WHAT a difference a day makes or in Cork footballers case what a difference a year makes as they produced a terrific second half display to earn a draw with the defending Munster and All-Ireland champions Kerry.
It was a game that had everything that you would want to see between these two great Munster superpowers as both teams attacked the game in a positive manner right from the throw in.
It was a contest that reaffirmed the belief that Cork have always had the ability to play at a very high level and on their day if they get it right they can be a very difficult team to beat.
SYSTEM
Yesterday they got their system of play spot on and the important thing is that they had total belief in their system and made Kerry look ordinary at times especially in the second period.
They started the game with a hunger and a desire that is absolutely necessary if you are going to beat Kerry but you also need to bring a little bit more than that and Cork played some really attractive football throughout the entire duel.
All the talk last night and today will be about how well the Rebels played but the worrying thing from their point of view is that Kerry have not gone away and are likely to improve for the replay in Killarney on Saturday, July 18.
To beat Kerry is always difficult and they will feel that they didn't do themselves justice although they did have some great moments in the game. At half-time they looked to be in control when leading by four but lost their way after the restart. It took a wonderful long range point in injury-time from Fionn Fitzgerald to rescue the day but Eamonn Fitzmaurice will be scratching his head with his team's second half performance.
I felt that some of the big decisions went against Cork yesterday, none more so that the penalty call, but they need to clear the heads again because they will have to be a lot better the next day. Kerry will be a tougher nut to crack in the replay.