Cork make it 2 from 2 against Kingdom

 

Cork 3-11                             Kerry 2-10

At Pairc Ui Rinn

 

Cork came out on top in the battle of champions last Saturday in Pairc Ui Rinn as a late Eimear Scally strike gave the All-Ireland champions a four-point victory over Munster champions Kerry in Round 2 of the provincial championship.

In a real roller coaster game that saw both sides dominate each other for long stages it was Cork who finally broke Kerry hearts to reach yet another Munster final.

Grace Kearney and Emma Farmer had Cork in a 2-0 to 0-1 lead as early as the fourth minute as the Cork juggernaut drove through the Kerry defence like a hot knife through butter. Kerry were finding the pace of the Cork onslaught difficult to deal with in the first quarter as Annie Walsh, Rena Buckley and Deidre O’Reilly drove on the Cork attacks. However, their failure to convert chances saw them punished when a 17^th minute Kerry goal from distance sailed into the Cork net to leave just a goal between the sides. Louise Galvin’s goal may well have been very much against the run of play but Kerry were within sight again trailing 2-3 to 1-3.

The Cork response was one of champions as they reduce Kerry to just a single score for the remainder of the half. Briege Corkery and Rena Buckley drove on Cork from midfield where the stand out Annie Walsh was causing all sorts of trouble for the Kerry defence. She was one of five different scorers with further efforts from O’Flynn, Mulcahy, Kearney and Farmer giving the Rebels a deserved 2-8 to 1-4 lead at the short whistle.

Kerry rang the changes at the break introducing three players and despite giving up the opening score to Emma Farmer, they began to get to grips with Cork who seemed vulnerable at the back with their new style of attacking football. Louise Ni Mhuirtceartaigh pounced on a goal keeping error to raise a green flag and suddenly Kerry were just five behind.

Kerry began to slow down the Cork attacks from the half back line and with Sarah Houlihan and Ni Mhuirtceartaigh converting chances Kerry were back to within a point heading into the final quarter. Amazingly, Rena Buckley’s 48^th minute point broke a spell of 17 minutes without a score for Cork.

Maire Quirke produced a magic moment when she converted a 50^th minute “45” to level matters at 2-9 each. It brought warm applause from both sets of supporters and it looked like a score that would inspire a Kerry victory but  Cork freshened things up in the final 5 minutes with 3 subs of their own and Scally pounced late to break Kerry hearts yet again.

Both sides could well meet again if Kerry can account for Clare in Round 3

Cork: Martina O’Brien, Roisin Phelan, Angela Walsh, Brid Stack, Vera Foley, Deirdre O’Reilly, Geraldine O’Flynn 0-1, Rena Buckley 0-1, Briege Corkery 0-1, Annie Walsh 0-2, Ciara O’Sullivan, Orlagh Farmer 0-1, Valeria Mulcahy 0-1F, Grace Kearney1-1, Emma Farmer 1-2

Subs: Eimear Scally 1-1 for Mulcahy (46), Aisling Barrett for Phelan (54), Ann Marie Walsh for Foley (54), Orla Finn for Kearney (54)

Kerry: Amanda Brosnan, Aoife Lyons, Aisling Leonard, Caroline Kelly, Aislinn Desmond, Cait Lynch, Denise Hallissey, Emma Sherwood, Bernie Breen, Sarah Jane Joy, Deirdre Corridan, Louise Ni Mhuirtceartaigh 1-3, Sarah Houlihan 0-5 (0-2F), Lorraine Scanlon 0-1F, Louise Galvin 1-3.

Subs: Marie Quirke 0-1 for Desmond (26), Gina Crowley for Lynch (H/T) Patrice Dennehy for Corridan (H/T), Megan O’Connell for Scanlon (H/T) Cassandra Buckley for Joy (59),

 

Referee: Mike Duffy (Tipperary)

By Donal Barry