Mayo won't be travelling to Ennis just to make up numbers and there's a fighting spirit about the team that's not normally associated with this county when it comes to matters of football.

Having seen a seven-point lead disintegrate against a much-fancied Tyrone outfit in the semi-final, Mayo showed strength of character to come from behind twice in the second half and snatch a win late in extra time.

Cork also had an epic challenge in their semi-final with Laois. Extra time couldn't separate the sides and so they did it all again last Saturday in a replay that never lived up to expectation.

Cork fired 16 wides last weekend, they rattled the woodwork and managed to miss a penalty. Given the close nature of most replays, such statistics are usually not associated with the victors but Cork had enough possession and strength to see off Laois. While it was the robust and physical side of their game that forged out a result last weekend, there were other plus points.

In Daniel Goulding they have a corner-forward capable of wreaking havoc at this level (he's bagged 3-22 in the competition to date) and outside on the 40, fellow senior panellist Fintan Goold provides added presence.

For those venturing to Cusack Park, it's the battle between the Cork full-forward line and the Mayo fullback line that will be of most interest today. If anybody is capable of shackling the fleet feet of Goulding it's Mayo's captain Keith Higgins.

Expect his man-marking skills to be deployed on Goulding from the throw-in and the outcome of this contest could have the greatest bearing on who captures this year's under-21 crown.

Mayo's Barry Moran will be expected to dictate from the middle of the field and would have seen more action for the senior side in this year's National League but for exam commitments. The Cork centre-field partnership of Alan O'Connor and Patrick Kelly has also worked well of late and, if allowed, both can cause problems going forward.

In February these sides met in what was nothing more than a panel-organising exercise. That day Cork won out by close to a dozen points but since then, both teams have settled upon a regular starting line-up.

Caragh Keane, whose goal put Cork on their way to victory last weekend, retains his place at centre-forward so there are no changes on either side for the final.

It's 23 years since Mayo were champions at this grade, Cork last triumphed in 1994. A win for the Rebels today will put them on top of the roll of honour list with 10 under-21 titles. They should have enough firepower to see them through.

CORK K O'Halloran; R Carey, C Murphy, S O'Donoghue; D Limerick, M Shields, E Cadogan; A O'Connor, P Kelly; F Goold, C Keane, P Kerrigan; D Goulding, P O'Flynn, J Hayes MAYO K O'Malley; T Howley, G Cafferky, K Higgins; C Barrett, T Canniffe, C Boyle; S O'Shea, B Moran; A Campbell, J Dillon, A Kilcoyne; M Ronaldson, M Hannick, M Conroy CADBURY'S U-21 ALL IRELAND FOOTBALL FINAL MAYO v CORK Cusack Park, Ennis, 2.30 Referee J McQuillan Live, TG4, 1.45