunch Division 2 league win against Meath at Páirc Uí Rinn. (Photo: David Ribeiro)

Up front, Chris Óg Jones, Mark Cronin and Dara Sheedy were the picks of the bunch. Those three were a thorn in Meath’s defence all through and accounted for 1-13 between them, 1-11 from play. Sean McDonnell had a fine second half after a sluggish opening period to pilfer three points, while Steven Sherlock’s total was ‘only’ four points, a single two-pointer from play. That is another positive for John Cleary because opponents now don’t know who to man-mark, and it will be Sherlock or Brian Hurley who do the scoring another time. Sheedy is extremely exciting and has settled into senior inter-county better than anyone could have expected, while all the time Cathail O’Mahony and Conor Corbett are waiting in the wings to get their chance.

Sean Walsh was probably the best from the Cork bench, who all entered the game around the time of Maguire’s red card and when Meath got on top for their best spell. One kick-out claim from a long kick-out saw him offload to Ruairi Deane to place Jones for a goal chance that flew over the bar. The point was valuable, though, when Meath were pressing so hard.

Next, Cork face Derry in Celtic Park this weekend in another huge contest. The northerners did what Cork should have done the week before and put the knife into Offaly when they had the chance. A 23-point margin of victory means their scoring difference is worth an extra half-point if multiple teams finish level at the end of the campaign, which is a possibility. Derry did so without Conor Glass as well, who will return to boost Derry on Sunday. Maguire’s suspension deprives us of seeing himself and O’Callaghan against Glass and Brendan Rogers which would have tested my theory about them being a match for the best around very nicely.

On form, this looks like a promotion decider between the two best teams in the division. Cork may have needed late defensive heroics to see off Meath, but they were the better side overall. Derry have won three in a row since defeat to the Royals in round one.

There is a school of thought that a win for Cork this Sunday will see Cork promoted, but I think they may need three points from the final three games to be sure. Cork failed to back up those famous wins against Kerry and Donegal that I referred to earlier, let’s hope they can do it this time.

The win last Sunday made the Cork public sit up and take notice of this Cork football team, win away to Derry on Sunday and the rest of the country might just start to do the same. Cork by two, up the Rebels.