The vexation for Cork is that they weren’t outclassed or outthought or outmuscled. They were instead their own undoing. Cork came to Tullamore chasing a first three-in-a-row of championship victories in 12 years.

They were chasing top spot in Group 3, a bypassing of the preliminary quarter-final round, and a last-eight pairing that would have steered clear of the biggest hitters. That their chase was unsuccessful and that they must now get on the road for an away preliminary quarter-final next weekend owed to a wastefulness and absence of efficiency with their final product. In the first half, there were four white flag attempts sent wide, and two more that dropped short and came off the post respectively.

Two minutes into the second period, there was a Paul Walsh goal effort flashed to the right of the post. There was a tame Colm O'Callaghan goal effort much later in the half comfortably saved. Brian O’Driscoll, goalkeeper Chris Kelly, and Mark Cronin all blazed wide.

O’Driscoll and Conor Corbett succeeded in getting in each other’s way when pouncing on possession inside the Tyrone 20-metre line. Cork were at 47% accuracy from open play, Tyrone at 75%, were on a different field altogether. “We are very disappointed,” began John Cleary.

“We played very well in the first half, but we didn’t take our scores. We should have been four or five up at half time and we weren’t (Cork led 0-10 to 0-9 at the break). It ultimately came down to that.

“The black card (C.