Dublin 0-21 Cork 0-10: Off-colour Dubs ease past Rebels in All-Ireland quarter-final
Dean Rock scored nine points as Dublin overcame Cork in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final. Con O'Callaghan and James McCarthy were missing for the Dubs, but they had too much for the Rebels at Croke Park
By Brian Barry at Croke Park
Last Updated: 26/06/22 1:45pm
Dublin are through to the All-Ireland semi-finals for a 13th year in succession, after a 0-21 to 0-10 win over Cork.
Although the Dubs were far from their best, the Rebels were unable to punish the capital side.
Buoyed by the accuracy of Dean Rock from frees, Dessie Farrell's charges kicked on in the second half to secure an ultimately comfortable victory.
The Sky Blues march on to the last four, but know they will need a major improvement for their meeting with Kerry or Mayo in two weeks' time.
Without Con O'Callaghan and James McCarthy, Dublin struggled to hit top gear. Three Dean Rock frees and two Ciarán Kilkenny points led their scoring charge in the first half, but the Rebels defended impressively with Seán Powter effectively operating as a free man in defence.
Up the other end, the Lee-siders were wasteful in their shooting, registering seven wides before the break. Nonetheless, the twin threat of Brian Hurley and Steven Sherlock did cause the Leinster champions significant headaches.
When they played it in directly, Hurley in particular looked dangerous and hit Eoin Murchan for two points.
The Dubs led 0-10 to 0-7 at the break, but were far from convincing.
Cork needed to come flying out of the traps after the restart, but it was Dublin who dominated the third quarter.
Dean Rock scored a string of frees and Brian Fenton raised two white flags from play, as the Dubs opened the second half by scoring six in succession.
By the time John O'Rourke opened Cork's second-half account in the 56th minute, the game was over as a contest.
The Lee-siders failed to get any impact from their bench, and were unable to take chances.
Dublin hurling captain Eoghan O'Donnell was introduced as a second-half substitute, as the Dubs eased to an 11-point win.
Job done for Dublin. But bigger tests lie ahead.
Attendance: 50,874
Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone)
Scorers
Dublin: Dean Rock (0-9, 0-8f, 0-1m), Ciarán Kilkenny (0-3), Lee Gannon (0-2), Brian Fenton (0-2), Seán Bugler (0-1), Tom Lahiff (0-1), Cormac Costello (0-1), Paddy Small (0-1), Aaron Byrne (0-1).
Cork: Cathail O'Mahony (0-3, 0-2f), Steven Sherlock (0-3, 0-1f, 0-1m), Brian Hurley (0-2), Eoghan McSweeney (0-1), John O'Rourke (0-1).
Teams
Dublin:
1. Evan Comerford
4. Lee Gannon
2. Eoin Murchan
3. Michael Fitzsimons
6. Jonny Cooper
11. Brian Howard
5. John Small
8. Brian Fenton
9. Tom Lahiff
10. Niall Scully
7. Seán Bugler
12. Ciarán Kilkenny
13. Cormac Costello
14. Dean Rock
15. Paddy Small
Subs
Lorcan O'Dell for Sean Bugler (53)
Cian Murphy for Jonny Cooper (56)
Aaron Byrne for Paddy Small (61)
Eoghan O'Donnell for Eoin Murchan (67)
Davy Byrne for John Small (70)
Cork
1. Micheál Aodh Martin
17. Paul Ring
3. Maurice Shanley
4. Kevin O'Donovan
2. Sean Powter
7. Mattie Taylor
6. Rory Maguire
5. John Cooper
8. Ian Maguire
9. Colm O'Callaghan
11. Eoghan McSweeney
12. John O'Rourke
14. Brian Hurley
13. Steven Sherlock
15. Cathail O'Mahony
Subs
Daniel Dineen for Eoghan McSweeney (49)
Snea Meehan for Paul Ring (49)
Brian Hayes for Steven Sherlock (54)
Cian Kiely for John Cooper (56)
Blake Murphy for Colm O'Callaghan (70)