While their senior team came up short in an enthralling semi-final on Sunday, the preceding match in Croke Park should provide plenty of joy and optimism for Cork fans as their minors progressed to the final of the Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Championship. They defeated Dublin by a scoreline of 0-23 to 2-13.
In what was an impressive performance from Cork from start to finish, there were several candidates to choose from as nominees for this week's Electric Ireland minor player of the week. They were able to keep Dublin at arm's length for practically the entirety of the game as they consistently kept the scoreboard ticking over while Dublin's scoring came in bursts even after Cork had a man sent off in the 45th minute.
Cork will now go on to face Galway in the final after they pipped Kilkenny 1-12 to 2-08 last week.
Brian Turnbull - Cork
Turnbull led the scoring by a distance with a mammoth 0-13 tally. 11 of those points came from placed balls as he was unerring throughout. His contribution during open play was also significant as he won seven of those frees and was a thorn in Dublin's side all game.
The Douglas forward has been remarkably consistent in putting up big scores all summer as he has previously registered scores of 0-10, 0-9, 0-8 and 0-4 prior to yesterday's match.
Daire Connery - Cork
Na Piarsaigh midfielder Connery continues to impress with roaming displays from midfield. He ended up with 0-5 in what was a very complete performance. Connery splits free-taking duties with Turnbull, taking over from long range. This is where his two dead ball points came from.
Having scored 0-6 last time out against Clare and a cumulative 0-13 over their two matches with Tipperary, he has helped share the scoring load all season.
But perhaps the main quality Connery should be lauded for is his energy as he has also been a mainstay of the Cork u-17 side that won the inaugural u-17 All-Ireland final last week.
Brian Roche - Cork
Another classy Cork forward rounds out the nominees as Brian Roche put in a quality performance. The Bride Rovers native, like Connery, also starred in the u-17s victorious All-Ireland campaign. He has been able to chip in with valuable scores at both levels with another two points from play against Dublin to add to his record.
In total there were eight minor panel members who also contributed to their u-17s triumph. It's a testament to their dedication as well as skill that they have gone to such lengths to represent their county at every avenue available to them.
You can cast your vote for the Player of the Week nominees every week on Electric Ireland's Facebook page.
