Munster SFC Final: Clifford inspires Kerry to victory over Cork

MUNSTER SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Kerry 1-23 Cork 1-15

By Paul Brennan at Fitzgerald Stadium

In the end it was almost as easy as the eight-point winning margin suggests, but Kerry’s march to a sixth successive Munster football championship title wasn’t quite as clear-cut.

David Clifford’s 39th minute goal wrestled the initiative back to the Kingdom after Cork had had the better of the first half to take a three-point lead to the interval, but Brian O’Driscoll’s goal on the hour-mark brought Cork back to within three points and forced the champions to sit up.

That was as good as it got for the Rebels – a county without a Munster senior title since 2012 – as Kerry pulled away and won pulling up, with Tony Brosnan scoring five points in his second half cameo to help deliver a 13th provincial crown to the Kingdom in 14 years, and keep the Rebels at bay.

The visit of Donegal to Killarney in a fortnight for the All-Ireland SFC first round game – and Meath’s trip to Leeside the same weekend – had somewhat overshadowed this Munster final, but that was hardly reflected in the 32,691 crowd that spilled into a sun-splashed Fitzgerald Stadium in anticipation of some sort of contest, perhaps even a shock Cork win – what would have been their first Championship win there in 31 years.

Cork certainly started like men without a Munster medal and in desperate want of one, with two-pointers from Brian O’Driscoll and Mark Cronin, a sideline point from Steven Sherlock, and a score from Chris Óg Jones putting them 0-6 to 0-1 ahead after Keith Evans had pointed Kerry into an early lead.

Paudie and David Clifford raised a couple of white flags for Kerry, and David forced a smart save from Patrick Doyle in the Cork goal, but there was an intensity and hunger to Cork that was causing the champions plenty of problems.

Evans’ point on 25 minutes levelled it at 0-9 apiece, but Jones and Colm O’Callaghan kicked Cork ahead again, and they made it to the break 0-13 to 0-10, though having played with a stiff wind, that lead felt a little on the light side.

Cork’s chances of that first title in 14 years got a boost when Paudie Clifford and Armin Heinrich failed to make it out for the second half, but Clifford’s replacement, Tony Brosnan, kicked the first score of the new half, and then played in David Clifford for a smashed goal to put Kerry 1-11 to 0-13 in front.

A huge Clifford two-pointer extended Kerry’s lead to four, and when Gavin White flicked over a point on 59 minutes Kerry had one hand on the cup, leading1-17 to 0-14.

Out of nothing, Brian O’Driscoll conjured a goal on the hour-mark to half the deficit, but Cork’s old inability to kick on in the end game came back to haunt them. Kerry scored six points in the final 10 minutes, Cork only managed a point, and Kerry winning the second half by 1-13 to 1-2 is an illuminating a stat as any.

Kerry is it, then, who continue to dominate the Munster Championship, as Cork continue to play second best to their neighbour.

The Corn Pháidí Uí Shé cup safely back in West Kerry, in the hands of his son-in-law and Kerry captain Paul Geaney, attention can now turn to those Kerry v Donegal and Cork v Meath fixtures in a fortnight… if it hadn’t already.

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

Cork: M Cronin 0-5 (tp, f), B O’Driscoll 1-2 (tp), S McDonnell 0-2 (tp), C Og Jones 0-2, S Sherlock 0-2 (sl, ‘45’), C O’Callaghan 0-1, D Buckley 0-1

KERRY: Shane Murphy; Evan Looney, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Tadhg Morley, Mike Breen, Armin Heinrich; Mark O'Shea, Seán O'Brien, Micheál Burns, Paudie Clifford, Diarmuid O'Connor; David Clifford, Tomás Kennedy, Keith Evans. Subs: Gavin White for D Casey (temp, 26-ht), G White for A Heinrich (ht), Tony Brosnan for P Clifford (ht), Killian Spillane for T Kennedy (54), Dylan Geaney for S O’Brien (temp, 55), Eddie Healy for M Breen (temp, 60-65), Cillian Trant for M Burns (62), E Healy for T Morley (65)

CORK: Patrick Doyle; Muarice Shanley, Daniel O’Mahony, Sean Meehan; Brian O’Driscoll, Tommy Walsh, Luke Fahy; Colm O'Callaghan, Ian Maguire; Paul Walsh, Sean McDonnell, Ruairí Deane; Mark Cronin, Chris Óg Jones, Steven Sherlock. Subs: Sean Brady for S Meehan (48), Conor Corbett for R Deane (48), David Buckley for P Walsh (59), Sean Walsh for S McDonnell (63), Rory Maguire for S Brady (65),

REFEREE: Paul Faloon (Down)