Kerry captain steers Kingdom to win

Kerry 0-11 Cork 0-09

Kerry skipper and full-forward Dara O’Cinneide scored six frees, including a run of 0-05 pointed in an inspiring 20-minute spell in the second half, to see the Kingdom claim their first win of NFL Division 1A at Austin Stack Park.

Both sides had a player sent off in the final ten minutes of the first half as Cork saw their 0-07 to 0-02 lead fall through their own grasp as the Rebels had to wait until the 66th minute for their next score.

Last Saturday night’s late goal hero Padraig Griffin saw red for his involvement in an off-the-ball incident with Aidan O’Mahony, which left the half-back dazed for a number of seconds.

Kerry midfielder Seamus Scanlon levelled up the playing numbers in first half injury time following his own dismissal by Limerick referee Michael Ryan for a clothesline challenge on Cork’s Nicholas Murphy.

Martin Cronin opened the scoring after two minutes with a lengthy 30-metre point, before an O’Cinneide free and a Declan O’Sullivan point levelled the teams at 0-02 apiece after eleven minutes.

Naomh Aban half-forward Micheal O Croinin then went on to point five well-struck frees, from the 13th to 37th minute, to establish Cork’s five-point lead at the break.

But with Kerry adapting the better to the 28-man game, O’Cinneide began to punish needless Cork fouls, before Tom Griffin’s only point over an attempted block by Colin McCarthy on 42 minutes put just a single point between them.

O’Cinneide levelled five minutes later from a central free and put Kerry 0-02 in front with thirteen minutes remaining.

Substitute Liam Hassett scored the point of the game, superbly bending over a long-range score with the aid of the wind on the hour mark.

Cork hit back with two late frees from O Croinin but there was no time for late goals this week as following an Eoin Brosnan point, late lobs by O Croinin and Cork half back Noel O’Leary went wide in front of an attendance of 5,663.

Scorers: Kerry: D O’Cinneide 0-06 (6f), D O’Sullivan, W Kirby, T Griffin, L Hassett , E Brosnan 0-01 each

Cork: M O Croinin 0-07 (7f), C McCarthy, M Cronin 0-01 each

HT: Kerry 0-02 Cork 0-07

KERRY: D Murphy; B Guiney, M McCarthy, T Griffin; S Moynihan, E Fitzmaurice, A O'Mahony; W Kirby, S Scanlon; P Galvin, D O'Sullivan, E Brosnan; MF Russell, D O'Cinneide (Capt), R O'Connor.

Subs: L Hassett for Russell (52 mins), J Sheahan for Kirby (68 mins), D Quill for Galvin (69 mins)

CORK: K O'Dwyer; S O'Brien, G Canty, A Lynch; N O'Leary, E Sexton, M Cronin; D Hurley, N Murphy; A Cronin, M O Croinin, C McCarthy; C Crowley (Capt), B Collins, P Griffin.

Subs: C O’Sullivan for Murphy (ht), G Murphy for Collins (45 mins), J O’Donoghue for A Cronin (50 mins), N O’Donovan for O’Leary (61 mins – temp. blood sub)

Referee: Michael Ryan (Limerick)