Kerry cruise to EirGrid Munster U21 Final win
Kerry players celebrating following their win at Pairc Ui Rinn.
EirGrid Munster Under 21 Championship Final
KERRY 2-16 CORK 0-6
By Denis Hurley at Pairc Ui Rinn
A dominant performance saw Kerry win a first EirGrid Munster U21FC title since 2008, proving far too strong for Cork at Páirc Uí Rinn.
While Cork – seeking a sixth provincial title in seven years – couldn’t start key players Kevin Flahive or Stephen Sherlock, some senior counties would have struggled to deal with the Kingdom, featuring 14 players who had won All-Ireland minor medals in the past three years.
In front of 3,861, Kerry began like they meant business and within the first seven minutes they had four unanswered points on the board, Kilian Spillane with two while Seán O’Shea and Cathal Bambury were also on target.
In the midst of that, Cork’s Michael Hurley was unlucky not to cap a driving run with a goal, his shot hitting the post, and the Rebels suggested that they had settled when a free from captain Seán O’Donoghue was followed by two points from Brian Coakley.
The Kerry team before the game at Pairc Ui Rinn.
Instead, though, Kerry found another gear and pushed on to open up a lead that Cork wouldn’t be able to bridge. In the 19th minute, they struck for a goal as wing-back Brian Ó Beaglaioch – pushed up on Cork sweeper Michael Dineen – cut through and squared for full-forward Matthew O’Sullivan, who had an easy task from close range.
An excellent Spillane point from the left was followed by a good O’Shea free and Kerry were good value for their 1-6 to 0-3 half-time lead. By the time Cork would get their fourth point, a Gary Murphy free in the 38th minute, Kerry had added another four of their own in the opening seven minutes of the second half. The impressive Tom O’Sullivan got things going after the restart before O’Shea and Spillane (two) opened up a ten-point advantage.
Murphy’s point didn’t signal a Cork comeback, with Andrew Barry continuing to dominate at midfield for Kerry. The points continued to come and half-time sub Conor Geaney was only denied a goal by a good Ross Donovan save.
Conor Geaney netted a goal for Kerry at Pairc Ui Rinn.
At the other end, Cork wing-back Jerry O’Riordan might have netted, but Ó Beaglaioch made a great goal-line block. Even if it had gone in, a comeback wasn’t going to materialise but Geaney capped a good night for Kerry, who will present tough opposition for Galway or Sligo in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Scorers for Kerry: Seán O’Shea 0-6 (3fs, 145), Killian Spillane 0-5 (2fs), Conor Geaney 1-2 (0-1 free), Matthew O’Sullivan 1-1, Cathal Bambury, Tom O’Sullivan 0-1 each.
Scorers for Cork: Brian Coakley (1f), Stephen Sherlock (2fs) 0-2 each, Gary Murphy, Seán O’Donoghue 0-1 (f) each.
KERRY: Shane Ryan; Jason Foley, Tom (Leo) O’Sullivan, Brian Sugrue; Brian Ó Beaglaíoch, Tom O’Sullivan, Gavin White; Andrew Barry, Brian Ó Seanacháin; Brandon Barrett, Seán O’Shea, Matthew Flaherty; Killian Spillane, Matthew O’Sullivan, Cathal Bambury.
Subs: Jack Morgan for Sugrue (16, injured), Conor Geaney for Bambury (half-time), Micheál Burns for Barrett (45), Barry O’Sullivan for Flaherty (46), Cormac Coffey for Tom O’Sullivan (50, black card), Jordan Kiely for Matthew O’Sullivan (52).
CORK: Ross Donovan; Seán Daly, John Mullins, Seán Wilson; Jerry O’Riordan, Aidan Browne, Cian Kiely; Eoin Lavers, Seán O’Donoghue; Gary Murphy, Seán Powter, Liam O’Donovan; Brian Coakley, Michael Dineen, Michael Hurley.
Subs: Daniel Meaney for Dineen (22), Stephen Sherlock for Lavers (half-time), Mark Buckley for Murphy, Kevin O’Donovan for Browne (both 42), Seán O’Donovan for Coakley (46), Seán O’Leary for Daly (57).
REFEREE: Alan Kissane (Waterford).
