Killarney

Adam Moynihan reports from Páirc Uí Rinn



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Munster Championship Semi-Final



Cork 0-11 Kerry 0-23



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A run of eight straight points between the 51st and 64th minutes lifted Kerry to what was ultimately a comprehensive victory over Cork at Páirc Uí Rinn.



Cork had frustrated their fiercest rivals up until then and some excellent kicking by Stephen Sherlock and Cathail O’Mahony had them trailing by the minimum.



With David Clifford being well marshalled by a combination of Kevin Flahive and Seán Powter, Kerry had struggled to find their rhythm but that string of unanswered scores finally put the contest to bed.



PERFECT



This match was played in front of a virtually full Páirc Uí Rinn in perfect conditions but, save for a Cork run around the 26-minute mark, it failed to really burst into life in the first half.



Kerry boast arguably the best forward division in the country but Cork’s Stephen Sherlock was the stand-out marksman of the opening period. He kicked the hosts first six points (the fifth was his first from play and also the score of the half).



David Clifford (two), Paudie Clifford, Stephen O’Brien and Séan O’Shea (two) had given The Kingdom a 7-3 lead with 20 minutes on the clock before Sherlock (three) and Cathail O’Mahony roused the home crowd by making it a draw game.



The visitors finished the half in the ascendancy, however, and a great point (as he was being fouled) by the excellent Diarmuid O’Connor and a Tony Brosnan score gave them a two-point half-time lead.



O’Mahony’s kicking kept the Rebels within striking distance at the beginning of the second half but the introduction of David Moran at midfield coincided with Kerry’s best spell of the match. With Gavin White also exploding into the game, Jack O’Connor’s side eased into fourth gear and left Cork in their wake.



Seán O’Shea accounted for a good portion of Kerry’s match-sealing points and subs Micheál Burns and Paul Geaney also got in on the act late on.



Cork’s second-half performance can perhaps be summed up by the fact that they scored just one point in the last 20 minutes. Kerry’s backs deserve credit here; corner back Graham O’Sullivan in particular caught the eye.



Speaking to the media after the match, Kerry manager Jack O’Connor said the game had “more or less” gone the way Kerry would have predicted.



“We expected a big battle from Cork. With all the controversy over the game being played here, they had no option but to battle and they did. And fair play to them. They gave us a great battle for 50 minutes.



“We needed all our experience off the bench to see out that game.”



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KERRY: S Ryan; G O’Sullivan, J Foley, T O&#8217;Sullivan; B Ó Beaglaoich, G White, T Morley; D O’Connor (0-1), J Barry; S O’Brien (0-2), Seán O’Shea (0-10, 8f), A Spillane; T Brosnan (0-1), D Clifford (0-4, 3f), P Clifford (0-2).



Subs: P Geaney (0-2) for Brosnan, D Moran for Spillane, P Murphy for Ó Beaglaoich, M Burns (0-1), J O’Connor for D O’Connor.



CORK: M Martin; K O’Donovan (0-1), M Shanley, K Flahive; J Cooper, R Maguire, M Taylor; I Maguire, C O’Callaghan; D Dineen, S Powter, J O’Rourke; S Sherlock (0-6, 5f), B Hurley, C O’Mahony (0-3).



Subs: D Foley for Martin, D Gore for Hurley, T Corkery for Powter, E McSweeney (0-1) for Dineen, D Hayes for O’Rourke.



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Attendance: 10,743



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Kerry brush Cork aside to reach another Munster final

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