Christy O'Connor: Cork's conversion rate was just 45% compared to Kerry's 75%
Kerry's David Clifford celebrates his goal against Cork at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
When David Clifford was interviewed during his man-of-the-match presentation on GAA+ after Saturday’s win against Cork, Clifford contextualised where he and Kerry felt they were compared to where everybody else thought they were at half-time.
Cork should have been 10 points up. When a brawl broke out at the interval, Cork looked to have Kerry rattled. All hell wasn’t exactly breaking loose but Kerry’s involvement in the scrap looked to have as much to do with frustration at their own performance than Kerry standing up to Cork’s bravado.
Yet Kerry didn’t feel under as much pressure as it seemed. “We went in three points down but there was an absolute gale of a wind,” said Clifford. “A two-pointer, it felt like you were stroking it with that wind, so we were relatively happy in the first half.”
Kerry had nailed 1-5 from their first six shots in the first quarter but once Cork got a grip on kickouts, they were on the backfoot against the breeze. The breeze was a factor in Cork's dominance in the second quarter, but once Kerry came out with the aggression and intensity that had been missing in the first half, they killed the game in the third quarter when going for Cork’s throats with two-pointers.
Much of that was down to Kerry’s game management in the circumstances of where they found themselves, and with the weapons they were able to unleash with the aid of the elements.
After eschewing two-pointers earlier in the season for goals and high-percentage point attempts, Kerry’s seven two-pointers in the second half was their way of cutting Cork adrift as early as they could in that second half.
The breeze was also decisive in the kickout battle because it was the platform for both teams’ dominance in both halves. The main difference though – just as it had been in their Munster semi-final in April – was Kerry’s greater efficiency and quality up front, with Kerry’s conversion rate coming in at an impressive 78% in comparison to Cork’s 58%.
Cork’s grip on possession and territory in the first half meant they had control of the match, but a three-point lead was never going to be enough of a buffer into that breeze against a team with Kerry’s kicking class and range.
As the second half progressed, Kerry incrementally squeezed the life out of Cork with their dominance on kickouts, consistently stretching the Cork defence with their attacking depth and width, and accuracy from distance.
Once Kerry stretched their legs and found their rhythm, the second half was a long-haul chase for Cork. They did continue to create goal chances but they still failed to raise a green flag.
Shane Ryan did make a brilliant save from Mark Cronin’s initial penalty effort but Ryan’s follow-up save from Cronin, before Cronin’s third attempt was blocked by Brian Ó Beaglaóich encapsulated the frustration of Cork’s afternoon. Mike Breen’s block on Brian O’Driscoll’s effort shortly afterwards just cemented that agony for Cork.
Cork weren’t good enough but they still left Páirc Uí Chaoimh with another truckload of regrets around shooting efficiency, costly technical breaches and the cheap concession of Clifford’s goal so early into the match when Cork had the breeze.
Cork did cut Kerry open down the centre of their defence in the first half and, while Ryan made smart saves from Cronin and Matty Taylor in the first quarter, before Taylor had another chance scrambled away by the Kerry defence in the 30th minute, the execution levels gave Ryan more of a chance to make those saves than he should have been given.
Having had eight more shots at the target in the first half convinced Cork’s ers that they were better set up than they needed to be with the strength of the breeze.
They weren’t. And once Kerry began to use the elements to their advantage, the dye was cast.
In the third quarter, Kerry nailed ten of their 12 shots, which was even more costly again with five of those scores two-pointers. In the same timespan, Cork were only able to get off three shots.
Kerry got their defensive match-ups right and too many of Cork’s key attackers had no impact in the match.
Kerry just have more class and quality but at least Cork stayed in the fight for as long as they could. Yet that has never been an issue for Cork against Kerry; the issue has been bringing those battling qualities to the table against other teams.
That was obvious against Meath but Cork still would have felt that their progress in this group was always going to come down to their last match against Roscommon.
Everything is on the line now because a win would put Cork through to the preliminary quarter-final. And Cork have absolutely zero need to go looking for motivation after the hiding Cork shipped from Roscommon in the league in March.
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