TG4 Munster Senior Championship
Cork 2-14
Kerry 2-14
By Anthony Newman
Honours even between Cork and Kerry in their TG4 Munster Senior Ladies Football clash at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday.
A dramatic finish saw Cork come back to earn a well-deserved draw as they scored 2-4 without reply, meaning it all goes down to the final round of games to see who will reach the Munster final.
Full credit to Cork, who never gave up despite an outstanding display from Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, who finished with 1-7.
However, of concern for Kerry will be the fact she left the pitch late on with an injury.
Cork took the lead two minutes in when Doireann O’Sullivan pointed from a free, before Eimear Kiely added a second.
Kerry’s first chance came after nine minutes when Niamh Ni Chonchúir played Ní Mhuircheartaigh in but her shot came back off the post with the Cork defence then clearing the breaking ball.
Doireann O’Sullivan raised another white flag for Cork as they were enjoying the better of the opening exchanges.
Ni Chonchúir got Kerry off the mark and from the restart they took the lead. Ní Mhuircheartaigh played Niamh Carmody in and she found the back of the net as Kerry has settled into the game at this stage.
A sweeping Cork move had the sides level with Kiely getting her second and the Rebels’ fourth point.
Ni Chonchúir put Kerry back in front before a tackle on Katie Quirke led to a discussion between the referee and his umpires. After a lengthy conversation, he awarded Kerry a free out.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh increased Kerry’s lead as they started to push up on Cork kick-outs and were causing problems for the Cork defence.
Libby Coppinger got on the scoresheet for Cork to make it 0-5 to 1-3 with 20 minutes gone.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh scored another magnificent point for her side as they took a three point lead with three minutes to half-time.
Fiadhna Tangney increased their lead, before Coppinger raised a white flag for Cork.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh added a point from a free before a superb block from Roisin Phelan denied Carmody a second goal.
Doireann O’Sullivan pointed again for Cork as they trailed the Kingdom by 0-7 to 1-7 at half-time.
Cork started the second-half brightly with Kerry keeper Ciara Butler saving well to deny Quirke a goal, before Erika O’Shea pointed for the home side.
Three minutes into the second-half, a clash of Meabh O’Sullivan and Síofra O’Shea as both went for the ball led to the latter having to leave the pitch.
After that, and having consulted with the same umpires, the referee awarded Kerry a penalty, which Ní Mhuircheartaigh duly dispatched to the back of the net.
She added a point as did Anna Galvin as Kerry were now in control and built up a lead of 2-11 to 0-9 after 45 minutes.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh kept adding on the points before Orlaith Cahalane got on the score sheet for the home side and the same player was denied a goal by Butler after 52 minutes.
Cahalane got a late goal for Cork to set up a dramatic finish, with Eimear Kiely raising another green flag to put only a point between the sides. Quirke coolly slotted over to level and the final whistle went shortly after to conclude a highly entertaining encounter.
Scorers for Cork: E Kiely 1-4 (2f), O Cahalane 1-1, D O’Sullivan 0-3 (1f), L Coppinger, K Quirke 0-2 each, E O’Shea, C O’Sullivan 0-1 each.
Kerry: Ní Mhuircheartaigh 1-7 (1-0 pen, 2f), N Carmody 1-0, Ní Chonchúir 0-2, A Dillane, A Galvin, M O’Connell, D O’Leary, F Tangney 0-1 each.
CORK: M O’Sullivan; M Duggan, E Meaney, R Phelan; A Ryan, S Kelly, E O’Shea; S Leahy, H Looney; E Cleary, D O’Sullivan, L Coppinger; K Quirke, E Kiely, C O’Sullivan.
Subs: D Kiely for E Clear, L O’Mahoney for A Ryan (both 43), A Healy for S Leahy (47), O Cahalane for D O’Sullivan (48), M O’Callaghan for H Looney (55).
KERRY: C Butler; E Lynch, K Cronin, A Dillane; A O’Connell, E Costello, C Lynch; L Scanlon, M O’Connell; N Carmody, N Ni Chonchúir, A Galvin; F Tangney, S O’Shea, L Ní Mhuircheartaigh.
Subs: D O’Leary for S O’Shea (34), H O’Donoghue for F Tangney (40), L Galvin for A O’Connell (48), C Murphy for A Dillane (52), A Harrington for L Ní Mhuircheartaigh (56).
Referee: Patrick Smith - Waterford.
Ends
