But they fought doggedly to come back and

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“I thought Dublin were outstanding today, for 45 or 50 minutes they really put us to the sword.

“It was a big lead to peg back, I thought our lads showed great character in doing that.”

Murphy was asked if Patrick Horgan and his free-taking kept Cork in the game - the Glen Rovers forward was Cork’s only scorer between the 32nd and 57th minutes and scored 17 points in total.

“He did,” answered Murphy. “He was outstanding today in fairness. He has been all the League for us.

“But I thought the whole team rose to the challenge in the last 25 minutes when we got a chance of victory at all. I thought they were great.”

Kilkenny’s Eddie Brennan was on the League Sunday panel discussing the game and he agreed that for much of the game it seemed impossible that Cork could come back.

“For long, long periods it looked as if Cork were dead and buried,” he said. “Their body language even was in stark contrast to the League match in Croke Park when they completely dictated proceedings.

“They ran at Dublin, they had Dublin chasing shadows - today was quite the opposite. I think Dublin forced the tempo of the match, they had great support play.”

Unlike Murphy, Brennan felt that maybe it was Dublin whose play had brought the Leesiders back into the game.

“From a long way out, you were wondering what could bring Cork back into it,” he said. “They never really got a combination of play going that would convince you they were going to do it.”

But rather than finish them off, Dublin allowed Cork glimpses of hope.

“We often talk about taking the finger off the jugular or having cut off the oxygen,” he said. “Dublin you have to say, gave Cork a little bit of air every so often and that kept them in it.

“Dublin retreated back into themselves with about 10 minutes left. Aidan Walsh slung a ball over the bar and got the time to plant his feet and from there on you always felt they (Dublin) were inviting trouble.”

That’s not the line Murphy was taking though, as he prepares his side for a League final against Waterford. Rather he painted it as a very strong comeback against a side that will be serious contenders in the Championship.

“I thought Dublin were absolutely brilliant today,” Murphy insisted. “Some of their score-taking as well was outstanding. They posed us major problems at times.

“I think we showed great pride and I’m very, very pleased with that. It is a big lead to peg back against a very strong Dublin team and credit to the players for that.”