Classy Clifford too hot for Cork to handle

David Clifford underlined his status as the best footballer in the country by putting in another Man-of-the-Match performance as Kerry held on for a hard-fought victory at a sun-soaked Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday.

The Fossa man was well-marshalled by Daniel O’Mahony but he was sensational nevertheless, kicking 1-5 in total - including four of Kerry’s last five scores of the game.

With Cork substitutes Steven Sherlock and Eoghan McSweeney to the fore in the second half, the hosts came within a kick of a ball of causing an upset, but Kerry just about held on to secure two crucial points.

It was an improved display following the no-show against Mayo, but further improvements will be necessary if they want to see July.

Se Nie

The form of Seánie O’Shea was a hot button topic in the build up to this game but he made fools of the doubters by racking up four points in the first half alone. He opened his account with a third-minute free.

Clifford notched his first after selling O’Mahony a trademark dummy to make it two-nil with five minutes on the clock, but Cork replied quickly through Chris Óg Jones. O’Shea then added two neat points from play, either side of a well-taken score by Cork’s industrious half forward Brian O’Driscoll.

With Kerry’s defence on top, the visitors were able to build up a four-point lead as Adrian Spillane, O’Shea and Paudie Clifford all found the target between the 16th and 20th minutes.

Seán Powter had half a goal chance in the 21st minute but his prodded shot was diverted over the bar by a Kerry defender. The scoring stopped for the bones of 10 minutes thereafter and it only resumed when the younger Clifford took matters into his own hands and sent a huge, booming kick over the bar from outside the 45-metre line. Hurley swung over another free in stoppage time but Kerry had the last word when Dara Moynihan fielded a long Shane Ryan kickout and fed Paudie Clifford, who raced away from the Cork defence and tapped over from right in front of the posts. That left the scoreline at Kerry 0-9 Cork 0-5 at the break.

| By Adam Moynihan

Blistering

Whatever John Cleary said at half-time certainly had the desired effect. A blistering start to the period saw the Rebels cut the deficit to a single point within just seven minutes. Scores by Hurley (two frees), Killian O’Hanlon and Powter got the home crowd fired up; an O’Shea free in between was all the Kingdom could muster during this spell.

To a large extent the game hinged on a massive refereeing decision in the 47th minute. A combination of Tom O’Sullivan and Jack Barry forced a turnover around the middle of the pitch and when O’Sullivan fed Paul Geaney, the veteran inside forward had a goal on his mind.

As Geaney attempted to cut inside and make an angle for a shot, he was hauled down by the retreating Powter, just outside the large rectangle.

After consulting with his umpires, referee David Gough decided that the Cork player had intentionally denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. He issued a black card and awarded a penalty, to the disbelief of everyone in red and white. The rule in question is rarely cited, which led to much of the confusion and annoyance on the Cork side, but Gough was technically correct.

David Clifford stepped up and converted the spot kick, sending Micheál Martin diving to his right as he slotted it to the keeper’s left.

Hurley (free) made it a three-point game before Clifford kicked a free that he won himself, plus another catch-and-shoot beauty that gave Kerry a five-point lead with 16 minutes to go. That should have been that, really, but Cork, to their credit, came back with a vengeance. McSweeney pointed with his first touch and another Hurley free was quickly followed by a great score by Sherlock. The home side now trailed by two with four to play. The natives smelled blood.

Kerry v Cork Cork 0-15 Kerry 1-14

David Clifford took matters into his own hands again to end his team’s 14-minute scoreless run, but Sherlock made it 0-14 to 1-13 when his shot for goal cleared the crossbar.

In the 72nd minute, a high, probing ball – very similar to the one that led to Mark Keane’s goal in 2020 – was dealt with by a combination of Shane Ryan and the superb Jason Foley. Tom O’Sullivan widened the gap to three and Cork could only manufacture another shot for a point, which McSweeney converted. Then substitute Micheál Burns called for and claimed Ryan’s final kickout to seal a vital win.

If Kerry can beat Louth in Round 3, they will probably finish second in the group, and secure a home preliminary quarter-final in the process.

KERRY: S Ryan; G O’Sullivan, J Foley, T O’Sullivan (0-1); P Murphy, T Morley, G White; D O’Connor, J Barry; D Moynihan, S O’Shea (0-5, 2f), A Spillane (0-1); P Clifford (0-2), D Clifford (1-5, 1p 1f), P Geaney.

Subs: R Murphy for Spillane; S O’Brien for Moynihan; T Brosnan for Geaney; BD O’Sullivan for Barry; M Burns for P Clifford.

CORK: MA Martin; M Shanley, R Maguire, K O’Donovan; L Fahy, C O’Mahony, M Taylor; C O’Callaghan, I Maguire; B O’Driscoll (0-1), R Deane, K O’Hanlon (0-1); S Powter (0-2), B Hurley (0-6f), CÓ Jones (0-1).

Subs: S Sherlock (0-2) for Jones; E McSweeney (0-2) for O’Hanlon; J O’Rourke for Deane; B Murphy for Hurley; T Clancy for R Maguire.