Seventh heaven for super Rebels

Cork 0-16 Kerry 0-07

“Kerry’s success in Ladies Football resembles Tennyson’s Brook,” wrote the recently-departed man from Castleisland in his Evening Press column back in November of 1990, “it seems set to go on forever.”

The women from the Kingdom had claimed their ninth successive senior All-Ireland earlier that year but little could Houlihan have known that the run was already at an end and — one more title in 1993 aside – and the well has been dry ever since.

Waterford, Monaghan and Mayo would all make serious stabs at establishing similar dynasties but Cork have proven to be not just the most worthy of successors to that great Kerry team but the greatest side of all time.

That they stand three titles short of Kerry’s haul seems but a trifle that time will surely take care of given the efficient manner they claimed number seven yesterday against their outclassed Munster neighbours at Croke Park.

The task awaiting the underdogs here was impossible to exaggerate. Eamonn Ryan’s Cork side was already decorated with over 100 All-Ireland medals and 30 All Stars but, more frighteningly, a burning desire to atone for their one blip — a quarter-final defeat to Tyrone in 2010 — since 2005.

Kerry approached the battlefield conscious of the grievous wounds Cork had inflicted on them in the opening half of the Munster final and set their stall out to ensure this game would, at the very least, remain a contest until the orange slices were digested.

In truth, it was an exercise in damage limitation.

They did so by packing their defence, offering a considerably greater degree of physicality than is normally associated with the women’s game and pumping high balls into a rangy full-forward, Lorraine Scanlon.

Kerry’s manager, William O’Sullivan, hesitated before comparing his side to the Donegal men’s outfit of 2011 afterwards but he could think of no better template to explain the change in approach which was taken in the aftermath of their loss in that provincial decider.

By the game’s end, Kerry had conceded three times as many fouls as their opponents (32 to 11) and, though he had quibbles with some of those awarded, O’Sullivan was honest enough to acknowledge that the referee was not the winning and losing of the game.

“Once a team isn’t dirty I don’t mind it,” said Ryan, his counterpart.

“We were the favourites, like, so it was up to them to stop us. Once it wasn’t done in an unsporting fashion I had no problem with it.”

“They seem to have changed their modus operandi. They seem to have a very defensive template now which is difficult to play against. We had one or two chances early on that we didn’t punish with a goal.

“I’d say that gave their defence great confidence in the system. We were under pressure because we weren’t getting away from them. Five or six points. They were lobbing bombs in on us as well and one goal and the game was wide open again.”

Ryan was being kind. Cork were helped by the fact that Kerry captain Bernie Breen had damaged her AC joint after only five minutes (although she played on) but it was evident early on that it was merely a question as to what the ultimate margin would be.

True, Kerry tightened up after a shaky opening and, yes, Cork made the wrong option on occasion when faced with the green wall but the traffic was nonetheless one-way for great chunks of the game and the scores slowly mounted up to a commanding lead.

Time after time Kerry were relieved of possession before crossing the halfway line and on too many occasions when they managed to cross the border into enemy territory they found the raiding party wasn’t sizeable enough to inflict any damage.

Kerry needed every probe to deliver a return but couldn’t manage it. Scanlon’s isolation was obvious long before she was re-deployed further back in the second-half and the jinking runs of Sarah Houlihan weren’t enough in themselves to turn the tide.

By the turn, Cork were 0-11 to 0-3 to the good. The closest the challengers would get to them in the second period was six points and the goal that would have ignited the scent of an upset was never struck.

Scorers for Cork: V Mulcahy 0-7 (6fs), D O’Sullivan 0-4, G O’Flynn 0-2, B Corkery, O Farmer, N Cleary 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kerry: S Houlihan 0-3 (2fs), L Scanlon 0-2, L Ni Mhuicheartaigh (f), P Dennehy 0-1 each.

Subs for Cork: Angela Walsh for AN Walsh (38), O Finn for Ni Bhuachalla (38), L McMahon for Farmer (46), A Hutchings for Kelly (53), Annie Walsh for C O’Sullivan (57).

Subs for Kerry: P Dennehy for Corridan (25), M Fitzgerald for Galvin (45), D Corridan for O’Connell (55), SJ Joy for Sherwood (59).

Referee: G Corrigan (Down).