Kerry hold off Rebels comeback to claim Munster honours
Munster GAA Football Championship Final
Kerry 1-15 Cork 1-12
A Declan O'Sullivan inspired performance helped Kerry to hang on after a second half wobble to be crowned Munster champions over the old rivals Cork in Killarney.
Five points from the centre-forward was central to the Kingdom's victory against the reigning All-Ireland champions in their own back yard, helping them to a 74th Munster title.
Darran O'Sullivan's goal looked to have put the home side in the driving seat and they were under no real pressure with 55 minutes gone on the clock. But a penalty from Donncha O'Connor with 15 minutes left set up a tight affair in the final few minutes.
Just two minutes had passed and this game could have had a different outset in favour of Cork. A dangerous ball into the Kerry goal area was not dealt with by Tom O'Sullivan and his fisted clearance fell to Paul Kerrigan but his shot was saved by the trailing foot of Kerry goalkeeper Brendan Kealy.
But the home side reacted well to this early chance for Cork. Four points on the bounce, two from Colm Copper, Kiernan Donaghy and Declan O'Sullivan saw Kerry race into an early lead.
The Kingdom's dominance was converted onto the score board as early as 15 minutes in. A powerful run from wing-forward Darran O'Sullivan was not stopped by any of the Cork backs and he blasted his shot high into the net of Alan Quirke's goal.
It could have been even worse for the visitors when goal scorer O'Sullivan was in on goal again just moments later. The Glenbeigh-Glencar man was through again with a carbon copy of his goal but this time Quirke spread himself well to block the shot for a '65.
It was Jack O'Connor's side that was running the show and they extended their lead to six points with Donaghy's second point of the afternoon and the All-Ireland champions looked to be in a spot of bother.
Question marks were hanging over Kerry going into this game but it was the Kingdom who were posing all the questions in the first half. Bryan Sheehan and Anthony Maher were running the show at centre field along with Declan O'Sullivan at centre-forward. Cork captain Graham Canty was feeling the pace in the opening stages as Kieran Donaghy was exploiting his lack of game time this year.
Although points from Daniel Goulding, Ciarán Sheehan and Patrick Kelly looked to be chipping away at the Kerry cushion, a master class in fast flowing football was on offer from O'Connor's side.
Declan O'Sullivan was on song throughout the first half and showed it just before the break. Two points from him along with a point apiece from Sheehan and Kieran O'Leary gave the home side a healthy lead at the break, 1-10 to 0-5.
A different Cork team emerged from the dressing room in Killarney and looked to make a game of it through two points from Goulding. Kerry managed two score two more points but that was their last points in normal time due to the pressure applied by the visitors.
Kerrigan's second half performance was key to Cork getting back into the game. A fine score from the corner-forward on the 50 minute mark got the ball rolling and Cork looked to make the most of it.
Great straight running from Pearse O'Neill started to put Kerry on the back foot and it told when Cork's goal came. O'Neill opened up space for Kerrigan and he shot for goal. His effort trickled towards the goal line but was stopped illegally on the ground by Marc Ó Sé and a penalty was awarded. Donncha O'Connor stepped up and made no mistake and it looked like there would only be one winner.
Further points from Alan O'Connor and Kerrigan narrowed the gap to a single point but that was as close as they got. Injury time points from Eoin Brosnan and second half sub James O'Donoghue was enough for the Kingdom to hold on.
Kerry Scorers: Declan O'Sullivan 0-5, Darran O'Sullivan 1-0, Colm Cooper (0-1f), Kieran Donaghy, Bryan Sheehan 0-2 each, Kieran O'Leary, Donnchadh Walsh, Eoin Brosnan, James O'Donoghue 0-1 each
Cork Scorers: Daniel Goulding 0-5 (0-3f), Donncha O'Connor 1-1 (1-0 pen), Paul Kerrigan 0-3, Ciarán Sheehan, Paddy Kelly, Alan O'Connor 0-1 each
Kerry: B Kealy; S Enright, M Ó Sé, T O'Sullivan; A O'Mahony, E Brosnan, K Young; A Maher, B Sheehan; Darran O'Sullivan, Declan O'Sullivan, D Walsh; C Cooper (capt), K Donaghy, K O'Leary. Subs: B J Keane for O'Leary (53 mins), M Quirke for Sheehan (57), D Bohane for Enright (63), J O'Donoghue for Darran O'Sullivan (67).
Cork: A Quirke; J O'Sullivan, G Canty (capt), M Shields; N O'Leary, J Miskella, P Kissane; A O'Connor, A Walsh; C Sheehan, P Kelly, P O'Neill; D Goulding, D O'Connor, P Kerrigan. Subs: E Cotter for O'Sullivan (HT), F Goold for Sheehan (41 mins), E Cadogan for Kissane (49), D O'Sullivan for Miskella (70), F Lynch for Kerrigan (71).
Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)
