KERRY MANAGER JACK O’Connor felt the eventual scoreline was not reflective of the examination his side had received by Cork in yesterday’s Munster semi-final.

Kerry pulled clear comfortably in the final quarter but their advantage had been cut to a point by the 50th minute in Páirc Uí Rinn.

“We expected a battle and to be fair to Cork they gave us a battle. We just got on top of their kick-out in the second half and that led to most of our scores in the last quarter. Wwe’re relieved to get over today because we felt this would be a dangerous game. Cork were being written off, there was a lot of loose talk about how bad they were.

“We felt they were a good bit better than they were in the league and to be fair they were, lads. That wasn’t a Cork team that struggled to stay in Division 2, I would suggest to ye. You have to give them a lot of credit. They regrouped well over the last few weeks and gave as good as they got for three quarters of the game.

“Maybe it was a bit flattering near the end and I don’t think the scoreline does justice to the challenge that Cork put up. I felt that they were after getting back a good share of quality players since the league, Cathail O’Mahony, those players. He’s a good forward. We came across him here at U20 level and he was outstanding and he’s a very good kicker. They didn’t have him for a very good share of the league.”

O’Connor felt his team’s performance was rusty for long stages.

“Cork brought a lot of bodies back. They were energetic, we were a bit sloppy with the ball but again we expected that because we didn’t play a game in five weeks, we didn’t play any challenge games. We picked up a good share of niggles after the league final and there were some players who didn’t train for the bones of three weeks. I was expecting rust and we saw a good bit of that.

Jack O'Connor with his Kerry players before the game. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

“We were keeping Cork in the game by turning over the ball in our forward third. We had turnovers in the first half just handpasses going astray, bad options, forcing passes and it was a sign we weren’t up to championship pace and I wasn’t surprised by that because five weeks is a long time without a game particularly when you don’t play a challenge game, particularly when you have a share of injuries. I expected lads to be rusty and there was plenty of evidence of that. “

One player who did catch the eye for Kerry was attacker Stephen O’Brien.

“Stephen has trained really well, he has shown great attitude, I think he’s turned back the years, he’s playing great football at the moment and long may that continue.”

The impact of stalwarts off the bench also pleased O’Connor.

“They steadied it up, particularly David Moran gave us a great base of possession. Aerially, he’s very strong and I thought he controlled the game. He did nothing foolish with the ball, he took sensible options and obviously the two Pauls are very experienced lads as well. So it’s great to be able to bring that experience in off the bench. It’s all up for grabs again for the final. There’ll be good craic for the first 15 now for the final.”

A final now beckons in Fitzgerald Stadium on Saturday 28 May against Limerick or Tipperary.

“Yeah, that’s nice. Something nice for the lads to look forward to. We like playing Killarney and hopefully the weather will be good and that there will be a good crowd. It’s a good time as well, 3 o’clock on a Saturday.”
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