Ruthless Kilkenny dominate Cork in stunning display

Kilkenny 3-22 Cork 0-19

Kilkenny’s quest for five All-Ireland senior hurling titles in a row remains on track after they sent out a loud statement of intent in dismantling Cork in their semi-final at Croke Park this afternoon.

Once Brian Cody’s side found their rhythm midway through the first half, the Munster side could not cope with the increase in intensity and for long periods of the game looked rudderless, though they did improve their performance in the second half.

All over the field Kilkenny were dominant, perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that both of Cork’s starting midfielders, Tom Kenny and Cathal Naughton, were substituted.

Early in the first half, however, there didn’t seem to be any indication of what was to come.

Though Kilkenny had gone into a 0-2 to nil lead inside seven minutes and Cork were under pressure, they were not defending too badly, but goalkeeper Dónal Óg Cusack did have to do well to save from Richie Power on 11.

The Rebels’ attack was short-wiring though, with some poor options taken in terms of long-range scoring attempts, but two Ben O’Connor frees had Cork level by the 16th minute.

When Kilkenny centre-back Brian Hogan had to retire injured on 18, the fear for the Cats was that it might destabilise their defence, but James Ryall proved to be a solid replacement, and a quick burst of 1-1 put them firmly in the driving seat.

First Power scored a good point and then Henry Shefflin pounced on a loose ball outside the Cork D before carrying it and passing to the unmarked Eddie Brennan, who was not going to miss from close range.

Cathal Naughton did cut the gap to 1-4 to 0-3, but by the next time Cork would score after that, Kilkenny had extended their advantage emphatically.

Aidan Fogarty scored their second goal on 22, firing home the rebound after Cusack failed to deal with a Ryall delivery from deep and both he and Power added points.

Not even the loss of Shefflin due to injury seemed to upset Kilkenny, as the man who replaced him, Martin Comerford, pointed with his first touch and further points had them 2-10 to 0-3 clear before O’Connor and Seán Óg Ó hAilpín gave Cork faint hope.

Kilkenny captain TJ Reid got in on the act then, though – meaning that all six starting Kilkenny forwards had scored from play while none of Cork’s had – and Power’s fourth point left it 2-12 to 0-5 at the interval.

He carried on where he left off in the first minute of the second period with a close-in free and then one from behind halfway meant that 15 points separated the sides with 33 minutes still remaining on the clock.

Despite bringing William Egan and Paudie O’Sullivan on at half-time, and Jerry O’Connor early in the second half, Cork were still not making any headway and Kilkenny were even able to afford the luxury of missing five chances in a row and still leading comfortably, following points by Brennan and James Fitzpatrick.

Another Ben O’Connor free finally opened Cork’s second-half account in the 46th minute, and then after a Ronan Curran free broke, Paudie O’Sullivan was fouled in the large rectangle and referee Brian Gavin awarded a penalty.

As if to illustrate that it was not the Rebels’ day, goalkeeper PJ Ryan tipped over Patrick Horgan’s effort, though the corner-forward did score two good points in the space of a minute immediately after that.

Cork were still applying themselves, and they had managed to cut down on their basic mistakes, with John Gardiner getting on the scoresheet and Horgan continuing to take the fight to the champions.

A comeback was always going to be too remote a possibility though and Kilkenny continued to take their chances with ease, even if their levels had dropped slightly.

Power put an extra gloss on his, and his side’s, performance with another goal in the 62nd minute, and while Cork did manage to reel off some further points near the end, they merely served to make the scoreline look less lop-sided.

For Kilkenny, though, the path to immortality has only 70 minutes left and neither Tipperary nor Waterford will look forward to meeting them in the first week in September.

KILKENNY: PJ Ryan; J Dalton, N Hickey, J Tyrrell; T Walsh (0-1), B Hogan, JJ Delaney; J Fitzpatrick (0-2), M Fennelly (0-2); TJ Reid (0-1), H Shefflin (0-2, 0-1f), E Larkin (0-1); E Brennan (1-1), R Power (1-8, 0-6f), A Fogarty (1-2).

Subs: J Ryall for Hogan (16, injured), M Comerford (0-2) for Shefflin (27, injured), M Rice for Brennan (53), J Mulhall for Reid (55), D Lyng for Fitzpatrick (63)

CORK: D Óg Cusack; S Murphy, E Cadogan, B Murphy; J Gardiner (0-2), R Curran, S Óg Ó hAilpín (0-1); T Kenny, C Naughton (0-1); C McCarthy, K Murphy, N McCarthy (0-1); P Horgan (0-6, 0-1f, 0-1 penalty), A Ó hAilpín, B O’Connor (0-7, 0-6f).

Subs: W Egan for C McCarthy, P O’Sullivan for A Ó hAilpín (both half-time), J O’Connor for K Murphy (43), M Cussen for Naughton (47), G Callanan for Kenny (59).

Referee: B Gavin (Offaly).