Championship

Rebels ambushed as Kerry keep Munster Title

July 5th, 2011
by Weeshie Fogarty

As we approached injury time in last Sundays absorbing Munster Football final Kerry' desperate second half defending reminded one  of Muhammad Ali's great "rope-a –dope" trick when he fought George Forman in his famous "Rumble in The Jungle" World boxing championship battle. The Kingdom were literally out on the ropes, out on their feet. Cork were coming forward in wave after wave of red and white attacks as they sought to snatch the game from the jaws of defeat. Paul Kerrigan careered through to point when a goal might have been on, the tall rangy Alan o Connor did like wise when he could have gone nearer to the goal. John Miskella was put through by Donnacha o Connor and he saw his blistering shot cannon off Brendan Kealy's right post and go wide.  Kerry were hanging on by their fingertips as exhaustion overcame them following that magnificent first half when they gave Cork a football lesson. 

Now it appeared as if the All ireland champions would at least snatch a draw as they trailed by just one point. Then we saw a flash of courage and brilliance which for me will remain etched in the memory. Eoin Brosnan ran on the loose ball in the centre of the field and set of on one of his blistering powerful solo runs. The tall rangy Crokes man eat up the ground as he made a bee line for the Cork goal. He left a series of Rebels trailing in his wake, he too might have goaled but old heads are wisest and he punched the ball over the bar. It was a remarkable statement of intent and the Killarney man had literally taken the game on his own as they say "by the scruff of the neck". Kerry were back on their feet. Another Killarney townie who had just come on as a sub James o Donoghue popped over the clinching point from the kick out and full time whistle went shortly after this. Cork were beaten and the third Killarney town forward (Kieran o Leary was also on) then stepped up for his moment of glory. Colm Cooper one of the greatest forward of his generation was presented with the Munster cup by Kerryman Sean Walsh and unbelievably was bridging a massive gap stretching away back to 1915 when his Dr Crokes club mate Dick Fitzgerald had captained Kerry to victory over Clare 4-3 to 0-1. Another chapter of Kerry's football history had been written.

It was a cracking game as expected and Kerry got the upper hand from the throw in and that great start was half the battle. Declan o Sullivan and Kieran Donaghy between them gave Cork captain Graham Canty a torrid afternoon and Declan' five points from play copper fastened a magnificent display. Darren o Sullivan's goal, Brendan Kealy's superb save in the opening minutes from Paul Kerrigan, Kieran Donaghy's high fielding and Anthony Maher's work rate and fielding were a feature of a wonderful afternoon.  As mentioned here last week the reputedly star Cork midfield pairing did not decide the result in favour of the visitors and Kerry once again worked the interchanging brilliantly. Kieran Donaghy moving out to help and Micheal Quirke also introduced.

Kerry's first half display was as good as we have ever seen from this group of players. They literally gave Cork an exhibition in all the skills of the game and each and every player was so composed and comfortable on the ball. It was beautiful to watch. Eight points up at the short whistle, nine ahead a minute into the second half then alarming the wheels came off the wagon and we had to wait thirty six minutes before we had the next Kerry score, that was the Eoin Brosnan stunning solo effort.  And here is the biggest worry for Jack o Connor and his mentors. This second half fade out was alarming, and remember Limerick scored 2-5 in the second half in the Munster semi-final. So no one will be getting carried away within the Kerry camp and there is a lot to work on in training which a good thing is always. Thomas o Se and Paul Galvin predicted availability for the next game will add great dept to the squad.

Last week I went for a Kerry victory but added that Cork were my choice to retain the All ireland. Nothing has changed my view on that at the moment.  They will be there without a doubt when the honors are being decided. However there is a weakness in their play which makes them struggle to put away opponents despite all their possession. And that is their seemingly inability to score goals against to class opposition when the opportunities arise.  And now they also have the added fear in the back of their minds of a group of green and gold clad footballers making their way to Croke Park where they will await and relish with great anticipation another all Munster clash. Its not always the best team that wins between Kerry and Cork. Make no mistake about it but this was a huge psychological victory for Jack o Connor and his men. Cork are All Ireland champions but they can't beat Kerry. This will undoubtedly weight heavily on their collective minds. So now what's the Secret of Kerry?

Fogra; Watch out for a exclusive lengthy interview with Taoiseach Enda Kenny on my Radio Kerry Terrace Talk programme next Monday 6-8 pm. I met up with him in Killarney last Monday and we spoke at length about his sporting life and times. He come from a huge GAA background and his late father won seven National Leagues, three Railway Cup medals and an All Ireland in 1936. He names the best Kerry footballer he has ever seen and recalls the most memorable personalities/moments in his long and distinguished career in Dail Eireann.



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