WITH just over 10 minutes remaining in this final round Allianz NHL game at sunny Pearse Stadium yesterday Cork were ahead by eight points and this game was still full of meaning for the visitors. Yet down on the field, there was a distinct lack of urgency being shown by the boys in the red-and-white strip.

The few Cork supporters who had bothered to travel would have been informed by those tuned to transistors that Wexford were leading Kilkenny by a point in Nowlan Park with just minutes to go and if that score held then Cork had every chance of pipping the Cats to a place in the league final as Tipp had comfortably qualified by virtue of their win over Clare.

With a points differential of 10 between Cork and Kilkenny coming into this game (Kilkenny were +5, Cork -5), if the League champions lost, then all Cork required was a further two points and they were in the final.

Then came the news that Henry Shefflin had equalised and Kilkenny had secured the draw they needed. Suddenly this one had become merely academic, though Galway's late charge certainly indicated otherwise.

In those final minutes, the Corribsiders landed five points without reply to come within a single score (1-17 to 1-14) of the visitors before Seanie McGrath had the final point for Cork.

Not that any of those on the pitch were aware of the earlier possibilities. According to team coach Donal O'Grady, they weren't tracking events elsewhere.

"No, I wasn't anyway, but maybe some of the officials were. All we could do today was win our own game and we did that. Unfortunately results elsewhere went against us. We nearly qualified, but that's the way it goes," he said.

That's the way it goes, that's the way it's gone for both these teams in the league.

If Cork hadn't lost their focus in losing to Offaly earlier on, they would be in the final; if Galway hadn't lost a game they should have won against Clare, then lost their way against Waterford, they would have had more to play for in the second phase.

As it was, yesterday's game reflected perfectly a season of absolute inconsistency for them both, each side alternating between brilliance and incompetence.

"At times today, as we had in other games this year, we looked like world-beaters," mused a frustrated O'Grady.

"But if you went out for a cup of tea and came back, you'd think it was a different side. That's how it's been going, but it's the same for a lot of other teams, including Galway today.

"We had more to play for than they had, but they too played very well for long periods, then looked like they were going through the motions at other times."

The wind was a factor, gusting strongly and helped Cork to a commanding 0-11 to 0-3 lead after 25 minutes, reduced to 0-12 to 0-6 at the break.

But it wasn't by any means a decisive factor, because within three minutes of the restart Cork had extended that lead to 11 points, a penalty goal from Ben O'Connor (after a foul on Setanta Ó hAilpín) sandwiched between points by team captain Alan Browne and Joe Deane to give them what should have been an insurmountable lead.

Inexplicably however, they then fell asleep and it was the turn of Galway to dominate, leaving selector Seanie O'Leary shaking his head in frustration.

"We got the win, but it was a game we should have won by seven or eight points. We had several gilt-edged chances when we were eight and nine points ahead, squandered them.

"There was always a chance then of Galway getting a goal, they did (rocket 20-metre free by Murray, to atone for the penalty saved by Wayne Sherlock in the first half) and the next thing we were back to three points.

"Some very inept play by our forwards particularly, as we had nobody winning ball independently and nobody making any real use of anything.

"In the end I thought we might even lose it, we were just trying to shift fellas around to stay in the game, to try and get fellas out of the situation where they were being beaten, and nearly all our forwards were being beaten. It was like shuffling a deck of cards.

"We just about deserved to win the game and we just about got away with it, but we should never have allowed ourselves come under so much pressure. Very poor, very very poor, a real disappointment."

It was a similar story from Galway manager Conor Hayes.

"Against the wind, in the first half, we probably had more goal chances than in the second and if we'd bagged one of them it would have set us up a lot better for the second half.

"Even near the end we had a few chances of getting through for goals but it didn't come off for us. Maybe we'd have been better off taking our points, as Cork did, they were very good at that in the first half, taking 50-yard points with the wind," he said.

So near for Cork, yet on this evidence, both themselves and Galway still have a way to travel.