Hello, and welcome to this afternoon’s liveblog. Can Dublin recover from last week’s disastrous performance against a strong Cork side? We’re about to find out.

Here is the Cork line-up for today:

1. Ken O’Halloran; 2. Ray Carey, 3. Michael Shields, 4. Eoin Cotter; 5. Noel O’Leary, 6. Graham Canty, 7. Paudie Kissane; 8. Alan O’Connor, 9. Pearse O’Neill; 10. Fintan Goold, 11. Paul Kerrigan, 12. Patrick Kelly; 13. Colm O’Neill, 14. Aidan Walsh, 15. Donncha O’Connor.

And here is the Dublin team, which is much-changed following that disappointing performance against Mayo:

M Savage; C O’Sullivan, R O’Carroll, P McMahon; J Cooper, J McCarthy, K Nolan; S Murray, E Fennell; D Byrne, MD Macauley, B Cullen; C Dias, D Connolly, K McManamon.

And we’re off…

Donncha O’Connor and Aidan Walsh have just scored to quick-fire points to put Cork into an early week.

Fintan Goold has just scored another point for Cork from close range.

Dublin haven’t shown much of an improvement on their awful performance against Mayo yet, and look slightly short of confidence.

Dublin have still yet to register a point, and have been extremely wasteful in front of goal so far, with Connolly being the latest culprit.

O’Connor swivels away from the Dublin backs and gets an excellent point from distance.

Macauley then finally gets Dublin’s first point, before Kelly adds to Cork’s advantage.

GOAL FOR CORK!

A hopeful long ball is hammered into the box, and Aidan Walsh gets the faintest of touches to re-direct it into the corner of the net.

It may be a tad fortuitous, but Cork won’t be complaining.

Connolly has just hit another relatively straightforward free wide, giving the impression that last week’s performance was  more than just a blip.

Take nothing away from Cork though, who have been impressively clinical.

Connolly compensates for his previous miss with a point, before Kerrigan gets two in succession to quell Dublin’s hopes of a comeback.

Meanwhile, Bastick has already replaced Murray for Dublin, indicating Gilroy’s dissatisfaction with his team’s performance.

Dublin are showing some signs of life now, with McManamon getting their third point in the last few minutes.

Colm O’Neill, however, ensures Cork retain a healthy lead, with his first point of the game.

Eamon Fennell hits another wide for Dublin, as the first half draws to a close.

HALF TIME: CORK 1-8 DUBLIN 0-5

So Cork lead at half-time, fully taking advantage of Dublin’s sloppy start, without ever really having to excel in their play.

Dublin, on the other hand, haven’t been much better than last week, and Pat Gilroy must be concerned at their ostensibly lax approach to this game.

The second half is underway…

Barry Cahill is on for Dublin by the way. He’s replaced Davy Byrne.

Another poor effort from Connolly in front of the posts, though a point from Cullen gives Dublin fans a rare moment to cheer.

Another point from Fennell continues Dublin’s decent start to the second half.

O’Connor hits a free well wide. Cork look a tad rattled, owing to Dublin’s improved second-half performance.

A typical surging run from McManamon ends with him scoring a point from close range when he possibly could have gone for a goal.

A Macauley point then continues Dublin’s rejuvenation. Pat Gilroy’s men undoubtedly have all the momentum right now.

Did the two teams swap jerseys at half time? Based on the second half alone, the score is now 0-5 to 0-1 in Dublin’s favour.

Pearse O’Neill scores Cork’s second point of the half, as the ball goes marginally over the bar, just out of Savage’s reach.

Murphy has just replaced O’Connor, as Cork look to stop the rot.

Savage has just missed a free straight in front of the posts. He’s no Cluxton on that evidence.

Fennell has just received Dublin’s umpteenth booking of the match for a challenge that has left O’Neill requiring attention.

However, the Cork man dusts himself off and scores a free to extend his side’s lead to four points.

With less than ten minutes remaining, Dublin could do with a goal. However, Cork don’t look like conceding one at the moment, as they have defended doggedly throughout this game.

Connolly brings Dublin to within three points of Cork, though not for the first time, Dublin could have gone for a much-needed goal instead of a point.

McConnell has replaced Fennell.

Meanwhile, Pearse O’Neill scores a point (via the crossbar) from a seemingly impossible angle.

There’ll be a minimum two minutes of added time.

Dublin need a goal at this stage. A  point won’t do.

FULL-TIME: CORK 1-12 DUBLIN 0-12

Man of the match Aidan Walsh tells TG4 that his side “put an emphasis on starting well” and credits “the strong wind behind us” in the second half. He adds that the Cork team are “coming together nicely”.

Here’s a quick poll with Dublin’s recent slump in mind:

Will Dublin improve significantly when their star players return?

I described Dublin as ‘lax’ in the first half, and the same word can arguably be used to describe Cork’s second-half performance. They’ll be relieved that they didn’t end up ruing their carelessness in allowing Dublin back into the game.

It must be said though that the strong wind, which Aidan Walsh alluded to in his post-match interview, also played a telling role in this contest and helped instigate Dublin’s near-fightback late on.

Dublin, meanwhile, can at least be content in the knowledge that they were able to show the necessary spirit to get back into the game – an attribute that was conspicuously absent against Mayo last week.

Okay, that’s it from me. Thanks, as always, for reading, and enjoy the rest of the Easter weekend.