Minor boss backs Cork to respond to loss as Dublin loom

Kerry 2-10

Cork 0-11

JOHNNY CAROLAN REPORTS

CORK minor football manager Ray O’Mahony believes his team will bounce back positively from the Electric Ireland Munster MFC final defeat to Kerry.

The Rebels take on Dublin in Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final at UPMC Nowlan Park in Kilkenny (1pm), seeking a response to the five-point defeat to the Kingdom at Austin Stack Park last Friday night.

In May’s provincial quarter-final in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork outscored Kerry by two goals to none and won by five; here they failed to raise a green flag as Kerry netted twice, with the same final winning margin. O’Mahony felt that the game was determined by small margins.

‘Having had time to reflect on the game and look at the stats, there’s absolutely nothing between the two teams,’ he says.

‘On Friday night, the wides were the same and the possession counts were the same, give or take three or four. The scoring efficiencies over the 60 minutes, we were actually three or four percent better.

‘There were a couple of moments in that game – poor defending for the second goal, an error for the first one and we could have potentially scored 2-4 at the start of the second half but had a return of a point.

‘Even if we got half of that, we were in the game but the game turned on moments and maybe we didn’t get as much of a return as we would have liked from our bench.

‘Overall, we were delighted with the performance and, as a group, we just put closure on Friday night and now move forward to the game against Dublin on Saturday.’

Kerry’s two first-half goals meant they enjoyed a 2-4 to 0-7 half-time lead but Cork came out strongly at the start of the second half. Unfortunately for them, a purple patch in the opening ten minutes after the restart failed to yield more than a David O’Leary point.

Dara Sheedy did reduce the gap to a point on 42 minutes and then Trevor Kiely, bright throughout, won a mark from the kickout and fed Mark O’Brien, who in turn set up Timothy Cullinane for his third point and the equaliser.

Cork were unable to move ahead though and that proved to be their second-last point. Having been on the back foot up to then, Kerry hit back strongly as two Paddy Lane frees and a good Tomás Kennedy point re-established their three-point advantage.

Sheedy did cut the deficit with a free but it was as close as they came, with Kerry pushing on in the closing stages as Cork’s need to attack left gaps which were exploited. Full-back Frank Hurley took one for the team as his black card to deny a late goal chance saw him black-carded having already been booked, meaning the Rebels finished with 14 players.

Cork competed well in the first half but were caught with the sucker-punch goals. Niall O’Shea impressed in defence as Kerry dangermen Paddy Lane and Dara Hogan were curbed.

Three consecutive points from Dara Sheedy, goalkeeper Billy Curtin with a long-range free and Seán Coakley had the visitors 0-5 to 0-3 ahead but, after a Lane free for Kerry, the hosts hit the front. Ben Murphy’s delivery was perfect for Lane and, though Curtin pushed him wide, the corner-forward produced a good finish. It gave Kerry a two-point lead and they never trailed after that.

Cullinane and Odhran Foley had points as Cork came back well to tie the match but, as would be the case later, a lead score was elusive. Instead, Kerry hit them again just before the break. The home side held the ball well for a period of minutes and then, when Cork lost their shape ever so slightly, Murphy was again the provider as Hogan slotted home.

It left them three ahead at the break and, though Cork did wipe out the lead, Kerry were able to move on again late on. It leaves them facing Leinster runners-up Kildare with Cork facing the champions of the eastern province.

For Dublin native O’Mahony, there is extra significance

‘I’d keep in contact with a lot of the Dublin people,’ he says, ‘even though I've been down here a good few years.

‘We’ve played Dublin twice over the last couple of months and we’ve got to know each other but, in saying that, Saturday is championship.

‘This is the heat of battle now, this game is winner-take-all and if we do that, we move on; if we don’t get over the line, the journey is over.

‘There’s no more back doors after this game and it’s about the lads putting in a good shift again. If they can match the workrate and the intensity of what they did last Friday, maybe be a bit more clinical – and maybe we’ll have to change tactics a little bit as well – then there’s no reason why they can’t win.’

Scorers

Kerry: P Lane 1-5 (5f); D Hogan 1-0; T Kennedy 0-2; S Ó Cuinn, S Gannon, P Fitzgerald 0-1 each.

Cork: D Sheedy (1f), T Cullinane 0-3 each; B Curtin (1f), O Foley, D O’Leary, S Coakley, D Clifford 0-1 each.

Kerry: J Hoare; D Mulvihill, K O’Shea, I Brosnan; P Moynihan, G Evans, B Murphy; E Boyle, D Kirby; D O’Keeffe, T Kennedy, S Ó Cuinn; D Hogan, O Healy, P Lane.

Subs: P Fitzgerald for O’Keeffe (40), A Kennelly for Healy (44), S Gannon for Ó Cuinn (44), P Walsh for Hogan (52), A Ó Beaglaioch for Murphy (60).

Cork: B Curtin (Valley Rovers); N O’Shea (Urhan), F Hurley (O’Donovan Rossa), M Ahern (St Finbarr’s); O Foley (Bishopstown), G Daly (Mallow), T Kiely (Doneraile); M O’Brien (Ballinora), D Clifford (Éire Óg); T Cullinane (Ballinascarthy), D Sheedy (Bantry Blues), O O’Callaghan (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels); D O’Mullane (Kilmurry), S Coakley (Douglas), D O’Leary (Ballincollig).

Subs: J O’Leary (Douglas) for O’Mullane (ht), M Hetherington for Clifford (43), C Mullins (Mallow) for Foley (52), G Holland (Bishopstown) for Cullinane (58), S O’Leary (Kilmurry) for Kiely (60).

Referee: Eoin Morrissey (Waterford).