Shock and awe: Kerry down Rebels in hurling!

Kerry 1-23 Cork 1-13

THE only really surprising thing was how routine it all felt.

This was no epic struggle. This was no smash and grab effort where David caught Goliath with a sucker-punch goal right at the death. This was a relatively straight-forward victory by the better team on view. Emphasis on team.

Kerry were by far the more coherent unit. Hardly surprising given the make-up of the Cork side on view. Out of their starting fifteen just one player would be recognisable to the casual hurling fan – centre-field player Luke Meade.

Other than Meade it was a mix of promising younger players, some guys who may in time make the step up to the senior ranks and some others for whom Sunday might well be their sole outing in the blood and bandages.

Don’t get us wrong, it’s not like these were poor players, you could see the skill of these Cork guys, it’s just that compared to Kerry they were very much a group of individuals.

On occasion they put some lovely moves together, inter-changing possession at speed and cutting the Kerry defence open. Most of the time, however, Cork’s play wasn’t nearly as slick or as measured as Kerry’s.

With at least two thirds of his first choice starting fifteen available to him, Fintan O’Connor’s men played the better, more consistent brand of hurling and they did it well. After a ding-dong opening twenty one minutes they would have been disappointed to find themselves five points to one in arrears.

It didn’t do the Kingdom justice. Even then it was clear they had another gear or two to find. When they found those additional gears, the Rebels simply had no answer to the home side.

A point from the impressive Dáithí Griffin levelled the game on twenty two minutes and a point from the precocious Shane Conway on twenty three minutes fired Kerry back in front.

Kerry were just getting going. On twenty five minutes Colum Harty had the ball in the back of the net. The Causeway man followed up a rebound from a Pádraig Boyle shot at goal – saved by an impressive Patrick Collins .

Kerry didn’t let up from there until the end of the half. In the seven minutes after Cork took the lead for the one and only time Kerry hit 1-6 unanswered and, when Cork did stop the rot with a Declan Dalton free on twenty eight minutes, the Kingdom finished off the half with another three unanswered.

Kerry held a ten point lead at the break – 1-13 to 0-6 – and it was probably now that the pressure came on. Kerry were now in a position where they really should have been winning the match.

To lose from there, even to Cork, would have been hugely disappointing and, with just two weeks to go to the National League, it’s pretty much the last thing Kerry would have wanted or needed.

O’Connor’s men responded well to the pressure. They started the half as they finished the first, with three unanswered points – all from Shane Conway, who was really growing into the game by now.

Cork’s first score of the second half threatened to reset the balance in this game. A goal by John Looney (assist Luke Meade) brought it back to a ten point game and had the potential to sow seeds of doubt in Kerry minds.

It never did. Kerry kept their eyes on the prize and, while Cork did bring it back to a seven point game on a couple of occasions, the Kingdom always had the wherewithal to get a score when needed.

By the time the final whistle blew Kerry were well in command again, re-establishing that ten point lead they held at the break. Victory was theirs. No less than they deserved either.

The better team won and, when the other team is Cork, it doesn’t get much sweeter than that for the green and gold.

KERRY: Martin Stackpoole, John Buckley, Jason Diggins, Niall O’Mahony, Seán Weir (0-2), Bryan Murphy, Darren Dineen, Brandon Barrett (0-1), Dáithí Griffin (0-1), Colum Harty (1-1), Shane Nolan (0-3), Jordan Conway (0-10, 4f), Pádraig Boyle (0-4), Shane Conway, Maurice O’Connor. Subs: Stephen Murphy for M Stackpoole (inj), 4, Tom Murnane for J Diggins (inj), 11, Jack Goulding (0-1) for M O’Connor, 45, Dougie Fitzell for N O’Mahony, 55, Daniel O’Carroll for D Griffin, 64 CORK: Patrick Collins, Séadnaith Smyth, Colm Barry, Greg Murphy, Rickard Cahalane, Niall O’Leary, John Cooper, Conor Cahalane, Luke Meade (0-1), Eoghain Keniry (0-3), Declan Dalton (0-8, 7f), John Looney (1-0), Brian Mulcahy, Ian Cahill, Mark Sugrue. Subs: Eoghain Clifford for R Cahalane, half-time, Stephen Condon for I Cahill, half-time, Aaron Myers (0-1) for B Mulcahy, halftime, Eoin Healy for G Murphy, 48, Paul Lyons for J Looney, 56

REFEREE: Thomas Walsh (Waterford)