Cork U20 loss in Kerry showed difference in slickness and firepower between the rivals

WITH every team playing at the same time in the Munster U20 football championship, Michael Neylon, the Clare U20 manager, had a scout at Cork’s opening game against Tipperary in Fethard on the same night in April that Clare took on Kerry in Quilty.

With Tipperary next up, the thrust of the scouting report focused on Tipp’s strengths but Neylon was also left in no doubt as to what Clare were facing in the final round of phase 2 of the competition.

“The initial report was that Cork were good,” said Neylon. “Really good. I soon found out how good they actually were.” 

When the sides met in Round 3, it was effectively a dead rubber as Cork went into the game knowing they just needed to keep their heads, and not pick up red cards or injuries. Clare needed a miracle, which required Tipp to beat Kerry, along with beating Cork by a cricket score, which was never going to happen.

The game was over after just 11 minutes, by which stage Cork led by 10 points. For the remainder of the match, Cork did as they pleased. The final winning margin was 20 points.

Cork looked slick but it was no real barometer of where they were. 

None of that really mattered before Wednesday night’s final. Kerry felt that Cork were only shadow-boxing in their first meeting in mid-April, a game Kerry won in Páirc Uí Chaoimh by four points.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH

So how good were Cork? Good, but not good enough, against Kerry. Again.

Most of the players which featured on Wednesday were part of the Cork minor squads which won successive Munster titles in 2021 and 2022. In both of those seasons, Cork beat Kerry.

Cork only had one point to spare in the 2021 semi-final, but the 2022 success was particularly satisfying, with Cork whipping Kerry in the final by 11 points just three weeks after Kerry had whacked Cork by 14 points.

Wednesday was Kerry’s third Munster U20 title in a row, their sixth in eight years, none of which is surprising given Kerry’s dominance of the minor championship over the last decade, having won nine of the last 11 titles.

The U20 grade is always a more accurate barometer as to who might make the senior grade as players have matured and are far more advanced up the S&C ladder. Cork have a number of players good enough to play senior football but Wednesday evening was still another reminder of how Cork continue to be just a fraction off their neighbours at the elite level.

Trailing by 0-9 to 0-5 at the break, Cork looked in a solid position as they had played against a stiff breeze. They only had a 50% conversion rate in that half. Cork also had created two good goal chances through Ed Myers and Hugh O’Connor.

They were right there. And then, in a flash, Cork weren’t.

In an explosive burst just after half-time, Kerry effectively ended the game. The Kerry goal from Tomás Kennedy came from a turnover before Kerry sourced another point off the subsequent Cork kick-out. Kerry won the next Cork restart too, which almost ended in another Kerry goal. When Kerry pushed the margin out to 10 points shortly afterwards, that point from Gearóid Evans could just as easily have been a goal.

Cork had six of the next seven shots at the target but they were frantically chasing the game by that stage.

The outcome was never in doubt but Cork still continued to create goal chances, engineering clear-cut opportunities through O’Connor, Dara Sheedy and Micheál Maguire.

Maguire’s attempt came in the 64th minute but Cork needed the other two shots to hit the net to have any chance. Even if they had, Kerry always appeared just that cut above Cork.

CLINICAL

That was reflected in the execution levels. Cork finished with the same number of shots as Kerry (24-24) but their overall conversion rates were almost identical from the first half. Kerry ended with 66% whereas Cork dipped down to 48%.

All six of Kerry’s starting forwards scored from play, as did two of their subs. They had that greater attacking edge but Kerry were also defensively outstanding.

That was obvious from the first half when O’Connor was blocked for a potential 1-2. Myers was also denied his goal chance from last-ditch defending by the excellent Charlie Keating.

Some of Kerry’s high fielding was also of the highest standard. A lot of Cork’s struggles stemmed from the Kerry kickout. Kerry mined 0-7 from that source. Cork did win three Kerry restarts in the second half but they only mined 0-1 off that possession. Kerry also inflicted significant damage off turnovers, scoring 1-6.

Losing a provincial U20 final is always a disappointment, especially when it’s knockout at this stage, and particularly for a host of players who may never play at inter-county level again.

The Cork squad and management deserve huge credit for their season’s work, and for how much they battled and fought on Wednesday night. 

But the most instructive lesson for Cork football as a whole was the comparative sharpness and slickness between both teams.

Kerry have always produced more cultured, creative and talented players, not just more than Cork, but ahead of every other county. Cork have long been trying to make up that deficit in other areas and, while they are trying, Wednesday was another example in just how difficult that challenge is.

It's no fault of the players. Cork were good. Just not good enough.