Championship

2007 Munster Final - Another magical day in Killarney

July 3rd, 2007
by Weeshie Fogarty

 It was one of those magical Munster final days. The setting, the perfect amphetethere of sport, the Fitzgerald Stadium and both counties really rose to the occasion. A magnificent July day with the sun beaming down, the vivid red and white of Cork, the brilliant green and gold of Kerry and a massed crowd of over thirty one thousand spectators enthralled by what unfolded before them. This was one of the great finals and while Cork will have been bitterly disappointed as the headed back across the county bounds Bill Morgan will know well that his side were within a whisker of retaining their crown. When all is said in done it is my opinion that it was Kerry's greater experience when the chips were down and the fat was in the fire that saw them regain the Munster Cup. (The cup with no name). And as often in major championship games you also need lady luck on you side and Kerry also had this.

Experience can come in many guises. When one looked at the Kerry substitutes ready to come into the fray is was very evident that most of them were highly experienced. With men like Darren and Sean o Sullivan, Brian Sheehan, Tommy Griffin and Mossie Lyons Pat o Shea had a virtual bucket full of riches to call on. And the crucial point here is that all these men have huge Croke Park experience. They have been tried and tested at the very highest level and all have great track records at playing well when the chips are down. No argument here so when these boys were introduced last Sunday to substitute for tiring legs they gave that little impetus so badly needed to get the Kingdom first over the line.

And that little bit of luck I spoke about. Well that came in the last minute of normal time when Cork may well feel that they were denied a blatant penalty. Masters long delivery ended up with Derek Kavanagh who got completely inside the Kerry defense. He closed in on goal and was inside the big square and just as he blasted for goal with only Diarmuid Murphy to beat he received a beautiful timely little jersey pull. Not too much but just enough to put him off and he blazed wide low to Murphy's left hand post. The general consensus is that the referee played the advantage for Kavanagh. However there is no advantage rule in Gaelic football and never was. I suspect that the referee was unsighted from where he was positioned and did not see the jersey pull. I know from my own experiences that while thousands in the stand, on the terrace, in the press box and on TV may have a clear and perfect view of a blatant foul the same will not apply to the referee. I have experienced the fact that you can be too close to the action and your view will be completely obstructed by other players. Would Cork have scored a penalty? Would Diarmuid Murphy have saved the spot kick? On such border line decisions championships are often won and lost.

With the wind at their back Cork had some great opportunities to open up a commanding lead in those early stages but unfortunately for them their shooting left them down and they kicked some bad wides. To put this aspect of the game into its proper perspective it was the direct opposite in the Minor final. In this Cork had the benefit of a very strong wind. It was referred to my many as a strong breeze but it was much more than this. I was down on the side line for the minor match and I can vouch that it played a major part in the games. Remember the Cork minors raced into an early six point lead due to their long kicking with the wind at their backs. However the rebel seniors failed to capitalize on this advantage and were only those two points up as the sides adjourned to the sanctuary of the dressing rooms. I felt then that Pat o Shea would be the happier of the two managers. One of the highlights of the game for me was the battle of the two giant full forwards. We had our first live sighting of Michael Cussen the six foot seven man from Glanmire. He had an outstanding game and while Tom Sullivan did his level best with him when the high ball came in Cussen was superb and his two first half points and second half mid field display marks him down as a great prospect. I felt that in that first half Cork should have played him much more instead Anthony Lynch and Ger Spillane in particular persisted in soling up field time after time wit the wind in their favor. All Cussen needs now is lots of experience. That word experience again.

At the other end Kieran Donnaghy was back to his near best. There was lots of hype in the previous week as to his battle with the excellent Graham Canty. Kieran won this and through out the whole game played a major part in many of Kerry's excellent forward moves. His match winning point into the entrance goal from far out and under the terrace was for me reminiscent of the wonderful kicking of the late Tadge Lyne or Paudie Sheehy. His presence in the square when Colm Cooper scored his goal completely up-set the Cork defense. That goal by Colm was a fabulous piece of wizardly. Reaching high for the ball, coming down with his back to goal he pivoted on the left foot and despite being fouled rammed the ball to the net all in one flowing monument. Another moment to treasure for the faithful Kerry supporters.

Other memorable moments included. Declan o Sullivan's bullet of a shot on the half volley brilliantly tipped over the bar by Cork goalie Paddy o Shea. Donncha o Connors stunning shot in the second half for the Cork goal. In fairness to Padraig Reidy he was knocked to the ground off the ball as he tried to get across to o Conner to cover the shot. Kery fans held their breath when Diarmuid Murphy advanced to save a certain score, he had to foul Pearse o Neill taking the legs from under him. Now it could have been a red card as it might have been deemed a deliberate foul but the referee who had a good game flashed the yellow. A fair decision under the circumstances as the Dingle man has an exemplary record.

Usually the mildest and coolest of individuals Diarmuid was fairly animated and excited at one point of the second half as the umpire signaled a Cork point for a free that had  gone across the face of his goal and went blatantly wide. The man in the white coat was completely undecided and didn't have a clue what had occurred. The Kerry goal man and defenders gathered around the Sligo man and the ball was eventually waved wide. There have been numerous instances of umpiring mistakes this year. Not good enough with so much at stake. We will return to this problem shortly to discuss just how referees choose their men and what type of training thy receive or should I say not receive.

Mike Frank had his best game in a long while and his free kicking and two pointed forty fives were crucial in the final analysis. The work rate of Declan o Sullivan and Paul Galvin is enormous and the captain from Dromid probably edged out others for a man of the match performance. The marking of James Masters by Marc o Se was a vital part of this latest Kerry victory. Mark never gave the Nemo man an inch of room to display his wonderful skills. Any slackness in man marking here could have spelled curtains for Kerry. The battle in the right corner of the Stadium was fascinating. A "Master" corner forward facing a master corner back. Michael Quirke will be delighted with his Munster medal. He had a very good game until as expected tired fifteen minutes into the second half. We witnessed some great fielding from all the big men in the middle of the field.

When the dust settles Billy Morgan will be in many ways very happy with his men. They now go into the qualifiers and we al know what this meant for Kerry last year. A handy home draw in the next round and Cork will show more improvement. It is always said that you learn more from a defeat than victory and Cork will have discovered that their substitutes John Miskella and Conor McCarthy are worth the first fifteen. Their under twenty ones are All Ireland champions and their minors dominated our lads around the middle of the field last Sunday. It is ominous for Kerry that we saw our two mid fielders and centre back substituted in that minor game. Kery will now have a long break before the quarter final. Is this a good thing or a bad thing, only time will tell? Players now return to their clubs and with some intriguing county championships clashes coming up Pat o Shea will be keeping his fingers crossed that serious injury to one of his men will not strike. And well done to the affable Dr Croke man and his back room men AND WOMEN. Pat is the first Dr Croke man since Dr Eamonn Sullivan in 163 to manage a Kerry team to victory in a Munster final in Killarney. That day it was Kerry 1-18, Cork 3-7. Eamonn's last Munster win was in Cork the following year 1964.

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