Munster SFC S-Final Replay – Kerry v Cork

Classy Cork sink Kerry

From the GAA.ie web site

Saturday, June 13th

A superb display from Cork saw them triumphantly overcome Kerry in a compelling Munster Championship clash at Pairc Uí Chaóimh on Saturday evening. Cork were outstanding in the first half and led 0-9 to 0-4 at half-time.

Munster Senior Championship Semi-Final Replay:
Cork 1-17 Kerry 0-12

However, Kerry came roaring back after the restart and hit five points in a row before Donncha O’Connor’s penalty restored Cork’s advantage. Things were tight for much of the second half but eventually Cork’s superior fitness and zip overwhelmed Kerry, and they raced to glory with ease, the eight-point margin of victory in no way flattering. The opening score was pure Kerry, a sweeping move up the field involving Marc Ó Sé and the brilliant Declan O’Sullivan, and ending up being kicked sweet as a nut over the bar by Bryan Sheehan. Sheehan tacked on a free soon after to put Kerry two up and they had clearly settled quicker than a tense Cork. Donncha O’Connor popped over a handy free for Cork soon after to get them on the board, and when Anthony Lynch won two crucial balls in battle with Colm Cooper soon after, Rebel tails were up.

O’Connor then levelled things up with a sublime right-footer, before Daniel Goulding followed up with an almost identical point to push Cork in front. Suddenly, the edginess was all Kerry’s as Sheehan pushed a free wide and O’Connor thumped over his third point. Then, the rapid Cork half-back line plundered its first point with John Miskella rampaging up the field and knocking it over to put three between the sides. Cork’s flowing vibrancy continued though and Patrick Kelly hammered one over the bar to put four in it. Cooper then finally won something off Lynch, being tugged back and knocking over the resultant free. Cork should have been more than three in front at that stage but they managed to extend the lead to five before half-time.

A nifty score from Paul Kerrigan, a free from the outstanding O’Connor and one from Goulding completed the Cork scoring for the opening period, with the hardworking Tadhg Kennelly getting Kerry’s final point of the half. Kerry brought on David Moran for Marc Ó Sé at half-time, with Moran moving to midfield and Tommy Griffin moving into defence.

Straight from the restart, Kerry fashioned a clearcut goal chance. Darran O’Sullivan, a substitute on for Sheehan, burned in brilliantly from the right and fizzed one over the bar but he really could and should have hit the net. Immediately after, Declan O’Sullivan hit his first of the day, a similar effort to Darran’s, cutting in with pace and knocking over. It looked like the tide was turning, and turning dramatically. Cooper then reduced the gap to two points with a free and although Cork had a brief glimmer at stopping the Kerry run, Goulding missed a free wildly. Dara Ó Sé put one in it when he raced up the right wing and sailed one between the posts and Kerry levelled at 0-9 apiece when Moran powered over a technically perfect ’45.

Just as a nerveless Kerry seemed to be forcing Cork to wilt by the sheer force of who they were, the Rebels responded. Goulding was fouled in the small parallelogram and O’Connor nicked the penalty into the net off the post. Somehow, Cork had survived the blitz and came out almost stronger. A Goulding free straight after the penalty put four in it and it was harsh on Kerry, that for all their renewed vigour, they still were well behind. Cooper quickly reduced the gap with two quick frees though, and the urgency to Kerry’s play was seriously upsetting a Cork team which looked a shadow of the side that had outclassed The Kingdom in the opening period. But a classy score from James Masters put a goal between them again and then Paul O’Flynn, fresh off the Cork bench, left Cork four clear.

Seconds later, Goulding had a fantastic chance to kill Kerry once and for all with a clear run on goal but his effort clipped the timber and went wide. Still, Cork had truly clipped Kerry’s wings and an O’Connor free restored the five point advantage they had at the break. Darran O’Sullivan’s second point could have been a goal but it went over and left four in it, but once again Cork responded, Goulding knocking over another score and leaving Tom O’Sullivan flailing on the ground to boot. Fintan Gould then raced through athletically and flashed one over, Goulding then added another and it seemed that Kerry were beat, confirmed with one final, potent effort from Miskella.

Cork: A Quirke; R Carey, M Shields, A Lynch; J Miskella, G Canty, N O’Leary; A O’Connor, N Murphy; P Kelly, P O’Neill, P Kerrigan; D Goulding, J Masters, D O’Connor.

Kerry: D Murphy; M Ó Sé, T O’Sullivan, P Reidy; T Ó Sé, A O’Mahony, K Young; D Ó Sé, T Griffin; P Galvin, D O’Sullivan, T Kennelly; C Cooper, T Walsh, B Sheehan.

And the road stretches out before them…

Cork 1-17 Kerry 0-12

By Tony Leen of the Irish Examiner newspaper

Monday, June 15, 2009

THE TEAM buses waiting outside Páirc Uí Chaoimh afterwards might have been pointed to the same road, but Cork and Kerry are no longer travelling in the one direction. An unwelcome draw may throw the Munster rivals together for the 19th time in a decade later this summer but Cork won’t fret at the prospect. Last August in Croke Park and again a week ago in Killarney, Conor Counihan’s men had Kerry’s measure if not their nous and conviction. That shaky bridge has been crossed now. Defeating the Kingdom as comprehensively as the eight-point margin suggests in Saturday’s Munster SFC semi-final replay means Cork can move on from Croke Park ghosts in green and gold and focus instead on the gold. “We were very dominant last week,” said Cork coach Conor Counihan afterwards. “We had three or four goal chances but couldn’t take them. Maybe we needed to cross this line fairly convincingly once and for all.” That they did, but with it comes a new set of analytical criteria – those of potential All-Ireland winners. “We’re above the radar now,” accepted Counihan, “but we have to learn to cope with that, and if you want to be successful you have to do that.” Kerry coach Jack O’Connor noted discernible differences too. “They’re a driven team. The level of athleticism has certainly gone up since I was last involved. To match teams like Cork, it looks like that’s the road you have to go down.” But there was a caveat from the Dromid man: “The only thing about it lads is that the All-Ireland isn’t played in June.” If it was, how ready are Cork? It’s unlikely Counihan will permit his players to absorb the hype that will inevitably follow this victory, primarily because they are still a work in progress and Limerick are awkward Munster final opponents. Cork are raw and powerful and developing as a unit. But they dominated two games against Kerry, and only found Diarmuid Murphy’s net once from play. There will be days when they won’t flow so freely and they’ll need a net-finder to bail them out. Donncha O’Connor and Daniel Goulding take note, the Pearse O’Neill express train won’t always arrive.

There’s still that scintilla of doubt about their fragility when things go pear-shaped. There was an interesting gut-check moment when Kerry turned a 0-9 to 0-4 half time deficit into a drawn game ten minutes after the break, but Donncha O’Connor’s penalty and a pointed free from Goulding snatched it from under our curious noses. Every opposition will have momentum for a while, but championship-winning teams limit the damage on the scoreboard when they’re under the cosh. “We’ve a lot of work to do,” agreed Counihan. “We let Kerry back into a game that we were dominating and that’s been a feature for us. We’ve a lot of positives coming out of this game, but a lot of work too. This team has been through a lot with Kerry over the years but I was confident all the time that we could do it. We were a bit more efficient but I don’t think Kerry were at their best in the two games, and we have issues in terms of consistency and performance over 70 minutes.”

The duel of Anthony Lynch and Colm Cooper offered a suitable microcosm of Saturday’s replay in front of a healthy crowd of 30,270. The Kerry wizard toiled all day, but the longer it went on, the more forlorn his efforts became. The Ballyvourney man beat Cooper to good ball and bad, high and low, and in a man of the match-winning display, put a perfect goal-stopping shoulder on Eoin Brosnan late in the day. Only Declan O’Sullivan and Tadhg Kennelly profited in terms of ball-winners in the Kerry attack, and one wonder was that down to the switch of Graham Canty to wing back and John Miskella to centre back. The latter got better as the game progressed – one of many in this Cork team with huge engines – and applied a late coup de grâce with the penultimate point of the match. But Counihan will note that only two points came from his starting half forward line and that his midfield, while competent and competitive, never dominated.

Kerry may point to the sending off of Paul Galvin in the first half for another schoolyard tussle with Noel O’Leary (also dismissed), but on reflection they would be better served wondering why they are getting such little leadership from the likes of Galvin, Cooper and Aidan O’Mahony, a trio of All Stars who could look to the aforementioned Kennelly and Declan O’Sullivan for focus. Darragh O Sé is no longer blowing out dirty petrol, he’s running on fumes and his own innate sense of Kerryness. Some may say he won’t meet as mobile a midfield again this summer, but Cork have set the bar now. The veteran was far from Kerry’s worst player, but that Kerry are so desperate for the return from injury of one player, says a lot in itself. Jack and his wise men need more than Kieran Donaghy in the dressing room. Expect names like Anthony Maher, Aidan O’Shea and Barry John Walsh to appear on team-sheets this season.

The Kingdom enjoyed a rare period of supremacy in the opening ten minutes but it was quickly doused by Cork, with Donncha O’Connor profiting from Marc O Sé’s struggles with a hamstring strain. Goulding, Masters and Pearse O’Neill missed goal chances, but Cork still reached half-time a healthy, and deserved five points to the good. Jack O’Connor took succour from his side’s early second half form, inspired by replacements Darran O’Sullivan and David Moran, but when Padraig Reidy felled Goulding inside the Kerry cover in the 46th minute, Kerry were again relying on Cork to bail them out of trouble. Instead, Donncha O’Connor converted the penalty with slide rule precision.Kerry rallied briefly though pitching Declan O’Sullivan in the full forward line at the three-quarter point smacked of early desperation when he was still causing trouble further out the field.

The two games may benefit Kerry’s rehabilitation, but they’ll do wonders for a Cork squad quickly acclimatising to big-day situations. Limerick will ask questions but Counihan’s biggest test could be keeping the momentum going between provincial final and All-Ireland quarters in August. Goulding missed a gilt-edged goal chance with 12 minutes left and four points between the teams (1-12 to 0-11), but egged on by a Cork crowd finally appearing to embrace this side, they brushed it off and made for home. “The penalty was an important point, but I thought we were the better team throughout,” Counihan reflected. “When we showed our best football we were difficult to play against.”A few coaches around the country might agree.

Scorers for Cork: D O’Connor (1-5, pen, 3 frees); D Goulding (0-5, 2 frees), J Miskella (0-2), P Kelly, P Kerrigan, J Masters, F Goold, P O’Flynn (0-1 each)

Scorers for Kerry: C Cooper (0-4, frees), Darran O’Sullivan (0-2), B Sheehan (0-2, free), D O Sé, Declan O’Sullivan, T Kennelly, D Moran (free), (0-1 each)

Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan)

Cork 1-17 Kerry 0-12

Saturday, 13 June 2009 19:37

From the RTE.ie web site

Cork moved into the Munster final to face Limerick after a pulsating win over Kerry at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The Rebels were denied victory last weekend when a controversial late free saw Kerry level the match deep into injury time in Killarney and knew that they had to at least match their endeavour from that day to progress today.

They were the dominant team in the first period, moving five points clear of Kerry at the interval thanks to the industrious performance of their forward line, especially Donncha O’Connor, while Kerry’s forwards were well marshalled, as man-of-the-match Anthony Lynch dominated an off-form Colm Cooper. Both teams were reduced to 14 men after 25 minutes when an elbow from Paul Galvin brought a retaliatory punch from Noel O’Leary and both men were shown a straight red card.

At half-time there looked like only one winner with Cork retaining possession better and moving the ball well, while Kerry appeared tired, but predictably they roared back in the second period and drew level within ten minutes as Darren O’Sullivan made an instant impression off the bench.

However a penalty for Cork was the turning point in the 46th minute. Daniel Goulding found himself clean through on goal and Padraig Reidy pulled his jersey to give away a certain penalty. Donncha O’Connor slotted home the spot kick and although Kerry struggled to stay in touch, Cork pulled away after that and earned a deserved win.

Cork: A Quirke; K O’Connor, M Shields, A Lynch; J Miskella, G Canty, G Spillane; A O’Connor, N Murphy; P Kelly, P O’Neill, P Kerrigan; D Goulding, J Masters, D O’Connor.

Kerry: D Murphy, M Ó Sé, T O’Sullivan, P Reidy; T Ó Sé, A O’Mahony, K Young; D Ó Sé, T Griffin; P Galvin, D O’Sullivan, T Kennelly; C Cooper, T Walsh, B Sheehan.

Click to view the RTE.ie match tracker

Munster SFC: Classy Cork ease through

From the Hogan Stand web site

13 June 2009

Cork are through to the Munster final following a surprisingly comfortable 1-17 to 0-12 win over Kerry at Pairc Ui Chaoimh this evening. The Leesiders were simply awesome as they were very impressive all over the field, but none more so than Anthony Lynch, who was simply outstanding, holding Colm Cooper scoreless from play over the 70 minutes.

Cork manager Conor Counihan made two changes to the side with Ray Carey named at corner back. The versatile John Miskella recovered from the hamstring injury which forced him off early in the second half of the drawn game to line out at centre back. The towering Michael Cussen, who replaced James Masters in the first half in Killarney, is kept in reserve once again. Noel O’Leary came in for Ger Spillane.

Kerry on the other hand made a number of positional changes as Tommy Griffin went to centre field to partner Darragh O’Se, while Aidan O’Mahony slotted into centre back. Tadgh Kennelly went to wing forward as Michael Quirke lost out. Brian Sheehan came in for the injured Darren O’Sullivan, while Killian Young returned to the half back line. Donnacha Walsh had to settle for a place on the bench.

A big talking point before the game was whether or not Tommy Walsh would start and a decision was not made until just before the game and the towering full forward did pass a late fitness to take his place in the side. The game was delayed for 25 minutes as the crowd had trouble entering the grounds and this just increased the anticipation ahead of the match. When the action finally got under way, there was a number of positional switches with Graham Canty picking up Kennelly. The first score of the match came when Sheehan fielded an O’Sullivan pass and fired over in the second minute.

Almost six minutes elapsed before the next score and it was Sheehan again, this time from a placed ball after Walsh had been fouled by Michael Shields. An off the ball incident resulted in Tommy Griffin being booked and from the resultant free, Donnacha O’Connor pointed. The same player levelled matters after good work by John Miskella and in particular Anthony Lynch, who was on top of the Gooch early on.

The first goal chance of the match fell to Daniel Goulding, but Diarmuid Murphy quickly smothered the shot and James Masters’ follow up was tame. However, Goulding soon made up for the miss and the corner forward put Cork in front for the first time with a fine point of his weaker right foot. Cork were having the lions share of the possession, but by the 18th minute they had kicked four wides. A trademark run by Pierce O’Neill looked like yielding yet another goal, but this time his effort went narrowly wide as Kerry were struggling to contain the Cork forwards. O’Connor was causing problems in the full forward line and he kicked Cork’s fourth point. The fifth soon followed as Miskella raced forward to lot over and make it 0-5 to 0-2 after 22 minutes.

Then both sides had a player each sent off as Noel O’Leary and Paul Galvin were dismissed by referee Pat McEnaney in an off the ball incident. Paddy Kelly stretched Cork’s lead further with another point as the Rebels looked to be adapting to the loss of a man better than their opponents. In the 27th minute, Kerry manager Jack O’Connor made his first change when Darren O’Sullivan replaced Sheehan, a surprising move considering Sheehan was the recognised free taker. Straight away Kerry were awarded a free and Cooper slotted over to leave three between the sides. O’Connor extended the Cork lead to five points, but Kennelly responded with a good score to keep Kerry in touch, but they needed to win more possession around the middle of the park where Nicholas Murphy, Alan O’Connor and O’Neill were dominant. Goulding was then fouled by Reidy and the same player converted the free to make it 0-9 to 0-4 at half time.

O’Connor made a change at half time when David Moran replaced Mark O’Se as the Kerry manager looked to get his side back into the match. Tommy Griffin went to centre back as O’Mahony went to the wing and Young dropped back into the corner. Straight from the throw in, captain Darren O’Sullivan raced through the Cork defence and scored a fine point to rally his charges. Then, an excellent run by Declan O’Sullivan ended with another point and there was just three points between the teams. Cooper made the gap just two points when he converted a free as Kerry started the second half in emphatic style. The introduction of Moran saw Kerry won more ball in the middle of the park.

At the other end, Goulding had Cork’s first chance of the half, but his free went well wide to add to their tally of wides that was now reaching double figures. Kerry’s style of running at the Cork defence seemed to be paying off as veteran Darragh O’Se raced down the line unmarked and slotted over to put the minimum between the sides. Cork were up against it at this stage and Darren O’Sullivan fed namesake Declan who in turn passed to Walsh, but his effort was knocked out for a ’45 and Moran kicked over to level matters at 0-9 each after 44 minutes.

Then Cork got a reprieve when Goulding was fouled by Reidy and a penalty was awarded. O’Connor stepped up and excellently picked his spot to give Murphy no chance. Aidan O’Shea came on for Reidy a minute later as Cork also made a change with Fintan Gould coming on for the injured Murphy. Another Goulding free made the score 1-10 to 0-9. Miskella was then adjudged to have fouled Declan O’Sullivan and Cooper converted the 13m free to leave three between the sides once again.

Another raiding run by Darren O’Sullivan ended with the Kerry captain being fouled and for his protestations, Lynch was booked and the ball was moved to on front of the goals, giving Cooper an easy free to convert. Donnacha Walsh replaced Tommy Walsh who was clearly hampered by the ankle injury. Cork were the next to score though when Masters kicked a great point as the Leesiders kept their noses in front. Both sides made further changes as Cork introduced Paul O’Flynn for Paul Kerrigan, while Eoin Brosnan replaced Darragh O’Se at midfield. O’Flynn made an immediate impact when he kicked a point to open up a four point lead. Goulding had a great chance to kill the game off when he got through on the Kerry goal, but his effort hit the outside of the post and went wide.

The impressive Michael Shields won a free 35 metres out from goal and O’Connor kicked over to make it 1-13 to 0-11 as Cork looked to have weathered the Kerry comeback. However, Kerry kept in the hunt with another Darren O’Sullivan point. Goulding, Gould and Miskella responded for Cork as there looked no way back for the Kingdom at this stage. The rest of the match was played out at a pedestrian pace as Kerry gave up the fight. Goulding hit his fifth point in injury time

Cork: A Quirke; R Carey, M Shields, A Lynch; J Miskella, G Canty, N O’Leary; A O’Connor, N Murphy; P Kelly, P O’Neill, P Kerrigan; D Goulding, J Masters, D O’Connor. Subs Fintan Gould for Murphy 45mins; Paul O’Flynn for Kerrigan 55mins; John Hayes for Kelly 64mins; Fiachra Lynch for O’Connor 68mins.

Kerry: D Murphy, M O’Se, T O’Sullivan, P Reidy; T O’Se, A O’Mahony, K Young, D O’Se, T Griffin, T Kennelly, D O’Sullivan, P Galvin; C Cooper, T Walsh, B Sheehan. Subs: Darren O’Sullivan for Sheehan 25mins; D Moran for M O’Se half time; A O’Shea for Reidy 44mins; D Walsh for T Walsh; E Brosnan for D O’Se 56mins

Kerry will play Cork in the replay of their Munster Senior Football Championship Semi-Final on Saturday evening June 13th at 5:00pm in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

The teams drew on Sunday last on a scoreline of Kerry 0-13 Cork 1-10.

Click here for more details of the drawn game.

Team News

KERRY (SF vs. Cork) = Diarmuid Murphy (Dingle); Marc Ó Sé (An Ghaeltacht), Tom O’Sullivan (Rathmore), Padraig Reidy (Scartaglin); Tomás Ó Sé (An Ghaeltacht), Aidan O’Mahony (Rathmore), Killian Young (Renard) ; Darragh Ó Sé (An Ghaeltacht), Tommy Griffin (Dingle); Paul Galvin (Finuge), Declan O’Sullivan (Piarsaigh Na Dromada), Tadhg Kennelly (Listowel Emmets); Colm Cooper (Dr. Crokes), Tommy Walsh (Kerins O’Rahilly’s), Bryan Sheehan (St Mary’s)
Subs: Ger Reidy (Castleisland Desmonds), Darran O’Sullivan (Glenbeigh/Glencar), Donnacha Walsh (Cromane), David Moran (Kerins O’Rahilly’s), Michéal Quirke (Kerins O’Rahilly’s), Aidan O’Shea (Glenbeigh/Glencar), Seán O’Sullivan (Cromane), Paul O’Connor (Kenmare), Eoin Brosnan (Dr. Crokes), Daniel Bohan (Austin Stacks), Maurice Corridan (Finuge), Kieran Quirke (Duagh), Barry John Walsh (Kerins O’Rahillys), Seamus Scanlon (Currow), Mike Frank Russell (Laune Rangers)

The Captain will be announced by the management Team on Saturday prior to the game.

Bainsteoir: Jack O’Connor (Piarsaigh Na Dromada)
Traenálaí: Alan O’Sullivan (Kerins O’Rahilly’s)
Roghnóirí: Ger O’Keeffe (Austin Stacks) Eamon Fitzmaurice (Finuge)

CORK (SF vs. Kerry) – Alan Quirke (Valley Rovers); Kieran O Connor (Aghada), Michael Shields (St. Finbarrs), Anthony Lynch (Naomh Aban); John Meskella (Ballincollig), Graham Canty (Bantry Blues – Captain), Ger Spillane (Ballygarvan); Alan O Connor (St. Colms), Nicholas Murphy (Carrigaline); Paddy Kelly (Ballincollig), Pearse O Neill (Aghada), Paul Kerrigan (Nemo Rangers); Daniel Goulding (Eire Og), James Masters (Nemo Rangers), Donncha O Connor (Ballydesmond)

Admission prices

Munster GAA have taken the decision to reduce the admission charge for the Cork v Kerry replay. Adult covered stand tickets can be purchased for €25, uncovered stand tickets for €20 and juveniles can gain admission for €5 to any area of the stands.

Match Preview

CORK v KERRY

Remarkably, this will be the 18th championship clash between the counties this decade.

They have already met eleven times in the Munster championship, five times in the All-Ireland semi-finals and once in the final with the outcomes running as follows:
Kerry 10, Cork 3, Draws 4

2009 – Kerry 0-13 Cork 1-10 (Munster final) Draw
2008 – Kerry 3-14 Cork 2-13 (All-Ireland semi-final) Replay
2008 – Kerry 1-13 Cork 3-7 (All-Ireland semi-final) Draw
2008 – Cork 1-16 Kerry 1-11 (Munster final)
2007 – Kerry 3-13 Cork 1-9 (All-Ireland final)
2007 – Kerry 1-15 Cork 1-13 (Munster final)
2006 – Kerry 0-16 Cork 0-10 (All-Ireland semi-final)
2006 – Cork 1-12 Kerry 0-9 (Munster final) (Replay)
2006 – Cork 0-10 Kerry 0-10 (Munster final) (Draw)
2005 – Kerry 1-19 Cork 0-9 (All-Ireland semi-final)
2005 – Kerry 1-11 Cork 0-11 (Munster final)
2004 – Kerry 0-15 Cork 0-7 (Munster semi-final)
2002 – Kerry 3-19 Cork 2-7 (All-Ireland semi-final)
2002 – Cork 0-15 Kerry 1-9 (Munster semi-final) (Replay)
2002 – Cork 0-8 Kerry 0-8 (Munster semi-final) (Draw)
2001 – Kerry 0-19 Cork 0-13 (Munster final) 2000 – Kerry 2-15 Cork 1-13 (Munster semi-final)

Fixture Details

Munster GAA Football Senior Championship Semi Final Replay
Pairc Ui Chaoimh 5.00pm Corcaigh v Ciarraí
Referee: Pat McEnaney (Muineachán)
(E.T. if Necessary)

Match Coverage

This game will be shown live on TV3.