Kerry regain title by tightest margin

KERRY regained the Munster junior football championship title after a four-year period when they defeated defending All-Ireland champions Cork by a point at Austin Stack Park, Tralee last night.

In a game that won’t be remembered for the purity of its football, they denied Cork a fourth title in a row. Kerry were marginally the better side and looked to be heading for a comfortable victory when they forged five points clear by the end of the third quarter, but the Leesiders put in a storming finish only to be beaten by the clock.

Cork got a dream start when Billy Dennehy slipped home a goal after a minute from Paudie Cahill’s pass. However, in a game that lacked real bite, Kerry recovered principally because of the dominance of Andrew Garnett and JP Brosnan at midfield and they were level after 10 minutes with three points in a row.

Kerry enjoyed a lot of possession, but faulty shooting cost them scores. Cork were only marginally better in their shooting and, in a game riddled with errors, the home side finished strongly with three points in a row and deservedly led 0-6 to 1-2 at half time.

Kerry upped the ante considerably on the change over and pinned Cork in their own half for long periods, scoring five points to just one for the visitors. The excellence of substitute Fergal Griffin was a major factor in Kerry’s dominance.

With 20 minutes to go, Cork had used up their full complement of subs looking to find the right blend, but it was Kerry who continued to dictate with Stephen Wallace proving more than a handful for the Cork defence.

However, after Colin Weste pointed a close in free, Fiachra Lynch missed a sitter of a goal when he blazed over the bar with only the keeper to beat. While Cork continued to whittle down the deficit, Kerry were grateful for the final whistle.

Scorers: Kerry: S. Wallace 0-3 (0-1 free); J. Buckley, R. McAuliffe 0-2 each; C. Daly, N. Fleming, M. Murphy, k. Foley, A. Garnett 0-1 each. Cork: C. Weste 0-4 (0-2 frees); B. Dennehy 1-0; P. Cahill, M. O’Sullivan, F. Lynch, P. Fitzgerald 0-1 each.

KERRY: S. Og Ciardabhain; S. Hegarty, J. Costello, S. Cremin; D. O’Sullivan, B. Hickey, J. King; JP Brosnan, A. Garnett; N. Fleming, M. Murphy, R. Daly; R. McAuliffe, S. Wallace, J. Buckley.

Subs. F. Griffin for Cremin; K. Foley for Daly; F. O’Sullivan for Brosnan.

CORK: K. O’Halloran; P. Gayer, E. O’Mahony, D. O’Riordan; J. Healy, D. O’Brien, T. Murphy; M. O’Sullivan, A. O’Sullivan; F. Lynch, L. Concannon, J. Shanahan; B. Dennehy, F. Murphy, P. Cahill.

Subs. B. Twomey for Murphy; C. Weste for Dennehy; S. Rea for O’Sullivan; K. Canty for Concannon; P. Fitzgerald for O’Riordan.

Referee: R. Hickey (Clare).