KINGDOM COME OUT WITH ALL GUNS BLAZING

FAST starts from Kerry effectively did for Cork in the Munster SFC final yesterday. The Rebels were outscored 0-9 to 0-0 in the opening five minutes of both halves at Killarney as Kerry made it five provincial titles in a row. At half-time Kerry led 0-11 to 0-7 after Paul Geaney was denied by Ken O’halloran while Kieran Donaghy had opted for a point with the goal at his mercy just before the break. Geaney was a constant menace up front, while James O’donoghue’s return to form this summer appears to be authentic. He was superb again yesterday and is in better fettle heading to Croke Park than at any time since 2014, when he was crowned Footballer of the Year. Kerry’s four points in as many minutes from the first throw-in took much of the steam out of the occasion, though there has been a recurring trend in recent games between the two for Cork to reel their rivals in after starting slowly. That happened to a degree this time but it wasn’t sustained. A Geaney free made it 0-8 to 0-2 on 20 minutes after Ian Maguire had been denied a goal but two frees from Niall Coakley either side of a Maguire point put Cork back within striking distance, though they couldn’t get any closer. Veteran Donncha O’connor gave Cork some impetus when introduced but they squandered further goal chances to narrow the gap in the second half as Tomas Clancy drilled into the side-netting before Kerry ‘keeper Brian Kelly denied Paul Kerrigan. The only goal came when Geaney latched onto a break in the 64th minute and though O’halloran saved his effort, the ball rebounded off him and into the net. The occasion was summed up by the fact that all present in Fitzgerald Stadium groaned at once when it emerged that a whopping 10 minutes of injury time would be played, largely owing to a lengthy stoppage to Kerry’s Fionn Fitzgerald, and the game concluded amid ever diminishing intensity.

DENIED