Cork And Kerry To Meet Again After Injury-Time Equalizer

Munster GAA Football Championship Semi-Final: Cork 0-15 Kerry 0-15

Cork and Kerry will meet again next Sunday after Colm Cooper's injury-time free ensured a 0-15 to 0-15 draw in the Munster GAA Football Championship semi-final at Killarney on Sunday afternoon.

Cork, the reigning provincial champions, were left to rue some costly mistakes in the final quarter as they led by four points midway through the second half and missed a couple of glorious goal chances with ten minutes left to seal a place in the Munster final against Limerick.

The Rebels led 0-14 to 0-10 in the 53rd minute after dominating much of the game, but they failed to register another score until substitute Colm O'Neill put them back in the lead with his first touch of the ball in the final minute.

However, just as Cork looked to have held off a Kerry comeback that saw the All-Ireland champions kick three successive points in the final ten minutes, Cooper levelled the game after being fouled by Paudie Kissane and ensured a replay when he curled the ball delightfully over the bar with a free from his hands way out on the touchline. Remarkably, it was almost a carbon copy of the semi-final last year, when Colm O'Neill also put Cork ahead in injury time before Bryan Sheehan levelled the game from a free.

Kerry will travel to Cork for the replay next Sunday afternoon at 3.30pm in Páirc Uí Chaoimh having lost by eight points in the Munster semi-final replay last year, although the Rebels will be confident of repeating that success after dominating a game that lacked the intensity usually assciated with these great rivals.

Cork's inability to kill off the game in the final quarter will be a worry for their manager Conor Counihan, who had been hoping to mastermind a first win for the Leesiders in Killarney since 1995.

That looked very much a possibility when Cork had two great chances to effectively win the game in the 61st minute. Midfielder Alan O'Connor raced clear on goal and was denied by a brilliant save by Brendan Kealy, the Kerry goalkeeper. Seconds later. Kerry spilled the ball and it broke to Aidan Walsh, who dragged his shot badly wide when he should have scored.

Kerry trailed by 0-8 to 0-6 at half-time, but they had goal chances of their own either side of the break that might have changed the complexion of the game.

Just before the interval, Donaghy and Sheehan combined and the giant Austin Stacks man was through on goal but he pulled his shot badly wide. Three minutes into the second half, Donaghy turned provider for Donncha Walsh, but this time Alan Quirke, the Cork goalkeeper, denied Kerry with his knee.

Two Kerry substitutes, Anthony Maher and BJ Keane, kicked points to level the game at 0-14 apiece with a minute left, before Colm O'Neill and Cooper traded scores in injury time to leave the game level. Momentarily, it looked like the players were preparing for extra-time, but the fact that it was a provincial semi-final meant that a replay was needed.

Kerry boss Jack O'Connor will have significant worries of his own after Cork dominated the midfield battle and neither Michael Quirke nor Seamus Scanlon finished the game. Quirke was forced off at half-time after taking a knock to the face, while Scanlon looked off colour and failed to come to grips with Cork's midfield pairing of O'Connor and debutant Walsh. Allied to that, Paul Kerrigan's pace caused massive problems for Marc Ó Sé and the Nemo man managed to filch three points off the Kerry corner back.

Donaghy - who was Kerry's ace in the quarter-final defeat of Tipperary - was well marshalled by Graham Canty, while Declan O'Sullivan's influence was negated by the brilliant Michael Shields. Cork's half-back line were immense as a rule, with Paudie Kissane giving his finest ever display in a blood and bandage jersey, kicking three superb points from play and causing havoc with his lung-bursting charges from defence.

Kerry's ace was Bryan Sheehan, who kicked six points (five from frees) and was a constant threat from open play as well as from placed balls. Sheehan kicked four points in the first half and was instrumental in Kerry's blistering start. Thaye were three points ahead by the ninth minute and Cork looked to be struggling in the middle third of the field.

The Kingdom were ahead as early as the third minute, when Shields was shown a yellow card for a foul on Declan O'Sullivan and the ever-reliable Sheehan slotted over the resultant free.

Walsh, the young Cork midfielder making his Championship debut, had a difficult opening ten minutes, turning over ball three times, the first of which saw Donncha Walsh rob him of the ball, feed Donaghy and he found Declan O'Sullivan, who sent Kerry two points clear.

Cork were struggling and Sheehan - who kicked four points in the first half (0-3f) - was troubling Cork corner back Ray Carey. The St Mary's man found Cooper with a clever diagonal ball and Cooper applied a neat finish to give Kerry a three-point lead.

However, Kerry's monopoly of the ball soon ended when Cork started to gradually take over in the midfield battle, as Pearse O'Neill aided Walsh and O'Connor in a crowded middle third.

Cork got off the mark in the 10th minute, with Daniel Goulding landing a free and Donncha O'Connor adding a second from a placed ball from the other side of the field. Cork were level when Paddy Kelly kicked their first point from play, but the Rebels might have been further ahead had Marc Ó Se not denied Goulding with a brilliant block after an Aidan Walsh pass.

Cork had by now taken complete control of the midfield battle and their superiority began to tell on the scoreboard as they kicked three successive points in a three-minute spell. The first in that purple patch came after Kealy, the Kerry goalkeeper, was penalised for taking too much time over a free kick. The referee threw in the ball and Kerrigan won possession and popped it over the bar.

Kissane, the Cork wing-back, was having an incresing influence on the game and he broke from defence and landed a fine point in that spell. Cork led 0-8 to 0-5 when Kerrigan beat Tomás Ó Se for pace on the outside and fisted the ball over the bar.

Kerry pulled one back just before half-time to leave two points between the sides at the break, before they hit three successive scores in a three-minute spell to reduce the gap to two points by the 43rd minute.

However, Cork hit back with three points of their own to pull clear again and Kissane was on target with two brilliant points, off either foot, to give the Rebels breathing space. Kerry introduced Maher for Quirke at the break, while David Moran also had an influence after coming on for Scanlon in the 48th minute.

However, the most telling change was the introduction of Paul Galvin for Darran O'Sullivan. Galvin foraged and battled, and appeared to inspire those around him as Kerry, with the aid of Tomás Ó Sé's second point from play, staged a late comeback to ensure another day out next week.