Kerry v Cork - Munster Final

[SuperDooperCooper]

Ah Munster football final day in Killarney. Sun shining (anyone else get sunburned?) great atmosphere and a cracking match.
Really enjoyed the game and both teams served up good football when you consider the conditions.
Firstly I will give my take on the major incidents
Kavanagh: It was a penalty pure and simple, Tomas has a hold of the Jersey as he broke through. Kavanagh blasted wide and I'm presuming the ref gave advantage. At home we were always told that if the game is a draw and it's in injury time take the lead point. If a penalty was awarded I'm fairly sure Cork would have taken a point.
O'Connors Goal: I disagree with the conventional wisdom here. I think McMahon altered his run to take Reidy out. He gave him a shoulder into the face and this left O'Connor free (great finish though). In all honesty I would not expect a ref to pick this up as it only became apparent when Reidy failed to get up after the goal. However in the lead up to the Goal Killian Young shouldered the Cork lad a yard over the side line (happened right below me) watching it again on the Sunday game it's as clear as day that he was over the line.
Umpire: Christ how could he go for the flag and it a mile wide, why are the ref's best mates left do this year after year. In the minor game Cork also got a point for a shot a foot wide. Umpire should receive training on where to stand. I have done umpiring for Co championship games and nobody instructed me where to stand.
Galvin's Booking: Who ever posted that they saw Galvin kicked O'Connor should be in CSI Belfast, what a joke, the man did nothing, got a blatant kick yet he is still the villain. Objectivity please.... O'Connor should have gone yet Galvin was the one left watching himself. Not one of Galvin's better game yesterday anyway and I'm sure that incident was a factor.
Masters Point: How the ref missed the tug on Tom O'Sullivans jersey for Master's point is baffling as he had a clear view.

Overall Cussen impressed me, was told he had no football in him but he did the simple things very well.
Gould was a disappointment again.
Young very impressive, Reidy nice and tidy but the lack of height now a concern in the full back line.
Tomas a little of the pace against McMahon.
Dara imperious but you would have to make an allowance for Murphy and Lynch as they are only returning from hamstring injuries.
Quirke not at championship pace and he gave away two stupid tap over frees through lazy tackling.
Declan Sul has a good game (not my MOTH) thought he was fouled late on, at the edge of the Cork penalty area, by a player who slid in (hobbled badly afterwards before being replaced).
Brozzie way of the pace in the second half. MFR best display in years when did he last finish a Kerry championship game?
Star wasn't going to be outdone by Cussen, two great scores especially the lead point, linked well, when Canty moved off him why no ball went in high to him I will never know.....
Gooch had O'Connor in trouble and even Canty couldn't get close, kicked some wides but the goal was class.

I would be surprised if they don't meet again Cork are up there with the best now. Hopefully it won't be in the quarter final.
Would love Cork to play Armagh in the qualifiers.
Not happy with the 6 week break but such is life.

[Davitt Man]

Has a worse pair of muppets ever been unleashed on the viewing/listening public?

When gooch scored the goal and they were showing the replay Carney described it as a relatively easy goal chance!! No other forward in the country would have scored it!!

[magickingdom]

great athmosphere in killarney yesterday, in around the town before and after the game and in the ground itself (got sunburnt too sdc!). john o keefee in todays times says the munster final has been somewhat devalued by the back door but i'm not sure what game he was at yesterday. thought it was intenses from the start without been overly dirty. dara o se was man of the match for me in the first half but did a bit of a disappearing act in the second half. cork bringing cusson out worked a treat for them. pat o shea can be well pleased with his days work up against the wily billy (who was gracious in defeat..) and thought all his changes worked out well. cork were definately denied a penalty in the last minute but the ref in fairness to him was unsighted. with the game level would cork have gone for the goal or taken the point?? we'll never know if they took the point you can be sure the ref would have left us time for the point to draw it up! (thought he was crap btw) and we'd all be back again. anyway the old order is restored with cork the second best team in the country, the only downside is the six weeks off now which is a bad joke...

[Billys Boots]

I disagree with the conventional wisdom here. I think McMahon altered his run to take Reidy out. He gave him a shoulder into the face and this left O'Connor free (great finish though).

That's what I saw too, it was blatant obstruction at the very least.

[passedit]

That's what I saw too, it was blatant obstruction at the very least.

thought it was offside myself Billy.

Definite penalty though although it appears the ref was unsighted.

Decent enough game considering it's basically meaningless in the bigger picture. Kerry will have to worry they don't get caught cold next time out. Have Cork not got a keeper who can kick the ball out?

[Kerry Mike]

My face is red as well today but that could be from the excess alcohol last night in Cork, always a good night out when you beat Cork.

The game was good but it seemed to lack atmosphere at times, I have never heard the rebel army so quite, it only really came to life after half time.

As for the game we played well and probably deserved the win but it was looking dodgy when Cork brought it back level and I thought they might have sneaked it we let a 6 point lead slip and thats a big worry that we allowed cork back into the game like that. Kavanagh's miss was the turning point as it seemed to re-focus the Kerry minds. I was talking to Kavanagh in Reardon's in Cork last night and while he said it probably was a penalty he was saying he should have done better. At the game I saw the jersey tug as I was in line with it and thought we were lucky to get away with it. It was a penalty.

From the players point of view Diarmuid Murphy did not have much to do, he had no chance with the goal, it was a great shot to the roof of the net. He was very slow getting off his line in the second half when he picked up a yellow card for a trip, He should have read that move better. His kick outs were not the best he kept hitting the same area in the middle of the park where Cork were winning lots of ball particularly when Cussen moved out there.

Marc O'Se did okay on Masters but still Masters created many of the Cork scores. O'Se made one or two good block downs.

Tom O'Sullivan struggled with the height of Cussen as expected, he did however break up a few moves and did okay overall.  Still not convinced about his long term position at full back but with a clear lack of alternatives in the subs he will be there for the season, but prefers a small type of player.

Padraig Reidy I thought struggled with the pace of O'Connor at times, he tried hard though and took a heavy knock during the lead up to the Cork goal.  Looked like a free on TV last night but it happened so quickly and the ball was finished to the net so fast that no one noticed live it I didn't anyway and it was right in front of me, but these things happen.

In the half line Tomas O'Se kicked a poor wide in the second half and the game really passed him by without him making too many of his driving bursts up the field.

Aidan O'Mahony was another to struggle with a tall player and I thought O'Neill got through a lot of ball. Still O'Mahony made two great interceptions near the end and his drive up the wing set up the last winning point.

Killian Young did well in his first Munster final, he made a couple of good breaks from the backs and seems comfortable on the run, his long punt to the square broke well for the Gooch to score our vital goal.

Darragh O'Se was immense at times, he made a few vital catches at midfield when he was dwarfed by Cork's big lads, had two very poor wides off his left foot but linked well with the forwards at the start of the 2nd half when we hit the front. Tired towards the end and really struggled when Cussen came to midfield.

Michael Quirke tried hard to get involved but he lacks the agility and mobility for a high octane game like yesterday, really struggled with his kicking and is always hesitant waiting for someone to pass to. His tackling was poor and he gave away some easy frees. I am surprised he lasted so long, Why Donaghy was not brought to Midfield was a surprise. Will probably see Tommy Griffin back for the end of the season.

Declan O'Sullivan was stuck in from the start and I picked him out as my MotM . He kicked some fine points and was unlucky not to get a goal. Really fought hard for the ball and blocked well on a few occasions. Good to see him back to his best.

Eoin Brosnan started well and ran at Cork getting a good point , but once he drifted out to he crowded midfield area he was less effective, was poor enough by his standards, but Spillane is a good player and made it hard for him.

Paul Galvin, very unlucky to get a yellow card as he was clearly kicked, but when Reidy was down injured after the Cork goal he got involved in a bit of hand bags with O'Leary and a few others down the other end of the field. Pat O'Shea immediately took him off which was a wise move at the time. Was not as terrier like as usual self and will class this as one of his poorer games.

Cooper really got stuck in the second half and took his goal well. He was involved in many of the Kerry scores but kicked a bad wide in the first half.

Donaghy struggled at times with Canty but did kick a great point at the end to effectively win the game for us. Still seems to be off the pace of the game after his injury , would have liked to see him out in midfield more helping out when we were struggling there in the last 15 minutes. But expect better days ahead for him.

MFR had a good game and kicked his frees very well. Contributed well in open play and will be happy with his input.

Of the subs Sean O'Sullivan kicked a good winning point and was lively, Darren O'Sullivan did not get any real chances to use his pace while Tommy Griffin did not really have too much time to make an impression.

Overall a good game and a satisfactory result and that we came back and won it like that shows the hunger we hopefully still have.

Pat O'Shea has achieved what Ogie Moran, Mickey Ned O'Sullivan, Paidi O'Se or Jack O'Connor could not, a Munster final win over Cork in Killarney, so that's another unwanted record in the bin. That was our 15th championship game against Cork yesterday since 1996 when the current Kerry revolution took off, winning 10 drawing 2 and losing 3.

There is lots of room for improvement in the full back line and midfield in particular and we now have 6 weeks to work on that. Good turn out of 31000 considering the small crowds at recent games.

Kerry's minors were very disappointing yesterday and when you add in the dismal display of the U21 this year the overall future picture is not so rosy for us.

[Davitt Man]

. Have Cork not got a keeper who can kick the ball out?

His kick out wasnt great at times, Martin Carney kept higlighting this fact in the 2nd half but in fairness he was against the wind in the 2nd half. Why does he throw his arms up in the air when he is running up to kick the ball. weird.

[lynchbhoy]

Galvin's Booking: Who ever posted that they saw Galvin kicked O'Connor should be in CSI Belfast, what a joke, the man did nothing, got a blatant kick yet he is still the villain. Objectivity please....

that would be me
check out the replays uring the week and then get back to me with your opinion that will be in agreement of mine.
Watch the left foot after he hits the deck. He did not have momentum that would cause andy swinging of the foot/leg backwards, but he made contact.
I saw it when replayed during the game where I first spotted this - and then was convinced after seeing two further replays of this later on.

Objectivity, I happen to be one of the few who like Galvin and his style of play.
As I said, under letter of the law - both players deserved cards. Yellow at best, but if it was a stickler of a ref - then they could have been red!

[mackers]

SuperDooperCooper, as an Armagh man, I hope we're in Round 3 of the qualifiers to worry about who we draw, but if we're there, there's no doubt that Cork would be the hardest draw from the beaten provincial finalists, assuming Tyrone beat Monaghan. They're a serious outfit, with Kerry playing really well to beat them.

[orangeman]

Cork were robbed - simple

[SuperDooperCooper]

Munster incident could test CCC

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/munster-incident-could-test-ccc-925587.html

Tuesday July 03 2007

AN incident in the first half of Sunday's Munster football final could provide the CCC (Competitions Control Committee) with a quick first test case for new guidelines reinforced by Central Council last week.

The special Central Council meeting, called by GAA president Nickey Brennan to deal strictly with the disciplinary process, emphasised that under new rules the CCC had the authority to contact a referee and ask him if he was satisfied with the way he handled a particular incident. Video evidence will, in most cases, be supplied.

If the referee decides that he is satisfied then the matter will be dropped but if he's not then the CCC have the right to pursue a case and propose a charge where they feel necessary.

The Munster final incident involved Kerry's Paul Galvin and his marker, Cork's Noel O'Leary.

Galvin was yellow carded by match referee Marty Duffy as they tangled on the ground as they pursued a kick-out. Duffy consulted his umpires before making his decision. But video evidence, shown on the Sunday Game highlights programme, could implicate O'Leary for a more serious offence.

Galvin was substituted after a second half incident involving O'Leary for which he escaped any censure.

- Colm Keys

[supersarsfields]

The problem with the above new process is that it'll be affected by the media reaction to the ref's decision at the time. An incident in a lower profile game may be allowed to stand if there's no up-roar were as a similar incident in a high profile game that the media grab on may be overturned. The only way around this would be for the ref to watch a video tape of the whole game after ( I know as if they don't have enough to do) and to see if there is anything that he may have missed. Then he could make a informed decision before the meeja get on to it and start baying for blood. And to do this for all games, Rather than this We'll wait to see if there's an up-roar before we do anything craic.

[SuperDooperCooper]

Cracking the Cody code is the way forward

Jack O'Connor's Column Kilkenny's system of internal struggle looks like the template for other elite counties

Brian Cody's biggest challenge at the moment is to keep a straight face when he is being interviewed after matches. On a couple for occasions in the past he has become a little animated when reporters have questioned the quality of the opposition.

On Sunday, after having the luxury of taking off his full back and his entire half-back line in a provincial final, even the normally inscrutable Brian was struggling to put a face on things after Kilkenny's facile win over Wexford.

The worrying aspect is that the lack of serious opposition in Leinster isn't good for Kilkenny, or for the game of hurling itself.

In many way the toughest opponents Kilkenny have had this summer have been their own subs.

The legendary games between the As and the Bs in Nowlan Park on training nights might be better value for admission money than Sunday's Leinster final.

Brian Cody knows that, when faced with an uncompetitive provincial championship, internal competition is the only way of keeping players out of the comfort zone and preventing their standards from dropping.

On Sunday, Kilkenny brought in five new players who didn't play in last September's winning All-Ireland team.

That is an amazing statistic. Normally that sort of turnover means you are in serious transition and looking at long-term rebuilding. Kilkenny have turned it into their secret weapon against the failures of the championship structure.

Constantly refreshing and renewing ensures staleness and complacency are not factors. The universal language in team sports is fear of losing your place.

While Munster teams hone themselves in one of the few competitive provincial championships left, Kilkenny have to battle among themselves to stay sharp.

In Kilkenny they know, from 2001 especially, there is always a chance a superior team can be caught by a leaner, hungrier team who have come a hard road.

The only way around this is to make every training session a war of attrition, with only the fittest surviving. The players then set the standards themselves.

In such an environment injury is always a risk, but when the championship gets serious for Kilkenny there is no point in having everyone available but nobody battle -hardened.

You had to think of Kilkenny when you watched the Munster football final in Killarney on Sunday. The game did not turn out to be the hand-to-hand combat most had expected. It was as if the recent furore over discipline was on players' minds and they were on their best behaviour.

There may, though, have been another, more fundamental, reason for the lack of fireworks. Cork arrived in Killarney last year with a fanatical desire in their bellies to recover lost pride after the previous year's semi-final. This time they were competitive without being fanatical.

In the back of their minds must have been their experiences after winning Munster last year. They will have realised it didn't do Kerry any harm, taking a short diversion out the back door.

In many ways winning the game on Sunday was more important for Kerry. It was a first Munster final win against the old enemy in Killarney in 21 years.

That was motivation enough, but the players had the memory of last year to fuel them and Sunday brought the first piece of silverware for Pat O'Shea's new management team. That it was won in front of Kerry's own supporters will help build the faith.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and Cork have spent the winter trying to mould their own version of Kieran Donaghy. Michael Cussen may not be as agile as the Kerry version but he is still a fair operator. His two first-half points hinted at real potential. But Cork need to use him as a first resort, not as an afterthought, like they did on Sunday. If he is used well he will make it awkward for anyone.

Cork fell between two stools in Killarney, between kicking it and carrying it. Cussen wasn't used properly and James Masters was well held by Marc Ó Sé. Cork had no cohesion up front.

At this point you would have to say Kerry are going a fair bit better than at this time last year. Donaghy isn't going at full pelt yet but he is getting there; his peak form is in the post. You can see the effect he is having on the two corner men, Gooch and Mike Frank. Both are playing with the confidence that comes from knowing Donaghy's presence makes opposing full-back lines as nervous as a henhouse with a fox peering in.

Gooch's goal was a case in point. It was an instinctive thing of beauty. Nothing much on, then a diagonal hoof from Cillian Young and pandemonium reigned.

Backs hate that scenario; they don't know whether to watch the ball or the man.

Gooch finished to the net with the kind of cheek that reminded me of the famous backheeled goal Denis Law scored many years ago for Manchester City to relegate Manchester United from the first division.

Schoolyard instinct took over. That's when the Gooch is at his best, playing with freedom and enjoyment.

Cork will probably spend the next three weeks honing the delivery into Cussen. Kerry will know Donaghy is approaching top form. If they both come right the big men will have a big say in the destiny of the real championship. The worry for Kerry is that despite a good Munster final, six weeks is a long time to keep their edge. They may have to look at the Kilkenny way.

Brian Cody has learned to tap into his conveyor belt of top-quality talent to keep his side fresh and lean and fend off the effects of poor provincial structures.

No wonder Cody can't keep a straight face. He has beaten the system that is killing everyone else.

Agus Rud Eile...

Kerry's win in Killarney means that they can put the championship back into storage for a while and return to club business. You might as well present the provincial winners with a Trojan horse instead of the cup.

With that kind of gap between matches it is hard to maintain any sort of momentum within a team.

Last year, Kerry had the replay against Cork and then a qualifier against Longford before facing into D-Day with Armagh.

Joe Kernan's men had to put up with a few weeks of inactivity themselves after winning in Ulster. It is as if there are two separate championships going on.

One, the provincial football championship, gives you several weeks off after winning it and allows you to play club championships in between.

The other system allows you to regroup after defeat, address a couple of problems and come back into the real championship leaner and meaner and match fit.

Teams' views on which route it is better to focus on will change according to whatever happened in the previous summer's campaigns.

But all it will take is for another couple of teams to win the AllIreland coming through the back door for everyone to see that it isn't just the Leinster senior hurling championship that is past its sell-by date.

There is a real danger teams will look at the lie of the land in springtime and wonder if they should be going flat out or not.

There is a chance the provincial football finals will turn into exhibition sparring matches or, as the old west Kerry phrase put it, cogaí na mbó maol, fights of the hornless cows.

[orangeman]

Let the refs referee and leave it at that and don't analyse every little incident - otherwise the sport is going the wrong road -

[supersarsfields]

the problem is that the meeja are analysing everything after the game themselves. And if it's something that's caught on camera then it's jumped upon and the GAA feel obliged to act.