The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
SHOCK AND A WE AS KERRY HURLERS BEAT CORK
Damian Stack was in Austin Stack Park last Sunday to witness a little piece of history as the Kerry hurlers beat Cork for the first time in 127 years
IT was a record-breaking performance by the Kerry senior hurlers in Austin Stack Park on Sunday afternoon as they defeated former manager John Meyler’s Cork side to take a first victory over the Rebels in over one hundred and twenty-seven years.
The most remarkable thing about the Kingdom’s famous victory was the ease with which it was achieved. Kerry were ten points up at half-time – 1-13 to 0-6 – following a Colum Harty goal.
Kerry were the better side all the way through this contest and even when Cork began to rally somewhat in the second half, the Kingdom were able to find it within themselves to strike back.
Ballyduff’s Jack Goulding scored the clincher in the 62nd minute to re-establish an eightpoint lead and from there Kerry pushed on for home.
Kerry rounded out the game with a flurry of points to win by 1-23 to 1-13 with Lixnaw’s Shane Conway scoring 1-10.
The only other time a Kerry hurling selection beat a Cork one was in 1891 when Ballyduff beat Blackrock in the 1891 Munster SHC semi-final, 2-7 to 0-3. Kerry went on to win the county’s only All-Ireland hurling title later that year.
IT’S a hell of a long time, one hundred and twenty seven years. So long ago that Queen Victoria was still on the throne at the time. So long ago that Kerry beating Cork in a game of hurling was still nothing much out of the ordinary.
They didn’t know then what we know now. They didn’t know the position Cork hurling would come to occupy in Irish sport. They didn’t know that Sunday, September 20, 1891 would be the last time a Kerry team would beat a Cork team in a competitive game. Until now.
Regardless of circumstance, Kerry’s victory on Sunday is something to be proud of. Wins over the old enemy in the small ball game don’t come around too often – not even every generation – so savour it while you can.
Reflect on the fact Kerry outhurled Cork. Reflect on the fact it wasn’t even close. Reflect on the fact that a young hurler of real and rare ability announced his arrival as a senior hurler.
There were times in the second half when Shane Conway was nearly toying with his Cork counterparts. The little flicks and dinks and feints and dummies left his opponents in the ha’penny place.
Whatever the true value of this victory, the confidence it generated is very real and will have tangible benefits for Kerry in the weeks and months ahead. Having spent two games on the back foot, Conway got the chance to express himself against Cork and he grabbed it with both hands.
He wasn’t alone. Shane Nolan looked on his game and bagged three points from play. Colum Harty was tireless and earned a well-taken 1-1. Kerry’s new look midfield of Brandon Barrett and Dáithí Griffin was more than able to deal with what the Rebels had to offer in that department.
Seán Weir, in particular, relished the battle with the blood and bandages. The Crotta O’Neills man was stuck in everything.
“He’s a leader without being a talker,” Kerry boss Fintan O’Connor says.
“When he wins a ball he’s go-forward, he’s trying to drive out with it. He’d put you in good form looking at him. He’s full of beans I suppose! In fairness to him, we’ll probably never hear the end of it that he scored two points against Cork, but anyway he deserves that as well.”
The health-warning everybody has to bear in mind as we consider this famous victory is that Cork weren’t anywhere near their best. This was an experimental side playing a dead rubber game in a pre-season competition.
Where Kerry looked and, indeed, are a real team, Cork looked a bunch of individuals finding their way. One or two stood out – Patrick Collins in goal, the full-back Colm Barry recovered to have a strong second half and wing-forward Eoghain Keniry impressed – but the overall impression was not one of cohesion.
“Putting it in context we can imagine how many Cork were missing there today,” O’Connor admits.
“But look any day you got out against Cork – and a lot of those won Fitzgibbon last year and played in All Ireland minor finals last year, they’re very good hurlers – you’re always going to be tested. I was very pleased with the effort and the work and the way they use the ball.
“We weren’t perfect and we made loads of mistakes and loads of wides and did some crazy things at times, but there was as constant trend that we were trying our best and everybody was trying to use the ball and play within a team and that’d please you the most.”
Even considering that Cork were nowhere near as strong as Limerick or as Clare, there’s been definite progression from one game to the next. Kerry were better in the Gaelic Grounds than they were at Limerick IT
Definitely there was some sort of incremental improvement between the matches
– Fintan O’Connor
and they were better in Stack Park than they were in the Gaelic Grounds.
“Definitely there was some sort of incremental improvement between the matches and here [today] and that’s what we’re looking for,” O’Connor explains.
“There was definitely improvement again today and bearing in mind that the Cork lads were missing so many, but we were definitely pleased with today.
“We used the ball a lot better in the second half last week and throughout the match today. I’m not saying we’re perfect or the finished article, but we’re definitely trying to get a way of playing that every one is comfortable with and it’ll take time and in fairness Daniel Collins, Mikey Boyle, all those fellas have to come in for us as well. So we weren’t [100%].
“You’d definitely be happy with it, but then you don’t really know until you get into the really competitive nature of the league.”
With the league is just a couple of weeks on the horizon, this win is a massive fillip for everybody involved. As they came in off the pitch and down the tunnel in Stack Park every single Kerry player was smiling and every single Kerry player had a spring in his step.
The Kingdom are sure to carry a positive momentum out of this game and into their opening game of the National Hurling League against London in Ruislip. Beyond that, no matter what happens in the months ahead, this bunch of players will always have Stack Park.
They’ll always be able to say they were there the day Kerry beat Cork in a game of hurling. Drink it in boys you deserve it.