Galway progressed to the Bank of Ireland All-Ireland quarter-finals with a needlessly complicated win over Cork. As has become their wont, they put manager John O'Mahony through the wringer before riding out a Herculean comeback by the Munster finalists.

Were it not for the westerners' habit of allowing opponents back into matches, you could have called this off after around 22 minutes at which point they led 1-7 to no score.

That Cork got it back to a point with six minutes remaining was a major achievement but Galway were a superior force and proved it by scribbling off a four-point valedictory note in the dying minutes.

How it got to such a precarious stage will puzzle and alarm O'Mahony but as he's been saying for the past few weeks: "At least we're in the hat for the next round".

There were a number of changes made by Cork before the throw-in. Nicholas Murphy had to cry off, as the thigh strain that kept him out of the Munster final hadn't cleared up. Conrad Murphy had also failed to recover from the injury he picked up last week and Aidan Dorgan took his place.

The centrefield vacancy was more of a conundrum. Fachtna Collins, the replacement last week, had to leave Dublin with his clubmate Kieran Daly who had learned the terrible news of his brother's death.

In the end, Martin Cronin moved up from wing back with John Miskella coming in. Against such a difficult backdrop Cork's bad start was no real surprise. But Galway played well, combining slickly in the forwards and taking chances with ruthless efficiency. At the back they were also quite impressive, particularly in dealing with the threat of Colin Corkery who had cut a swathe through Kerry the previous week.

According to O'Mahony they were aware the big full forward would not be easily dispossessed and so the emphasis was on keeping him away from the ball. "I though Gary (Fahey, the full back) did very well when they contested ball," he said, "and we made sure there wasn't much space in front of Corkery to allow him manoeuvre."

So the half backs, with Tommy Joyce down from corner forward supplementing their number, held their ground slightly deeper and forced Cork to pick out the forwards. At centrefield the problems of last week hadn't dissipated for Larry Tompkins's team. Kevin Walsh - starting in place of Seβn ╙ D≤mhnaill who was on the bench after his wedding on Saturday - took a good share of ball and more particularly, his team got their hands on the lion's share of the breaks.

The result was a litany of zippy attacks from Galway with Pβdraig Joyce a constant threat. By the 21st minute, Galway's lead was 0-7 to no score. The points had come from everywhere, a 45, frees and from play. The sixth and seventh were Jarlath Fallon's as the 1998 Footballer of the Year hit form for the first time this campaign.

His familiar sidesteps and jinking runs were taking him past defenders, forcing his accomplished marker Owen Sexton onto the back foot, and it was a worrying blow to the team when he had to leave the field after 47 minutes. Fallon hasn't entirely rehabilitated the knee injury that kept him out for most of last season's championship so there was immediate apprehension he had suffered a serious relapse. The injury turned out to be a hamstring pull, sustained in the course of a flying tackle on Sexton.

What looked like the coup de grace for Cork and the match came in the 22nd minute. Brendan Jer O'Sullivan - who worked hard but who posted two and a half wides for each of his two points - threw a loose pass in defence. Seβn de Paor intercepted and dribbled the ball along the ground before finishing to the corner of the net with a low, hard shot. Soccer in Croke Park regardless of Rule 42.

Cork's comeback started there. Five minutes later Philip Clifford, pushing up to the full forwards, picked up a break and sent in Fionan Murray for a smartly taken goal - the third in his last four visits to Croke Park. Corkery pointed a 45 and the margin was down to six points.

Galway at this stage were in one of their two fallow periods. The first, from the 22nd to 40th minute, showed Cork weren't dead and buried just yet. But the second nearly flipped the match. In 22 minutes, from the 46th, Galway scored just one point, as their lead dwindled.

Mark O'Sullivan came on for Cork. It was a mysterious appearance for which he will be denounced. He caused alarm every time the ball came near him and won a few possessions but he was cursed with the inability to do anything constructive. Two clear goal chances and a point opportunity went a-begging - but Cork were in the ascendant.

Complicating this trend was Galway's spendthrift run of four wides in the first few minutes of the final quarter. Good chances they were as Derek Savage got his first run in a while and posed a big threat in the corner, while Alan Kerins had more room on the half-forward line. All the time Cork were chipping away and in the 65th minute Fionan Murray cut the margin to a point.

That in fact represented the high point of Cork's afternoon (and was certainly celebrated as such by Murray). Still it rattled Galway. Michael Donnellan tried a quick free to ╙ D≤mhnaill and turned his back on play in disgust as his team-mate promptly dropped the ball.

But deliverance was at hand when the impeccable Pβdraig Joyce landed a tricky free to stop the rot. This triggered the late damburst.

Cork's last chance was a 20-metre free at three down and 40 seconds left. Corkery felt obliged to thrash for goal and on the breakout Matthew Clancy added the final point.

So at the end, Galway were alive and kicking, their manager half-dead.