Beware Kerry's walking wounded...but Rebels missed the memo 

Jack O’Connor claimed afterwards that Kerry's depth was questioned last year and this was the riposte.

Keith Evans of Kerry in action against Colm O’Callaghan of Cork during the Munster GAA Football Senior Championship final match between Kerry and Cork at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, Kerry. Photo by Paul Phelan/Sportsfile

Munster SFC final: Kerry 1-23 (1-2-19) Cork 1-15 (1-3-9) 

Beware the walking wounded.

To say Kerry were depleted entering this Munster final was no exaggeration concocted by the home crowd. Minus eight All-Ireland starters, Tom O’Sullivan and then Paul Geaney before throw-in, vulnerable wouldn’t put too fine a point on their situation.

Their group exit it with more injury worries but what a show of strength from the Kerry boys' brigade. Jack O’Connor claimed afterwards that their depth was questioned last year and this was the riposte.

What was just as stirring was players’ willingness to return to the fray hurt. Dylan Casey and Mike Breen both went off for running repairs and came back on. In a defence ravaged by injury, their resilience was welcome.

In the end, eight points separated the sides as Kerry dropped a gear and hit metal after a Brian O’Driscoll goal on the hour mark followed by a David Buckley point threatened a most unlikely comeback for Cork.

Fitzgerald Stadium remains a fortress they haven’t been able to breach since 1995 despite the handsome following they had among the 32,961 attendance.

An 87th Munster SFC title and the inaugural Corn Pháidí Uí Shé came far more easier on the scoreboard for Kerry than it did the general health of their panel.

Worryingly for the county's U20 manager Tomás Ó Sé ahead of Wednesday’s All-Ireland U20 semi-final against Roscommon, Tomás Kennedy was one of those who limped off. Paudie Clifford and Armin Heinrich never emerged for the second half, while the excellent Seán O’Brien had to retire lame as did Micheál Burns.

Perhaps Clifford and Heinrich were removed with the visit of Donegal here on Saturday week in mind, but the extent of Kerry’s difficulties were illustrated beforehand when RTÉ cameras picked up the players in the crowd who were not togging out. A who’s who of All-Ireland winners and All-Stars.

There was blood in the water but Cork didn’t smell it. Even if O’Driscoll’s solo goal brought them within three in the 60th minute and Buckley narrowed the margin to two, Cork never showed enough gumption or will to end their sorry streak in Killarney. A total of 1-2 in the second half was a dismal return. One point for 25 second-half minutes was unacceptable.

Kerry finished out the game with the last five scores, one of them a two-pointer by substitute Tony Brosnan who was one of the top performers. Keith Evans, Diarmuid O’Connor and David Clifford were impressive too.

After the break, Cork returned to the field with doubts that they did enough in a wind-assisted opening half, finishing with a three-point lead (0-13 to 0-10). When they didn’t score for the first 12 minutes of the next period when Kerry hit them for 1-2, those doubts would have turned to regrets.

The goal in the 39th minute was David Clifford’s. Brosnan sent the ball in for Clifford who had cut through the backdoor and then availed of a slight slip by Daniel O’Mahony before dummying and despatching the ball to the net with aplomb.

Clifford boomed a massive two-pointer in the 45th minute to stretch Kerry’s lead to four prior to Mark Cronin breaking a pattern that really broke Cork. Breen and Tomás Kennedy added scores and save for O’Driscoll’s moment of inspiration Cork were listless.

Which was most unusual considering their settled line-up started as intended. Positionally, O’Mahony again took up David Clifford while Maurice Shanley was assigned to Paudie Clifford. Tommy Walsh switched to the full-back line to tag Keith Evans.

Cork won the toss too, captain Ian Maguire choosing to play with the wind at their backs in the first half. Eleven minutes in and Cork having kicked three two-pointers, it seemed the shrewd move.

Steven Sherlock also sent over a sideline that was just outside the two-point range. Twice, they led by five points in those opening 11 minutes.

Kerry built their way into the half with successive David Clifford points. Seánie McDonnell’s two-point effort was followed by another Clifford strike after Evans and Burns and then Breen teed up Paudie Clifford for his first point.

Shanley was sticky on Clifford but Evans was benefitting from that attention and his second score tied up the game in the 25th minute.

Before that, David Clifford had a goal attempt kept out by Patrick Doyle and Kennedy converted a soft free he won himself. At the other end, Chris Óg Jones had earlier won one that was on the harmless side too.

Jones and Colm O’Callaghan countered with points and Breen was fortunate that his errors in trying to collect a kick-out weren’t punished.

Armin Heinrich’s second point on the half-hour mark was Kerry’s last of the half when a goal was on. Burns kept out a Jones goalbound shot in the 33rd minute but there was compensation for Cork in the form of a Sherlock 45 and Mark Cronin followed up with a point as Cork seized on the resultant kick-out.

Kerry would have been reasonably happy only for some awry decision-making when there were goals to be had. O’Connor might have had his grumbles but they were minimal.

“That was a significant enough wind, maybe the people in the stand or even in the terrace might not have seen it, but down on the pitch that was 15 to 20-yard wind, and we felt that it would be significant. That it would take away the two-point threat from Cork and allow us, to kick one or two two-pointers.” 

As it turned out, in that first half they had broken the back of this game. And with it Cork’s.

Scorers for Kerry: D. Clifford (1-6, 1 tp, 1 free); T. Brosnan (0-5, 1tp); K. Evans, A. Heinrich, T. Kennedy (frees) (0-2 each); P. Clifford, M. Burns, M. Breen, G. White, D. Geaney, K. Spillane (0-1 each).

Scorers for Cork: M. Cronin (0-5, 1 tp, 1 free); B. O’Driscoll (1-2, 1 tp); S. McDonnell (tp), S. Sherlock (1 free, 1 sideline), C. Jones (0-2 each); C. O’Callaghan, D. Buckley (0-1 each).

KERRY: S. Murphy; E. Looney, J. Foley, D. Casey; T. Morley, M. Breen, A. Heinrich; M. O’Shea, S. O’Brien; M. Burns, P. Clifford, D. O’Connor; D. Clifford (c), T. Kennedy, L. Evans.

Subs: G. White for D. Casey (temp, 26-ht); G. White for A. Heinrich, T. Brosnan for P. Clifford (both inj, h-t); K. Spillane for T. Kennedy (inj 54); D. Geaney for S. O’Brien (inj 55); E. Healy for M. Breen (blood, 60-65); C Trant for M. Burns (62); E. Healy for T. Morley (65).

CORK: P. Doyle; T. Walsh, S. Meehan, D. O’Mahony; B. O’Driscoll, M. Shanley, L. Fahy; C. O’Callaghan, I. Maguire (c); S. McDonnell, P. Walsh, R. Deane; M. Cronin, S. Sherlock, C. Jones.

Subs: C. Corbett for R. Deane; S. Brady for S. Meehan (48); D. Buckley for P. Walsh (59); S. Walsh for S. McDonnell (63); R. Maguire for S. Brady (65).

Referee: P. Faloon (Down).