"If only I knew what it is that gives them the attitude they have I would bottle it." Cork manager John Considine was obviously pleased with his team's rollercoaster second half performance that shocked strong favourites Kilkenny to qualify for a second successive All-Ireland Minor Hurling championship final at Croke Park yesterday.
Cork let it rip after failing to reach anything like their full potential for the opening 20 minutes of one of the more memorable semi-finals at the grade.
"We began to acquire this attitude of no surrender from the Wexford match in the quarter final," said Considine.
The player largely responsible for Cork's success in tranforming the trend over the second 30 minutes was Kieran Murphy of Sarsfields.
If ever an individual display merited a five star rating it was the strong Sarsfields player's ability to tear the Kilkenny cover apart for vital scores.
His personal tally of 3-6, four of the points from placed balls, stamped him as a player of real class and Cork's inspirational source of the day.
Murphy's presence also explained how badly he was missed due to suspension for the Munster final against champions Tipperary.
Kilkenny, as impressive winners of the Leinster championship, had every right to be favourites now that they were being opposed by a team that had fallen to a Tipperary team badly beaten by Galway in the first semi-final.
"We were out of match practice for six weeks after beating Wexford in the Leinster final, Cork got a good run out against Wexford in the back door quarter-final and it seemed to have stood to them today," offered a dejected Kilkenny manager Nick Cashin.
The opening 20 minutes signposted something of a comfortable win for Kilkenny, but a closer look at the pattern suggested that the Leinster champions were ahead by two points at the interval, 0-7 to 0-5, because Cork had squandered so many chances.
Ironically, Kieran Murphy was among the culprits, losing out on a first quarter goal chance after having been set up by Setanta O hAilpin.
But Murphy atoned for that little lapse right from the throw-in for the second half when banging home the first of his hat-trick of goals.
Kilkenny had been sluggish and were now paying the price, trailing for the first time in the game. Kilkenny's inspiring corner forward Brian Dowling, deadly with the placed ball, got his side back on track.
However, Kilkenny lack of penetration up front was again noted when team captain Emmet Kavanagh fresh-aired a shot on goal close in after Cork goalkeeper Martin Coleman had fumbled.
At the other end, Cork didn't register a wide until midway through the second half, a further improvement in their general display.
Cork's strong defenders Cian O'Conor Kevin Goggin John Gardiner and Michael Prout gave the side real backbone.
Wille O'Dwyer's DJ-like goal, which left the sides level once more with seven minutes remaining, had to be the highlight of the game from a Kilkenny viewpoint.
The final three minutes of tense play proved a fitting climax to a fine game.
Kilkenny's Martin Phelan equalised again but it was Sarsfields Murphy - the other Kieran Murphy in the Cork attack plays with Erins Own - who squeezed in the winning goal and insurance point in injury time.
CORK: M Coleman; J O'Mahony, C O'Connor, K Goggin; S Murphy, J Gardiner, M Prout; K Harnett (0-1), B Smidy; K Murphy (Erins Own) 0-1 free, T O'Leary, P Morgan; S O hAilpin (0-2), K Murphy (Sarsfields) (3-6, fours points from frees), S O'Sullivan. Subs: J O'Connor (0-1) for Morgan (20 mins), F Murphy for O'Sullivan (48 mins).
KILKENNY; D Herity; P Holden, J Phelan, N Doherty; M Rice, PJ Delaney (0-2, 65 and free), T Walsh; M Walsh, S Hennessy; M Phelan (0-1), W O'Dwyer (1-1), R Dowlng ; C Phelan, E Kavanagh, B Dowling (0-9, six frees). Subs: S O'Neill for Hennessy (40 mins), K Cleere for Holden (48 mins), B Doyle for Kavanagh (49 mins).
Referee: E Morris (Dublin)
