Kilkenny 1-23 Cork 0-17: Kilkenny's relentless crusade for three-in-a-row gathered pace at Croke Park this afternoon as Cork were brushed aside. Having breezed through Leinster, Cork presented Brian Cody's side with their first serious examination of the summer. His pupils, working diligently in the background since their last championship outing, passed with first class honours.
Having breezed through Leinster, Cork presented Brian Cody's side with their first serious examination of the summer. His pupils, working diligently in the background since their last championship outing, passed with first class honours.
The defending champions are a nothing if not a hardy bunch, and the physicality of the opening skirmishes was absorbed and forgotten about. After the shadow boxing of the opening quarter, the Cats moved up through the gears midway through the half.
At the time, the sides were level on 0-6 apiece but within a couple of minutes Kilkenny moved three clear as Henry Shefflin, Eddie Brennan and Aidan Fogarty broke free from the shackles.
The increased pressure on the Cork defence then forced an error that was punished clinically by Eoin Larkin as he skipped past the last defender and buried his shot into the bottom corner. Just like that, it was double scores.
And it wasn't just that the Kilkenny attack was firing, their defence was squeezing the life out of the Rebels attack at the other end. Cork managed just one point in the final 20 minutes to trail 1-12 to 0-7 at the break.
Left with a mountain to climb in the second-half, Cork would not be accused of rolling over. The comebacks against Clare and Galway had proved their resilience but Kilkenny are not the sort of outfit to give up that sort of lead.
Ultimately, they won at a canter and neither Waterford or Tipperary will hold any fears for them in the decider.