Mexican stand-off beckons for familiar foes Cork and Louth

For counties that had only ever crossed championship paths twice prior to 2022, the familiarity between the respective counties has been built up over a very short period of time.

Tomorrow's preliminary quarter-final meeting is the third year in a row they face-off – only Galway v Armagh in the same time period, with perhaps Kerry v Dublin to follow, can match that feat – and throw league meetings into the mix and it’s a fifth meeting between the sides in three years.

The 1957 All-Ireland final was the start of Louth’s losing championship sequence, but the average winning margin for Cork (2007 and 2022 qualifiers, 2023 round-robin) is 2.5 points, and many feel the outcome in Inniskeen - Louth's home ground of Ardee is deemed not fit to stage a major championship game - will be the toss of a coin.

"It’s the draw both teams wanted," Cork’s former captain Paul Kerrigan tells RTÉ Sport, a nod to the standings of both sides and the fact Louth’s 'home’ advantage has been removed.

The 2010 All-Ireland winner has witnessed the start of the growing regularity in this fixture, with the balance of power more even than ever before.

The Rebels enjoyed comfortable league wins in 2018 and 2020, with that Covid-era fixture at Pairc Ui Chaoimh a reminder of the journey the Wee County have embarked on in recent seasons.

The hosts racked up 5-19 in an empty stadium, with Kerrigan bagging a couple of goals on the night. What struck the Nemo Rangers man was the naivety shown at times by the visitors – Cork hit 3-09 without reply at one stage – in defence.

"They were just very open, and Sam Mulroy seemed to be more of a one-man band in attack back then," Kerrigan recalls.

That 18-point trimming sent the teams in opposite directions, the Rebels rising