Allianz Football League Division 1 – Kerry 0-13 Cork 0-11

Cork 0-11 Kerry 0-13

Sunday, 18 March 2012 18:23

Report from the RTE.ie web site

League leaders Kerry recorded their fourth win of the Allianz Football League Division 1 campaign as they defeated great rivals and second in the table Cork in front of 12,800 fans at Pàirc Uì Chaoimh. The Kingdom led by 0-8 to 0-2 at the break, with in the end Declan O’Sullivan and Bryan Sheehan kicking some fine points. Cork improved after the break, with five Donnacha O’Connor frees keeping them in touch.

Before the throw in, Kerry led the league champions by one point, having recorded victories over Dublin and Down on the road and a home win over Donegal the previous weekend. Kingdom manager Jack O’Connor made just one enforced change to his side, with Aidan O’Mahony coming in at ful- back for the injured Daniel Bohane.

Kieran Donaghy, whose father Oliver died on Friday, started in his usual number 14 shirt, after the selectors left the decision to play or not up to himself. He played a huge part in a Kerry forward line that roamed as they liked with Donaghy and Paul Galvin often helping out their defence, which caused problem for their markers.

Kerry opened the scoring with a point from midfielder Anthony Maher and despite a quick reply from a Donnacha O’Connor free, Kerry would dominate the first half and led by six at the break. Conor Counihan’s side had a good away win in Laois as well as defeating Down on home soil, and drawing with Armagh away before losing in Donegal.

Cork did improve in the second half and three points in a row from Mark Collins, Graham Canty and Donnacha O’Connor’s third free, reduced the arrears to a goal. Sheehan, Declan O’Sullivan and Paul Galvin, who earlier picked up a yellow card all added points to leave the Kingdom cruising again. O’Connor frees kept Cork in the match with Fintan Goold also on the score sheet, with late points, but the nearest Cork came to the winners was at the end, when corner back Eoin Cotter, up in attack, shot just over the crossbar, to leave two point between the sides at the full time whistle.

CORK: K O’Halloran; R Carey, M Shields, E Cotter (0-1); E Cadogan, G Canty(0-1)P Kissane; A O’Connor,P O’Neill; F Goold (0-1) M Collins, (0-1), C O’Neill, A Walsh(0-2), D O’Connor (0-5f).

Subs: P Kerrigan for O’Neill (48),N O’Leary for A O’Connor(51), Barry O’Driscoll for Kelly (66)

KERRY: B Kealy;M O’Sè,A O’Mahony,K Young;P Crowley, E Brosnan,B Maguire;A Maher(0-1),B Sheehan(0-4,0-3f);P Galvin(0-1), Declan O’Sullivan(0-5,0-2f);BJ Keane(0-1),K Donaghy(0-1),P Curtin.

Subs: T O Sè for Crowley(44), D O’Callaghan for Keane (65).

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

Kingdom in cruise control

Cork 0-11 Kerry 0-13

By John Fogarty for the Irish Examiner newspaper

It’s just as well Cork didn’t win this one — for Conor Counihan would have been at a loss to justify it. He didn’t have to, their late rally in front of the 12,821 Páirc Uí Chaoimh home crowd coming up short and finishing with Noel O’Leary’s desperate shot at goal ending up closer to the corner flag than Brendan Kealy’s net. Even if a dubious Barry John Keane point in the second half was among Kerry’s total, they were good for their victory and rarely looked troubled after building up a six-point lead at the break (0-8 to 0-2).

Cork had cut the gap to three points with six minutes to go. By that stage, a previously sterile game of football had come to life with substitute O’Leary renewing sparring acquaintances with Paul Galvin. But Kerry were hardly rattled, substitute Tomás Ó Sé bringing additional composure to a backline in mean form, especially Aidan O’Mahony and Marc Ó Sé. Up front, it was Declan O’Sullivan who gave Kerry the cutting edge, his weaving doing enough to set up Bryan Sheehan for their 68th-minute insurance point.

Injury-time scores from Donncha O’Connor from a free and Eoin Cotter whose shot rose just above Kealy’s crossbar kept the crowd interested but there was no killer punch. Graham Canty came closest to beating Kealy with a goal chance in both halves, his first in the 30th minute narrowly going wide while his second attempt five minutes from the end of normal time was snuffed out by the goalkeeper. Had either found the net, Cork would be waving their get out of jail card. Instead, Counihan was left to rue a disenchanting first 35 minutes. “Crazy, crazy, absolutely crazy first half,” Counihan said. “You wouldn’t deserve to win a game playing the way we played in the first half.”

But what was crazy? “It just wasn’t good enough, the lads know that themselves. There was a bit of a response in the second half, but you have to play for 70 minutes at this level or you don’t get a result. It was good to have the second-half performance but disappointing in the sense of knowing that if we could have done that in the first half, we would have given ourselves a good chance of getting a result.”

Counihan put the defeat down to simple, basic errors with players “maybe not taking on responsibility”. His forwards certainly struggled to retain possession and it was only in the 34th minute that Cork scored their first from play via Aidan Walsh. After a third win on the trot, Kerry are sitting pretty at the top of the table with a semi-final all but certain, with the remaining two games at home. Yesterday might have lacked a lot of cut and thrust but Jack O’Connor wasn’t too upset.

“Neither team was at championship pace. It’s only the month of March so we’re not going at full pelt. We also have four games in a row which is hard going. It’s tough on the bodies so overall I thought it was a good game. To try and qualify for the semi-finals was the aim because we’re trying out a share of new lads — we want them to sample as many games as possible at this level. We’re delighted to get through the game — it was a great experience for us.” O’Connor also took heart from the performance of Kieran Donaghy in trying circumstances following the death of his father Oliver in Omagh on Friday. “We left it up to himself,” said O’Connor about the player’s decision to line out. “He’s playing well at the moment. He took a personal decision and we wouldn’t stand in his way if he wanted to play the game.”

Donaghy’s 14th minute point to put Kerry 0-4 to 0-1 up turned out to be their third of six scores without reply as they started almost as convincingly as they did last summer’s Munster final against Cork. And just like in Killarney eight months ago, Declan O’Sullivan was the star, giving the returning Michael Shields a difficult time of it. Kerry’s conversion rate of eight from 12 was impressive and while they rarely troubled Ken O’Halloran for a goal it was no real slight on their attack. Cork, on the other hand, posted eight wides before half-time, Walsh’s point drawing ironic cheers from the crowd. They came to life when O’Leary’s introduction was followed by a get-to-you-know-you with Galvin and three Cork scores on the spin. But that stage, it was all too late. Kerry’s stall was set and impenetrable.

Scorers for Cork: D O’Connor 0-5 (frees); A Walsh 0-2, G Canty, D Collins, F Goold, E Cotter 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kerry: Declan O’Sullivan (2 frees), B Sheehan (3 frees) 0-4 each; A Maher, K Donaghy, Darran O’Sullivan, BJ Keane, P Galvin 0-1 each.

Subs for Cork: P Kerrigan for Kelly (blood 23-29); Kerrigan for C O’Neill (49); N O’Leary for P O’Neill (52); L Shorten for Collins (62); B O’Driscoll for Kelly (66).

Subs for Kerry: T Ó Se for Crowley (45); K O’Leary for Curtin (56); D O’Callaghan for Keane (inj 65).

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

Allianz Football League Division I: Cork 0-11 Kerry 0-13

Report from the GAA.ie web site

Kerry held off an improved second-half performance from Cork to secure a two-point win in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday, and cement their position at the top of Division I in the Allianz Football League.

The Kingdom dominated the first half and led 0-8 to 0-2 at the break after a display which the Rebels were unable to match all over the pitch.

Cork upped things after the restart but never got close enough to Kerry to put the result in any real doubt, and Jack O’Connor’s side led all the way from the seventh minute.

Cork had a brilliant chance to make amends for their poor showing at the end of the first period though, when Graham Canty had a superb chance for a goal, only to flash his effort wide after bursting through to within point-blank range.

Conor Counihan’s men did get to within three points of Kerry early in the second half but three quick scores in a row from the visitors, coming from the outstanding duo of Bryan Sheehan and Declan O’Sullivan as well as an effort from Paul Galvin, proved decisive as Cork were unable to claw back that six-point difference despite a late rally which saw them come up just short.

Kerry began brightly and after 20 minutes they led 0-6 to 0-1, with a number of their forwards in bright form. Declan O’Sullivan and Darran O’Sullivan both pointed in this period, as did Anthony Maher and Kieran Donaghy.

Cork had scarcely deserved more than the one point they had to their name after 30 minutes but just before the break it looked like Canty would give them a reprieve when he powered his way towards goal. However he couldn’t direct his low shot properly, and it flew to the left.

Donncha O’Connor reduced the gap to five points after the restart but Kerry were able to keep adding points any time Cork got too close, with Sheehan and Declan O’Sullivan chipping in most regularly.

A goal would have changed everything had Cork managed to sneak one, and although they tried to trouble the Kerry full back line with high balls as much as possible towards the end, they couldn’t get past goalkeeper Brendan Kealy, who made a number of fine blocks and saves.

Fintan Goold and Donncha O’Connor hit late points for Cork as they edged closer but there was always an element of certainty about the result.