Given the route that the eventual losers of this tie will have to negotiate in the qualifiers, this Munster semi-final is an arguably more important clash than last year's Munster Final. And having got themselves into a winning position, Cork will be right to kick themselves for not finishing the job.
For three-quarters of the game in Killarney Conor Counihan's side displayed power, pace and poise that Kerry couldn't live with. But the Rebels had one problem... their full-forward line just didn't produce the goods. Masters, Goulding and O'Connor, whose physical presence doesn't match that of the rest of the Cork team, struggled against a fairly accomplished showing from the Kerry full-back line, with Marc O Sé at his imperious best. Cork simply couldn't get the scores required to win the game.
It meant that Kerry, who had an off-day in terms of creation and finishing were let off the hook, thanks in the main to some dead-eye cool accuracy from substitute Bryan Sheehan.
It was an exciting game that did much to blow away any bordeom still lingering from the low-quality offering from Breffni Park the evening before, and the good news is that there is a replay to come this weekend.
It will be interesting to see how both sides approach their second battle in six days. There appears to be more questions than answers surrounding Kerry. For Saturday's replay they have named Tommy Griffin alongside Dara O Sé in an all-new midfield pairing. Sunday's hero Sheehan replaces Captain Darran O'Sullivan in the full-forward line while Tadgh Kennelly will continue to find his Championship feet, but this time at left-half forward. Jack O'Connor will hope another game against Cork will resolve some persisting selection issues. A more settled and motivated Rebels side might just have enough resolve to shade it.
The Kingdom wouldn't fancy a treacherous back-door spin, but it might afford them the fine-tuning they need before Croke Park comes calling in late summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment