MUNSTER SFC SEMI-FINAL Kerry 0-13 Cork 1-10: THE PATRONS shuffled out of Dick Fitzgerald's ground in various states of unhappiness.
Both Kerry and Cork had threatened to win and lose here but ultimately, there was something inevitable about the stale mate.
The All-Ireland title credentials of neither team were enriched by their respective performances. It was a disquieting day for locals. There were periods of the game when Kerry were made appear distinctly second-rate in comparison to the clean, urgent athleticism Cork at their best showed.
Fears must have crossed the mind of many of the hoop-shirted supporters in the crowd of 32, 204 that this was a ghostly version of the Kingdom side who have been pronounced unbeatable at various stages over the past five years.
Yesterday, they looked beaten after 55 minutes. And yet by the end, they probably ought to have won the game. When it mattered, Kerry exercised the old authority on the red-shirted men and, on a day when little clicked for them, they had the moral courage and the old-fashioned ability to kick a ball to fall back upon and therefore earn themselves another day – or evening, at any rate – out.
The replay is fixed for Saturday night in Cork city – romance, Southern style. In the meantime, the boys in the backroom have plenty to ponder.
The bigger question mark hangs over Cork. Are they real contenders? Had they been defeated here – a fate that was eminently possible – the notion that they are genuine September candidates would surely have been in smithereens.
Because for all their obvious football ability and their superior physical attributes, it would have been extremely difficult for them to shake off the psychological scarring of losing to a Kerry outfit who were at their mercy at times here.
Cork’s blistering opening declaration – a point from Graham Canty delivered as the redoubtable Bantry man rolled on to the Killarney turf after just 13 seconds – could not have been in greater contrast to their state of being in the closing period of the game.
After building a five-point lead after 56 minutes of play, they seemed caught in appalled fascination as Kerry came to life through a variety of sources – a monster kick from Tadhg Kennelly (his first point for the Kerry seniors), the latest offering from the Colm Cooper Book of Impossible Scores and, most importantly, an exercise in place-kicking from substitute Bryan Sheehan.
Kerry’s comeback was the stuff of bravery and cool thinking but nonetheless, Cork were found wanting here. Because there were periods when they had left the Kerrymen desperately exposed. In addition to the fine goal scored by Pearse O’Neill on 23 minutes, they had three further chances to put significant distance between the teams on the scoreboard.
Daniel Goulding opted to handpass a point just a minute after O’Neill’s goal, with Kerry reeling and Diarmuid Murphy readying himself for another assault on his goal. In the second half, Patrick Kelly played a ball across the face of the Kerry goal which was just inches too high from Michael Cussen’s swinging fist – the 6ft 7in Glanmire man clattered into the goalpost but the woodwork stood up well.
And then Goulding caught the Kerry back line flat with a pass to Kelly: he had a one-on-one situation with Murphy but drilled his shot wide. In all cases, Kerry were chasing shadows. And Cork had many good performances: O’Neill was supreme, at times, Michael Shields had an outstanding game.
Anthony Lynch was full-hearted as ever in defence and reintroduced his barnstorming runs from deep in the second half. Colm O’Neill came in as full time was sounding and had the poise to land a huge 45on 72 minutes.
That might have been a famous winner: Kerry’s reply was bread-and butter: they grafted for a free, the translation of which was made easier when Noel O’Leary’s quarrelling over where the ball should be placed impressed referee Maurice Deegan so much that he brought it ten yards forward.
Sheehan, imperious since his introduction, had no trouble from the subsequent range of 35 yards. Cork have so many comfortable ball players, from Paul Kerrigan to Kieran O’Connor, a late replacement in the Cork defence and Donnacha O’Connor, who needed to see more ball.
And yet: they hit four points in the second half and lived terribly dangerously when the game mattered. And they leave here with the nagging worry that Kerry will not be as poor all summer.
For the All-Ireland favourites, nothing went quite to plan. Overall, this match confirmed the suspicion that Kieran Donaghy is an indispensable figure for this team; people go on about his height and how “awkward” defenders find him but it is the Tralee man’s hands and his playmaking brilliance that Kerry need the most.
Losing Tommy Walsh after just 11 minutes made the cupboard look bare. Darragh Ó Sé was returned to the front line earlier than he might have imagined. It was the craftiest performance by the old stager; his single burst forward yielded a point, he grafted, he competed and he directed traffic. Ó Sé had a big afternoon.
The terrace talk was that Tomás Ó Sé was finding Jimmy Kerrigan’s lad a handful. But Ó Sé held his man scoreless and he was the man punching forward at the end, winning the free that Sheehan casually floated over the bar.
The Kerry full-back line coped well, with Tom O’Sullivan too sticky for James Masters and Cussen, Tadhg Kennelly needed a few prompts but didn’t miss a line and will have a big summer in green and gold.
Darran O’Sullivan was a bundle of energy and Cooper suffered a frustrating day, missing a 31st minute penalty (after Darran O’Sullivan had been upended by Ger Spillane) before cutting loose with an outrageous point to level the match. Declan O’Sullivan started the match at the top of the right and looked as if he missed the life of running full tilt from deep. Rarely, though, did the Kerry team game fire.
That is hardly disastrous in its self, they prefer to hit stride in August. But with the injuries mounting – Tommy Walsh will hardly be back next Saturday night and Darran O’Sullivan was reportedly suffering from a broken nose – Kerry could be vulnerable before then. They wobbled here but did not buckle and that was the most encouraging part of the day for them. Cork will have to sit down, reflect on this and forget about.
No Rebel side has won in Killarney since the Cold War was in vogue. But whatever way you spin it, they had a golden chance here.
KERRY: D Murphy; M Ó Sé, T O'Sullivan, P Reidy; T Ó Sé, T Griffin, A O'Mahony; T Kennelly (0-1), M Quirke; Darren O'Sullivan, Donnacha Walsh (0-2), P Galvin; C Cooper (0-3, one free), Tommy Walsh (0-1), Declan O'Sullivan. Subs: Darragh Ó Sé (0-1)for T Walsh (11 mins inj.), B Sheehan (0-5, four frees)for Darran O'Sullivan, Darran O'Sullivan for D Walsh (48 mins), D Moran for M Quirke (48 mins), BJ Walsh for Darran O'Sullivan (57 mins inj.), S O'Sullivan for T Kennelly (70 mins). Yellow card: P Galvin (15 mins).
CORK: A Quirke: J Miskella, M Shields, A Lynch; Kieran O'Connor, G Canty (0-1), G Spillane; A O'Connor, N Murphy; P Kelly, P O'Neill (1-2), P Kerrigan; D Goulding (0-2), J Masters, Donnacha O'Connor (0-3 frees) Subs: M Cussen for J Masters (25 mins), N O'Leary (0-1)for G Spillane (33 mins), N O'Donovan for J Miskella (44 mins), B O' Regan for K O'Connor (62 mins), C O'Neill (0-1, 45)for D Goulding (66 mins). Yellow cards: G Spillane (15 mins), G Canty (28 mins) A Quirke (30 mins), P O'Neill (47 mins), M Shields (53 mins), N Murphy (72 mins).
Referee: M Deegan(Laois).
REPLAY
Cork v Kerry
Next Saturday (June 13th)
Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork
Throw-in – 7.30pm
