Two men sent off as Jack McCaffrey inspires Dublin on his return

Niall McIntyre

Cork 2-10 Dublin 0-18

Lee Gannon and Ian Maguire were both sent off in a thrilling Division Two National League clash between Cork and Dublin.

Cork had led in the early stages of the game, inspired by the brilliance of Brian Hurley, but Jack McCaffrey and James McCarthy came onto edge it for Dublin in the second half.

At the end of the game, the two red cards were the main talking points, with man-of-the-match Brian Hurley admitting he thought his team-mates’ dismissal was very soft.

“I just thought it was soft to be honest with you. Maguire had only made three tackles in the game and got two yellows,” said Hurley on TG4.

Indeed, having sent off Cork’s Ian Maguire just four minutes into the second half for one push and one innocuous slap on the wrist, the ref levelled things up ten minutes later.

Lee Gannon was the second man that saw red, the Dublin half back given his second yellow for pushing Sean Powter. Laois referee Seamus Mulhare did receive plenty of criticism for his decisions, and both players were exasperated to see the line.

Both teams may have finished with fourteen men, but that only added to the contest as the extra space really saw this game open up in the second half.

Cork will feel very aggrieved however, that the timing of Ian Maguire’s card coincided with Dublin taking over the game.

Dessie Farrell’s team did start the second half well but Maguire’ sending off only added to their momentum, the sky blues kicking three unanswered points immediately afterwards as they steamed into a five point lead.

To Cork’s credit, they didn’t wilt as the brilliant Brian Hurley continued to kick scores from all angles. Wing back Matty Taylor brought them right back into it then in the 55th minute, when he thundered onto a Ruairi Deane pass before giving David O’Hanlon no chance in the Dublin goals.

That left the teams on level pegging with fifteen minutes to go but from there, aided by the impact of Jack McCaffrey and James McCarthy, Dublin kicked onto close out the game. Both men kicked important points down the stretch as the Dubs just about edged it for a finish.

Watching on, both Colm Cooper and Colm Boyle were also critical of the sendings off.