GAA ALL-IRELAND SFC SEMI-FINAL REPLAY KERRY v CORKSO, CORK at last got a rub of the green after a grim sequence of feeling the lash of the green and gold. Conor Counihan's pleasant sense of being something of a lightning rod for good fortune hasn't blinded him to the poverty of last week's display, which was little better than those Kerry had grown used to dismissing with 10-point beatings.
On the field Kerry looked as good as they have done in the past in this fixture but the mood music in the background for tomorrow's replay has changed.
The champions' propensity to drop big leads, particularly against Cork, has to be bothering Pat O'Shea. His full-back line has been the main source of these revivals and at the moment the defenders and goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy can't be exactly feeling buoyant.
Tommy Griffin is likely to be again given the marking detail on Michael Cussen. Although the versatile Dingle player grafted away effectively last week the Cork full forward's threat was equally limited by his own team.
Too much reliance on aerial bombardment when Cussen is comfortable moving out to lower deliveries allowed Griffin to do what he does best at full back - contest dropping ball - and didn't force him to do what he is least comfortable doing - playing from the front. James Masters would probably be the best option to add more variety to the distribution, but he may not start.
Then in the second half Cussen broke plenty of ball but his forward colleagues frequently didn't read the breaks properly.
In the Croke Park contests this decade Kerry have always been superior in terms of winning breaking ball. That trend continued last week and contributed to the enormous pressure Cork were under for most of the match.
Disrupted by Donncha O'Connor's red card and Seán O'Brien's substitution, Cork's half forwards completely lost track of Killian Young and Tomás Ó Sé in the final quarter, and improved work rate is going to be needed all around the middle, and to that end changes are also expected in the half backs with Noel O'Leary and maybe Michael Shields on standby.
It's not that Kerry don't have room to improve either. Declan O'Sullivan was kept quiet by John Miskella and although Derek Kavanagh coped as well as he could, Kieran Donaghy was still a worthy "man of the match". Colm Cooper and the rest of the champions' forwards are also unlikely to put in as poor a display of shooting again.
But there are still ghosts haunting Kerry. No side can be sure that blowing a lead like last week's won't have consequences. It means another match despite having put in what was 95 per cent a good-enough performance to progress easily.
It will be the team's fourth match in five weeks. Ironically last week's was the least competitive but they must replay it whereas Cork haven't been as heavily taxed. It's all very well to say that Kerry have additional motivations but will Donncha O'Connor's non-suspension be a more successful motivation than Anthony Lynch's in 2006 - or indeed from the other perspective, Darragh Ó Sé's in 2002? In Kerry's favour is their good form and Cork's continuing inability to play to potential.
CORK:A Quirke; D Duggan, D Kavanagh, A Lynch; J Miskella, G Spillane, K O'Connor; A O'Connor, G Canty (captain); S O'Brien, P O'Neill, K McMahon; D Goulding, M Cussen, J Hayes.
KERRY:D Murphy; M Ó Sé, T O'Sullivan, P Reidy; T Ó Sé (captain), A O'Mahony, K Young; T Griffin, S Scanlon; B Sheehan, C Cooper, D Walsh; D O'Sullivan, K Donaghy, T Walsh.
Referee:Jimmy White (Donegal).
Guidelines
In the last episode:Effectively the last episode lasted the six minutes or so that it took Cork to effect the most amazing stroke of escapology seen in a big Croke Park match since Offaly's 1994 All-Ireland hurling victory.
You bet:Compared to last week Cork are lengthier odds at 3-1, whereas Kerry remain 4-11 with the draw slightly tightened at 8-1. The handicap remains +3 with Cork evens and Kerry (-3) the same.
On your marks:What will be the reaction to the suspension of Darragh Ó Sé? The discouraging aspect of this from Cork's point of view is that Kerry have coped well before. Eoin Brosnan and William Kirby more than held their own with Mayo in the 2004 All-Ireland final and in last year's semi-final Séamus Scanlon and Tommy Griffin competed well against Dublin.
Gaining ground:Another Croke Park outing for the Munster rivals, their sixth in seven seasons. This decade only Kilkenny and Wexford have met more often in championship at the venue.
Just the ticket:Stands €45. Terrace is open this week, at €30. Concessions (accompanied juveniles €5, students with ID and senior citizens, €20) available for Cusack and Davin Stands.
Crystal gazing:Cork could improve substantially on the drawn match and still lose and it's hard to see the disparity between the sides evaporate in the space of a week.
