Cork under 14 bandwagon rolls again

Cork under 14 bandwagon rolls again
By Fr Liam Kelleher

Cork 3-13 Kerry 2-7.

The Cork under 14 bandwagon which sped though Munster uninterrupted, for all of 7 years, since the turn of the century, before it came off the rails two years ago when Kerry derailed them and repeated the dose last year, are firmly back on track again. On a fine sunny afternoon at picturesque Annascaul the reblelettes had what appeared to be a comfortable win on the scoreboard, with a 9 point winning margin,. They really never played to their full potential. Perhaps they were limited by a narrow pitch and over fussy referee who who caused endless frustration to both teams with an over use of the whistle. Winning ugly, is always better than than being dainty losers, despite never imposing themselves on this game Cork did enough to regain their crown. Cork got off to the worst possible start and were rocked by a Kerry goal, in the very first minute. This was the wake up call they needed and they held the Kingdom girls scoreless for the remainder of the half. It really took them all of 10 minutes to recover from Kerry’s opening salvo, they were rescued by the oustandiing play and leadership of inspiring capt Doireann O’Sullivan, she grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and propelled Cork forwar, she set up Claire Shine for a great goal and added excellent points and a goal herself to bring Cork’s tally to 2-7 at the short whistle. A 10 point lead looked pretty secure at this stage, despite having to face the stiffish breeze in the 2nd half. Cork should have ben really out of sight by then, they missed a penalty and 2 gilt edged goal chances and were denied a number of times by point blank saves by the Kerry keeper Katie Cronin.

Defensive trap.

Cork added to their tally with an early point in the 2nd half and then retreated into a near fatalistic defensive trap. Kerry answered with 4 points and it took a goal from Substitute Aileen Buckley to stop the rot. The forwards failing to gel, as a cohesive unit, apart from Doireann and Claire Shine appeared to be out of touch on the day. That is an area that will have to be addressed, before the All-Ireland semifinal. A lot of good possession was lost, by wrong options lack of incisiveness and a failure to hold on to the ball. Kerry sensing Cork’s negative mode, thundered into the game again, they adopted the ploy of battering the Cork defense with high balls and only the trojan work of the entire fullback line of Sinead Cotter Elaine Crowley and Siobhan Hutchinson kept them at bay. Keeper Jean O’Sullivan contributed her share with some great stops, they did get caught for a goal which came from another Kerry ’Garryowen” which they failed to cope with. Cork over the hour had the better of the midfield exchanges where despite being being limited with an injury, Roberta Harrington ran herself to a standstill, her positional sense was vital during Kerry’s bombardment in the 2nd half and over the hour she showed most of the forwards the way, by firing over 3 excellent points from the right and left. She got good help from her club mate Maura O’Callaghan in the middle of the park and in fairness after a slow start Rachel O’Shea came into her own with some timely interceptions. The old adage tells us, that attack is the best form of defense, but it may yet prove a blessing in disguise that Cork reverted to a defensive mode in the 2nd half. The Cork rearguard untested up to now, were put under a lot of pressure and they mostly measured up and their confidence will be enhanced after surviving the battering they took. Kerry lost their All-Ireland and Munster crowns,which was on the cards after being defeated 6-9 to 0-4 in the All-Ireland blitz final the week before, but credit them for trying to the end. Only time will tell if this Cork team can get another All-Ireland. They certainly have the talent and will to do so and with the pressure of the Munster final behind them, those who were below par on the day, will blossom at the Semifinal and hopefully final stage. Doireaan O’Sullivan was presented with the cup by Munster President Dan O’Mahony to the delight of her teammate’s and the big Cork following she had the added distinction of taking the player of the match award emulating the feat of her 2 sisters Ciara and Roisin in previous Munster underage finals. Cork scorers. Doireann O’Sullivan. 1-4 Claire Shine 1-2. Aileen Buckley. 1-0 Roberta Harrington 0-3. Jennifer Cahill 0-1. Aoife Keating 0-1. Kate Fitzpatrick 0-1 Maura O’Callaghan 0-1

Cork Jean O’Sullivan (St Vals), Miriam O Callaghan (Mourneabbey), Sinead Cotter (St Vals), Siobhan Hutchinson (Eire Og),Elaine Crowley (Liscarroll), Maura O Callaghan (Mourneabbey), Rachel O Shea (Beara), Rachel Sheehan (Carrigtwohill), Orla Healy (Donoughmore), Roberta Harrington (Mourneabbey), Heather O Sullivan (Keelnameela), Claire Shine (Douglas), Kate Fitzpatrick (Nemo Rangers), Doireann O Sullivan (Mourneabbey), Jennifer Cahill (Bride Rovers), Aoife Keating (Courcey Rovers), Aileen Buckley (Donoughmore), Angela Crowley (St Vals), Laura Crowley (Rockban), Cliodhna Connolly (Ilen Rovers), Aobha Hickey (Ballincollig), Joan Tyner (Kinsale), Maebh Cahalane ( Eire Og), Catriona Murphy (Naomh Aban), Irene Herlihy (Mallow), Elaine Carey (Watergrasshill), Julie Dennehy (Boherbue), Hannah Looney (Aghada), Ailbhe Dowling (Clonakilty)

Management.

Betty Cahill, Charlie McLaughlin, Jerry O’Sullivan, John Fitzgerald and Fr Liam Kelleher.

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