Cork boss Conor Counihan paid tribute to his Big Guns for the manner in which they met the Tyrone challenge head on as they disposed of the All-Ireland champions with a 1-13 to 0-11 semifinal win at Croke Park on Sunday.

A first half Daniel Goulding goal sent Cork on their way to a September showdown with Meath or Kerry, and not even the dismissal of midfielder Alan O’Connor for a second yellow card offense just before the break could spoil their day.

“I think they dealt with Tyrone admirably, I suppose,” Counihan said at the post-match press conference. “People have questioned the team for a long time, and I think today in the circumstances, and even last year again, they have shown a lot of character.

“Maybe we have come up short in All-Ireland semifinals and final stages in the past, but there can only be one winner in this business. Every year a championship can only have one winner and that doesn’t necessarily mean that the other teams are poor.

“I would be very proud of the way that we performed today, but equally I would acknowledge that we have to improve if we want to in the All-Ireland.” 

Counihan added, “I think there was a resolve about the lads today. We really had a good feeling. As a manager you always have a good feeling, but it felt particularly good today – the mood was good. They worked for it and that’s the way it turned out.

“We had come through the championship and we really wanted a good team to test us, and Tyrone, three times All Ireland champions in the last number of years -- it doesn’t come much bigger,” the Cork boss added.  

“They brought an awful lot to the game. They have come an awful long way in a short period of time from a county that wouldn’t be winning All-Irelands. They were the benchmark and thankfully today we just came out on top.”   

Cork are back in the final for the first time since they lost by 10 points to Kerry in the 2007 decider, and goalie Alan Quirke is ready to put the record straight.

Quirke said, “It’s great, I suppose down in Cork we don’t get to a whole lot of finals. We got there two years ago and it didn’t work out too well for us.

“We beat Tyrone today, but playing Kerry or Meath in the final, we are going to be up against a good team, so we are really looking forward to it. But we would be hoping that we would perform better than the last time.”

Cork defender John Miskella could yet be banned for the All-Ireland football final against Kerry or Meath despite already receiving a yellow card after he threw a punch at Tyrone’s Brian McGuigan last Sunday.

Match referee John Bannon has been invited to review his decision to dish out only a yellow card to Miskella by the CCCC, and any decision to upgrade the card to red could see the defender banned for next month’s final.

Tyrone Retirees

A host of Tyrone players could head for the retirement ranks in the wake of Sunday’s All-Ireland semifinal defeat, but Brian Dooher has refused to talk about his plans.

The Sam Maguire winning captain could be joined on the sidelines by the likes of Ryan McMenamin, Conor Gormley and Collie Holmes next season.

But asked about his future plans after Sunday’s defeat, Dooher stated, “We’ll not worry about that now. All that remains to be seen. If you knew all the answers, you’d be a wise man.”

Fellow Tyrone veteran McMenamin had no qualms about the Cork victory as the All-Ireland champions were well and truly out-played at their own game.

“They were the better team overall,” he said. “We’re dejected. It’s hard for the loser of an All-Ireland semifinal and especially because we put in a lot of work. But you have to take it like a man and admit they were the better team. And that was it.

“It was hard to pull ourselves back into the game and we just didn’t get enough breaks. Daniel Goulding’s early goal was the game’s crucial score.

“It seemed to turn things against us. But at the end of the day, you have to give credit to Cork. They kept on battling hard and they didn’t stop once they got the foot down.

“It was just one of those days -- a game of football, and you have to take the good with the bad. Sean Cavanagh wasn’t playing and that’s the badness of life. You just have to get on with it. There’s nothing you can do.”

Tyrone boss Mickey Harte had no complaints either and admitted, “I think the collective effort of Cork beat us. Their quality and their desire -- we haven’t met that in a long time. We met it today and everything we had wasn’t good enough to turn that over.

“The loss of Sean Cavanagh to illness from the starting team was very disappointing of course, and in a game like this where the whole emphasis was on the physicality and size of Cork we lose one of our biggest men and leaders.

“That was a big setback but we have to live with that. We can’t point to any single thing that we can say beat us.”

Meath’s Concerns

Meath boss Eamonn O’Brien has admitted that his team could struggle to cope with Kerry in Sunday’s All-Ireland final if the Kingdom repeat the form that destroyed Dublin in the quarters.

O’Brien told the Irish Independent, “I was at that game. Everybody saw it. The football was almost perfect. If that Kerry turns up, we won’t live with them.

“Hopefully they mightn’t be that good when they play us. To my mind it was near perfection in terms of football, in terms of execution of passes, movement off the ball, speed, creating scores, taking chances. Everything was there’s that’s great in Gaelic football so hopefully they don’t produce another one like that.”

Kevin Reilly is definitely out of the Meath team with a back injury, while O’Brien has also ruled out any potential return to action for Shane O’Rourke.

Kerry should have big full-forward Kieran Donaghy available for the game but defender Aidan O’Mahony is almost certainly out after going down with a suspected bout of appendicitis on Monday.

GAA Shorts

Kilkenny hurling boss Brian Cody has left the door open for full-back Noel Hickey to force his way into the Cats team for the All-Ireland final against Tipperary next month as he continues his recovery from groin and knee injuries. Hickey’s return would allow J.J. Delaney to revert to his more usual wing back role . . .

Terence “Sambo” McNaughton and Dominic “Woody” McKinley have quit as Antrim’s joint hurling managers after their heavy All-Ireland under 21 semifinal defeat to Kilkenny . . .

Former Tyrone selector Paddy Tally is in the frame to take over the Down team he trained this season with Brian McIver, Pete McGrath and James McCartan also linked with the job . . .

Youngster Martin Clarke is reported to be on the verge of a return to the Down GAA squad after two years with the Collingwood Australian Rules side . . .

All-Ireland winning captain Ray Silke has ruled himself out of the running to succeed Liam Sammon as manager of the Galway footballers . . .

Seamus McEnaney has yet to make a decision on taking up the offer of another year in charge of the Monaghan footballers . . .

Cork's Diarmuid Kirwan will take charge of the All-Ireland hurling final between Kilkenny and Tipp next month . . .

Down under-21 footballer Jamie O’Reilly has been offered a professional contract by Aussie Rules side Richmond Tigers . . .

Dessie Dolan Senior has thrown his hat into the ring for the position of manager of his native Westmeath’s football squad . . .

Veteran defender Tony Browne has hinted he could yet play one more season with the Waterford hurlers . . .

Niall Rigney has been retained as manager of the Laois hurlers for next season.