Munster SFC Final replay/Cork 1-12 Kerry 0-9: If this was some sort of judgment day in Páirc Uí Chaoimh then in the end the verdict was unanimous. Kerry were up on trial, but not to prove themselves one of the greatest teams of their generation. That's long established. They needed to prove if they could still handle the heat of championship football.
They must know that just isn't so. And so Cork, not for the first time in Munster football championship history, look to have ended one era and started another. It was a spectacular victory and had memories of 1987 written all over it - when Cork won the last Munster final replay and in the process ended the era of the greatest Kerry team ever.
It wasn't the prettiest of games, nor the most exciting, but was never less than fascinating in the way Cork did what they said they would do, and finished the job they started so impressively in Killarney a week ago. Kerry died a slow death in the afternoon, and while the news that Longford were upcoming in the qualifiers must have come as some consolation, the players had displayed a down-and-out feel afterwards that suggested their season - and in many cases careers - is over.
The scenes that followed Cork's victory couldn't have been more contrasting. Their 32nd Munster title - and eight for manager Billy Morgan - was as sweet as they come and prompted a mass pitch invasion that lingered long after Derek Kavanagh raised the winners' trophy. Yet another warning sign to anyone thinking about doing away with the provincial titles.
With the mercury rising close to boiling point throughout the afternoon the crowd of 23,693 sweltered over the 70 minutes - and could only imagine how the players sweated. Cork's drive and energy was no less inexhaustible than a week ago, and they defied the conditions with their determination to this time put Kerry away long before the finish.
Their six-point winning margin reflects their dominance, especially in the closing stages. Kerry had dug deep into their reserves to stay with Cork in the first half - and were down by just two points at the break - but as the game wore on were left to look increasingly heart-worn, not to mention leg-worn.
Cork ended up with clear superiority all over the field: James Masters was again the master forward, hitting 1-6 on the day; Nicholas Murphy reverted to midfield in the second half and finally got to grips with Darragh Ó Sé, Kerry's greatest asset early on; and once again Cork's defence held up like a brick wall, limiting Colm Cooper to a single point, and the rest of the Kerry starting forwards to a paltry 0-2 from play.
So complete was Kerry's dismantling in the end that manager Jack O'Connor had used all his five substitutes with around 10 minutes left to play, removing such former playmakers as Declan O'Sullivan, Paul Galvin and Bryan Sheehan.
Others such as Séamus Moynihan and even Cooper were lucky to survive, knowing they'd been out-classed on the day.
Cork's attitude - mean and moody - was evident from the throw-in. Anthony Lynch started at wing back having been controversially cleared of last week's red card on Friday night, with John Hayes called into the forward line.
Pearse O'Neill joined Derek Kavanagh at midfield early on and just like a week ago they showed Kerry precious little respect.
Kerry's repairs from last week were more widespread, with Tom O'Sullivan starting in the defence, Eamonn Fitzmaurice at centre forward, and Darren O'Sullivan among the forwards. Both teams had a nervous edge to open with, and while Cork created more scoring chances, Kerry surprisingly moved 0-3 to 0-1 in front. Cork had waited 14 minutes before Donncha O'Connor burst through the middle for their opening score, but even at that stage there were strong hints of the eventual outcome.
Darragh Ó Sé's fine point on 20 minutes raised a cheer of approval from Galvin, but there was really nothing to celebrate yet. Moments later Cork had eased ahead and never looked back. Graham Canty delivered a long ball to Hayes, who flicked it on to Masters. The entire Kerry defence were marked absent and Masters calmly finished the move with a goal. Moments after that Seán O'Brien punched a fine point and the foundation of Cork's victory was now solid.
The cracks in Kerry's game, meanwhile, also became evident. On 25 minutes Cooper did the unthinkable and hit his third successive wide, having again moved into a good scoring position. He finally scored his solitary point before half-time to help reduce the deficit but ended with five of his team's 12 wides, and with those around him failing once again to raise the necessary support, Kerry's scoring threat gradually disintegrated.
Still Kerry turned the half only 1-4 to 0-5 in arrears and that must have given them hope. When Darragh Ó Sé added his second fine point on 39 minutes Kerry were down by one - except that was as good as it got. Cork outscored them 0-8 to 0-3 over the remaining half hour, despite the best efforts of O'Connor to salvage Kerry's scoring threat.
Masters started a brilliant streak he maintained until the end, hitting 0-3 without reply (two from frees) and later hit the point of the match with a majestic effort from out on his right sideline. Kerry's response was desperately stagnated, with substitutes Mike Frank Russell and Sean O'Sullivan hitting encouraging scores before promptly disappearing. The only downside to Cork's victory was the knee injury sustained by Canty in the closing minutes, which will require a scan later today. Provided it's not the dreaded cruciate tear Canty won't need any motivation to get back ASAP. Cork football is on a roll again, and if it keeps gaining momentum like this who will dare stop them?
CORK: 1 A Quirke; 2 M Prout, 5 M Shields, 3 G Canty; 4 K O'Connor, 6 G Spillane, 30 A Lynch; 9 D Kavanagh, 11 P O'Neill; 10 S O'Brien (0-1), 8 N Murphy, 12 K McMahon; 13 J Masters (1-6, two frees), 15 D O'Connor (0-2, one '45), 22 J Hayes (0-1). Subs: 20 D Niblock for O'Neill (45 mins), 21 C McCarthy for O'Brien (50 mins, inj), 27 K O'Sullivan (0-1) for Hayes (55 mins), 14 F Gould (0-1) for K McMahon (60 mins), 18 G Murphy for Canty (63 mins, inj)
KERRY: 1 D Murphy; 17 T O'Sullivan, 3 M McCarthy, 4 M O Se; 5 T Ó Sé, 6 S Moynihan, 2 A O'Mahony; 8 D Ó Sé (0-2), 10 E Brosnan; 10 P Galvin (0-1), 19 E Fitzmaurice, 11 D O'Sullivan; 13 C Cooper (0-1), 14 B Sheehan (0-2, frees), 18 D O'Sullivan (0-1). Subs: 7 M Lyons for O'Mahony, 20 T Griffin for Fitzmaurice, 24 S O'Sullivan (0-1) for D O'Sullivan (all 50 mins), 22 MF Russell (0-1) for Sheehan (54 mins), 15 P O'Connor Galvin (63 mins)
Referee: Syl Doyle (Wexford)
