Cork will have a home All-Ireland senior football championship preliminary quarter-final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh next weekend after a huge upset saw them defeat Mayo at the TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick this afternoon.
Playing in their final round-robin game of the All-Ireland series, The Rebels came from six points behind at one point in the game to beat Kevin McStay's side by three points on a scoreline of 1-14 to 1-11.
The result means that Mayo despite beating All-Ireland champions Kerry and Louth end up finishing third in the group on head-to-head.
Kerry automatically advance to an All-Ireland quarter-final after a massive 28 point victory over Louth.
The #SamMaguireCup Group 1 Table after Round 3
Cork 1-14 v 1-11 Mayo
Kerry 5-24 v 0-11 Louth
Kerry have qualified for the All Ireland Quarter Final.
Cork have won themselves a Home Preliminary Quarter Final.
Mayo will play their Preliminary Quarter Final away.
Louth are out.… pic.twitter.com/csJnYa6vpP— GAA League Tables (@GAALeagueTables) June 18, 2023
Cork captain Ian Maguire reacts to Mayo win
Cork's performance will give them a great deal of confidence going forward and speaking to Clara Hester on GAAGO after the game, captain Ian Maguire expressed his delight with the outcome.
"For the group there's been a lot that's happened over the last ten years, a lot of disappointments and failures. It eats away at you because there is such a talented group there," he said.
"We really bottled that up this year. We've been striving for a bit of consistency and we've been slowly getting there.
"I think that performance there, especially in the second half, really showed what we were all about.
"The question was asked of us, are we contenders or pretenders, and that's what this game was all about, to prove that we are there for the shake-up and not just there to turn up for the numbers."
Former Galway forward Michael Meehan who was on commentary and punditry duty for GAAGO heaped praise on Cork.
"That is a real shot in the arm for Cork football today," he said.
"They had a good performance against Kerry, they ran them very close. They can really build on this.
"It's massive for them. I'm sure they'll be hoping they can pull in a much bigger crowd into Páirc Uí Chaoimh next weekend."
The draw for the preliminary quarter-final stage will be made tomorrow morning on Morning Ireland.
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