Watch live coverage of Cork v Down Sam Maguire 2010

Sceala Clann Counsellor Location: KERRY

It is sad that kerry can't win the sam maguire every year. we just have to be happy as all ireland champions, winning the cup most years ROFL.
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down should not be there, they would never have got near our team if we had o'se and galvin fit. and they still needed points that should never have been given.
cork are favourites for the sam maguire, the all ireland football final. i think it is going to be close, a point or two in it. down are quick up front. go on down.
watch the sam maguire all ireland 2010 live on RTE
Watch live coverage of Cork v Down and the All-Ireland minor final between Cork and Tyrone on RTE Two television and RTÉ.ie (Island of Ireland). Radio coverage on Sunday Sport from 1.00pm on DAB, LW 252 and RTÉ.ie and on all wavelengths from 2.00pm.

Cork and Down will face off on Sunday to see who can become the first country, other than Kerry and Tyrone, to get their name on the Sam Maguire Cup since Armagh's breakthrough success in 2002.

Cork head into the game as favourites, with the bookies judging that their experience of losing All-Ireland finals in both 2007 and 2008 will stand to them.

There is a widely-held belief that a side must lose an All-Ireland final to win one. If so, the Rebels are primed to end a 20-year wait for All-Ireland glory.

The Leesiders have had a relatively quiet path to the decider.

They were edged out by Kerry in a Munster semi-final replay, and made steady, if unspectacular, progress through the qualifiers.
And while they never set the world alight, Conor Counihan's men were only ever really troubled by Limerick, which is no shame.

Cork have acquired the ability to grind out a result even when they are not on top form.

The best example of this was in the All-Ireland semi-final when Dublin dominated them for 60 minutes, only for the Rebels to get over the line with a late surge.

The big question about Cork is not their ability to win a tight game, but whether they have a quality performance in them.

It's the polar opposite to previous seasons where there was no doubting the ability of the team, but the end product wasn't always there.

Counihan has named both Graham Canty and Eoin Cadogan in his starting XV.

The former is seemingly still considered a doubt due to the hamstring injury he sustained against Roscommon.

Cork need only look at Henry Shefflin's experience in the hurling final to realise the dangers of taking a risk on marquee players.

What makes the decision even more dangerous is the fact that Down's playmaker Marty Clarke - who is undoubtedly a contender for Footballer of the Year - will most likely be his direct opponent.

The inclusion of Cadogan at right corner-back is also a gamble.

The dual star spent the majority of the summer with a hurley in his hand, and only rejoined the football panel once Denis Walsh's men were eliminated by Kilkenny.

The Douglas clubman has big match experience, but Sunday will mark his first-ever Championship start in football and Down could well target him as a weak link in the Leesiders' rearguard.

Down have the advantage of being in, as Dublin manager Pat Gilroy would put it, 'bonus territory'.

Manager James McCartan took the reins after Ross Carr's tenure ended on a sour note with a qualifier defeat to Wicklow in Aughrim last year.

McCartan got an immediate boost with the return of Martin Clarke from Collingwood, but he still had a lot of work to do with a side which has not even reached an Ulster final since 2003.

They made progress in Division 2 of the National League, eventually topping the table but losing the final against neighbours Armagh.

Throughout the campaign, McCartan was careful to downplay any hype that may have been building up about his side.

Right up to the point they clinched promotion the former Queens University boss was insisting his priority was to avoid relegation.

Their Ulster journey ended at the semi-final stage after a terrible second-half display saw them lose to Tyrone.

But like so many sides before them, they dusted themselves down and made for the back door.

Longford and Offaly put up brave battles before Down handed out a hiding to Connacht finalists Sligo, which in hindsight was the first real clue that they were serious contenders.

They then overcame Kerry in the quarters, though the absence of Tomás Ó Sé and Paul Galvin was a mitigating factor for the Kingdom.

Down's semi-final was an epic tussle ultimately decided by a Benny Coulter goal that he admitted should have been ruled out and a last-minute Kildare free that bounced off the crossbar.

The Mourne men certainly rode their luck in that game, but there's no denying that they have shown all year that they are a force.

They have won all five All-Ireland deciders they have appeared in and victory on Sunday would draw them level with Cork in the winners table.

Sometimes it's just your year and the momentum from their last two victories in particular could swing in Down's favour in a game that is likely to be decided by the tightest of margins.

Verdict: Down Irish Community Images

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Watch live coverage of Cork v Down Sam Maguire 2010