Kerry 1-11 Cork 1-6
From the inseparable to the indisputable, what now lies ahead for Kerry and Cork couldn’t be more different. Seasons and moods have turned on less and more although rarely as conspicuously as on this rain-drenched night in Killarney.
It always felt as if there was more than just a Munster football title at stake in Saturday’s replay, and so it proved. Kerry neatly wrapped that up early in the second half – their 77th in all – and can now sit back and await the winners of Fermanagh-Westmeath in their quarter-final, in Croke Park, on the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Cork must stand up straightaway to face Kildare this Saturday, and if they get through that, Dublin await them in Croke Park on the same weekend. No prizes for guessing the softer path, and no doubt Cork must now deeply regret not closing out the deal 13 days previously.
It showed too in the faces of both managers in the immediate aftermath. Eamonn Fitzmaurice emerged with the look of a captain whose ship had weathered the perfect storm; Brian Cuthbert had the look of a captain whose ship had been wrecked and with several men missing at sea.
Front door
“Happy to be Munster champions, happy that we’re going to Croke Park through the front door, and happy that we played a good bit better than we did the first day,” said Fitzmaurice. “So, overall it’s been a very positive night.
“It was a hard-earned Munster championship, we’ve three solid games under the belt now, and hopefully now we’re closer to where we need to be. And by that I mean I think we’re at the level we needed to be to win a Munster championship. After that, every team that gets to an All-Ireland quarter-final tries to up the ante, and go up another gear if you can. So we’ll be looking to improve again.”
Kerry improved on the drawn game in almost direct proportion to how Cork disimproved. There was no contest at midfield because David Moran and Anthony Maher ruled it.
There was no point running at Kerry because Shane Enright, Aidan O’Mahony, and Paul Murphy hardly ever allowed it. And with the likes of James O’Donoghue and Paul Geaney working like devils on and off the ball there was no shortage of Kerry possession up front this time.
“Yeah, and that ‘middle eight’ was more solid, tackling better, better in the air, and if you win that battle that always gives you a good chance,” added Fitzmaurice.
“And defensively too, but conditions maybe lent itself to that, conceding the lower scores. Alan O’Connor went in full forward, at the end, trying to get a goal, and maybe sacrificed a scoring chance. But Cork aren’t finished yet. Believe me.”
Cork failed to score for the last 26 minutes, during which Kerry hit them with 1-2 – that goal a major difference. Colm Cooper was a major part of that difference too, coming on to set up the goal, on 49 minutes, which a clever free into the path of Donnchadh Walsh. His shot was saved by Ken O'Halloran, only for Geaney to fire the rebound into the Cork net.
That goal
“Once Kerry got that goal, they were the better team for the last 15 minutes, and that’s where the game is won,” said Cuthbert, hardly concealing his discontent at his team being held scoreless from then on.
“It’s extremely disappointing, when you’ve 1-4 on the board at half time. You’d expect to kick on, and we didn’t, and we have to look at that. I thought there was plenty of fight. But if you take the way the game was going, and the conditions, a goal like that was going to be a huge score.
“They got it, hats off to them, and once they did, they defended very, very well. Some of our passing was slopping. Certainly we weren’t running through them as well as the first day. Or did the right things on the ball.”
Cork had come to Killarney still searching for their first win over Kerry here in 20 years, and in truth only briefly looked capable of it. They were level twice in the first 10 minutes, before the immaculate free-taking of Bryan Sheehan began to edge Kerry in front, only then Cork found the edge,
Colm O’Neil deftly passing to Paul Kerrigan at considerable speed, his shot then perfectly placed in the top right of the Kerry net. Moments later Stephen Cronin was denied a second Cork goal by the crossbar and the gentle flick from Kerry goalkeeper Brendan Kealy.
Ultimate test
But that was as close as they came to upsetting the All-Ireland champions.
Kerry finished up with Paul Galvin on the field (and 14 men, as Stephen O’Brien picked up two yellows), while for Cork, all thoughts now turn to that dreaded six-day turnaround:
“It’s the ultimate test of the group now, isn’t it?” said Cuthbert. “It’s much more of a mental challenge. Physically they are very fit, but a result like this will take a lot out of them.”
So the seasons and moods have turned.
KERRY: 1 B Kealy; 2 M Ó Sé, 3 A O'Mahony, 4 S Enright; 5 J Lyne (0-1), 7 P Murphy, 6 K Young; 8 A Maher, 9 D Moran; 12 D Walsh (0-1), 11 B Sheehan (0-5, four frees), 10 J Buckley; 13 P Geaney (1-3, one free), 15 K Donaghy (capt), 15 J O'Donoghue (0-1). Subs: 22 M Geaney for Buckley (30 mins, inj), 17 C Cooper for Donaghy (45 mins), 20 S O'Brien for Sheehan (58 mins, red-carded, 69 mins, second yellow), 18 BJ Keane for P Geaney (63 mins), 26 P Galvin for Walsh (66 mins), 19 P Crowley for Young (68 ).
CORK: 1 K O'Halloran; 4 J Loughrey, 17 J O'Sullivan, 2 M Shields (capt); 6 Brian O'Driscoll (0-1), 7 S Cronin, 5 Barry O'Driscoll; 8 A O'Connor, 12 K O'Driscoll (0-1); 14 M Collins, 11 D O'Connor (0-1, a free), 22 P Kelly; 13 C O'Neill (0-3, two frees), 10 P Kerrigan (1-0), 15 B Hurley. Subs: 9 F Goold for O'Connor (47 mins), 19 C Dorman for K O'Driscoll (54), 26 D Goulding for Kelly (60 mins), 20 T Clancy for Barry O'Driscoll (66), 23 J Hayes for Hurley (67 mins).
Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois). Attendance: 32,233
