![\"Maurice](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5021561_7_articleinlinemobile_94344_2921609.jpg\" "\\"Maurice")
Maurice Shanley is out first to the dropping ball. Picture: INPHO\/James Crombie<\/p>\n\n Patrick Doyle: Terrific save in the 40th minute with his leg when the ball was heading into the bottom corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cork did struggle at times on short kick-outs to the edge of the arc when Meath pressed high. It’s an area they’ll need to look at in the coming weeks.\u00a06.\n <\/p>\n
Maurice Shanley: Very prominent in the first half with surging runs from defence, as well as tackling tenaciously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurice Shanley is out first to the dropping ball. Picture: INPHO\/James Crombie<\/p>\n
Took a hefty knock while Meath sub James Conlon came in and caused issues. 7.\n <\/p>\n
\n Daniel O’Mahony: A powerhouse at full-back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Always handed the toughest man-marking tasks, in this case, league top-scorer Jordan Morris. Fared very well holding Morris to 0-2 from play.\u00a08.<\/p>\n
\n Sean Meehan: Solid display in the last line of defence where the issues they faced were largely down to Cork\u2019s inability to secure enough kick-outs, especially their own. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Brian O’Driscoll: Took a while to hit his stride but kept at it and should have been awarded a free when Cork were rallying in the closing stages. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Tommy Walsh: Meath number 11 Ruair\u00ed Kinsella was the official Man of the Match but Walsh contributed well for Cork on the counter. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Luke Fahy: On the world of ball in the first half down the left flank but pegged back more in the second. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Ian Maguire: Cork struggled for long spells to replicate the supremacy they had in the air at P\u00e1irc U\u00ed Rinn in Croker, where Jack Flynn was the MVP at midfield and Brian Menton had an impact as well. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Colm O’Callaghan: Kicked two smashing points but Cork\u2019s inability to get an edge at midfield, especially in the second half, was a big factor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A contender for Cork’s best performer in the regular league, expect a reaction in the Munster opener against Limerick.\u00a06.\n <\/p>\n
\n Paul Walsh: An unsung hero this spring, better known for his thankless off-the-ball work, he bagged a couple of neat points in the first half.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Very strong showing.\u00a07.\n <\/p>\n
\n Dara Sheedy: He\u2019s U20 and fearless as a consequence. Massive learning curve stepping out at Croke Park for the first time but got on a fair bit of ball before making way for Brian Hurley. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Sean McDonnell: Like Walsh, is a tireless grafter. Brilliant assist to Chris \u00d3g Jones\u2019 first goal chance. Replaced by Ruair\u00ed Deane. 6\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Mark Cronin: Nabbed a fine point in the second half but had a couple of wides in the opening period that were within his range. Came off for Se\u00e1n Walsh when Cork needed ball-winners. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Chris \u00d3g Jones: The usual ball of energy from the throw-in and could have added a couple of first-half goals to his points.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally raised a green flag with a clever dummy past the keeper. 1-2 in assists as well as his 1-3. 8.\n <\/p>\n
\n Steven Sherlock: Superb in the first half, landing six points, all bar one from play. He was hounded in the second period yet still added another 0-3.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An exceptional display of shooting on the big stage. 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Brian Hurley: Introduced for Sheedy early in the second half. Classy finish for his goal that brought Cork back into it. 7.\n <\/p>\n
\n Kevin O\u2019Donovan: Blood sub for Shanley. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Ruair\u00ed Deane: Ran hard in the last quarter. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Se\u00e1n Walsh: Came on to beef up the middle third in the last 15 minutes. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Rory Maguire: Lively replacement for Fahy, securing his share of middle-third possession. 7.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Patrick Doyle: Terrific save in the 40th minute with his leg when the ball was heading into the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4365,1964,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-371854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-gaelic-football","9":"tag-cork-gaa","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-top-news","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-topnews","15":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}