Kieran Kingston acknowledged that Cork had to work hard for their victory over Westmeath.
With Storm Dennis making its presence felt in Mullingar, it was a day for rolling up the sleeves and getting stuck in. The game looked to be going to script when Cork led by 0-7 to 0-1 after 20 minutes, but the hosts dug in after that and pushed them all the way.
"We were a little bit complacent after the start we got," the Cork manager told the Irish Examiner.
"We conceded a huge amount of frees and made a lot of simple errors. We should have pushed on, but didn't. At half-time, we regrouped. We knew we were in a battle. Normal hurling skills go out the window.
"This was just a fight. I was delighted with the character they showed in the second half, facing the breeze when we had to battle hard for the two points."
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