Kerry 0-11 Cork 2-2:Kerry manager Pat O'Shea admitted, after his side had once again beaten rivals Cork in this Division One A derby at Austin Stack Park, Tralee, on Saturday night, it was a close call. It was a welcome result following last week's narrow away defeat to Mayo.
Ironically, it took a stunning save from Diarmuid Murphy to deny the visitors a share of the points after he turned a snap shot from Ger Spillane around the post in the dying seconds.
It would, however, have been a travesty if this wasteful Cork side had taken anything from this game; they were woeful up front, and Cork manager Billy Morgan was a worried man afterwards as his side are pointless after two outings.
The Cork forwards shot 12 wides over the 70-plus minutes and did not score until the 23rd minute of the opening half, and it took a minute longer in the second half before they got their solitary score of the half, an opportunist goal after James Masters's free was spilled by Darragh Ó Sé and Donnacha O'Connor fired to the net.
Kerry looked very solid at the back, with Killian Young catching the eye along with fellow newcomer Brendan Guiney at wing back.
Kieran Donaghy lined out at full forward as Tommy Griffin began at midfield but Kerry won because of some outstanding defensive play and the accuracy of Declan Quill, the only Kerry player to score from play.
The understanding between Quill and Donaghy was a crucial factor in Kerry's win, though Donaghy did not get enough good ball played over his head.
Captain Bryan Sheehan drilled two long-range frees between the posts and Kerry led 0-5 to 0-0 as Cork failed to score in the opening 20 minutes.
Cork opened their account in the 23rd minute when Donnacha O'Connor set up Masters, and he kicked a right-footed point as Cork started to come more into the game at midfield.
Masters added another point before Kerry were rocked just short of half-time when Daniel Goulding got inside the defence and blasted the ball to the net to level a very competitive contest.
Then, in added time, Donaghy fed Quill, who scored his third from play, and Kerry led by 0-6 to 1-2 at the interval and the game was on a knife edge.
The second half opened with Donaghy setting up Quill, who doubled Kerry's lead to two points. Cork were guilty of over-elaboration as they kicked their eighth wide.
Cork struggled and, as in the first half, just could not score for another 24 minutes as Sheehan converted his fifth free before O'Connor's goal made it a nerve-racking finish for Kerry.
It was a two-point game when Sheehan was sent off for a second yellow card as tempers became frayed and Cork then lost Noel O'Leary. But Kerry deserved the win even if they will need Colm Cooper, Eoin Brosnan, Paul Galvin and Declan O'Sullivan back for the summer campaign.
KERRY: D Murphy; M Ó Sé, T O'Sullivan, K Young; T Ó Sé, A O'Mahony, B Guiney; D Ó Sé, T Griffin; E Fitzmaurice, D Walsh, D Quill (0-6, two frees); K Donaghy , B Sheehan (0-5, four frees, one 45). MF Russell. Subs: S O'Sullivan for MF Russell, P O'Connor for D Walsh.
CORK: P O'Shea; M Shields, E Cadogan, K O'Connor; N O'Leary, G Spillane, A Lynch; N Murphy, D Kavanagh; S O'Brien, D Goulding (1-0), A Cronin; J Masters (0-2), D O'Connor (1-0), K O'Sullivan. Subs: O Sexton for E Cadogan, C McCarthy for K O'Sullivan, A O'Connor for S O'Brien.
Referee: P Russell (Tipperary).
