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 13 September 2004 www.rte.ie | |||
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CORK 0-17 KILKENNY 0-9
It was the day Kilkenny had planned to fit the final pieces to their three-in-a-row jigsaw and complete the prettiest picture ever seen in the county, but it was all ripped apart by Cork in a steely second half performance which answered every question about their pedigree in the most emphatic terms.
Twelve months earlier, Cork had wilted with the finish line in sight in the second-half but this time the prospect of ending Kilkenny's reign as All-Ireland hurling champions and moving to the top of the roll of honour with 29 titles provided them with an energy and a direction which wasn't going to be denied.
They won the final 23 minutes by 0-9 to 0-0, which was reflective of a level of dominance that nobody ever thought possible.
Amazingly, Kilkenny scored just two points - a '65 and a free by Henry Shefflin - in the entire second half to finish on 0-9, their lowest total in an All-Ireland final since Galway beat them by 1-12 to 0-9 in the 1987 decider.
As Cork spread their dominance in an ever-widening arc throughout the second half, picking off some delightful points, Kilkenny became increasingly ordinary with even some of their brightest stars losing their twinkle under an inordinate amount of precision and pressure.
Henry Shefflin managed just 0-1 from play in as frustrating a game as he has ever played; DJ Carey drew a blank for the third time in an All-Ireland final against Cork; Eddie Brennan shot four wides and no scores; John Hoyne grafted but didn't score; Martin Comerford hit 0-2 which was 1-2 short of his 2003 final return, while James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick lacked the experience to turn things his way.
Result? An attacking power failure of catastrophic proportions, one for which manager Brian Cody clearly felt there was no solution on his bench as he retained his starting 15 for 62 minutes, before sending Conor Phelan in for Fitzpatrick.
It made no discernible difference as, by then, Cork were five points clear and comfortably on their way to their first All-Ireland title since 1999. Kilkenny's final chance of salvation had disappeared a few minutes earlier when Donal Óg Cusack made a smart save from Shefflin's snap shot.
It was one of the few occasions that Kilkenny tested Cusack but then he was fronted by a ruthless defence which settled into a controlled routine after an uneasy start. Kilkenny shot three wides in the first two minutes but with their half-backs, Tommy Walsh, Peter Barry and the superb JJ Delaney, winning most of their duels, the supply lines were opened sufficiently wide to enable their attack to outscore Cork by 0-5 to 0-2 in the first quarter.
It would have been more except for a virus which infected Kilkenny's shooting but then Cork weren't exactly radar-controlled either.
Team captain Ben O'Connor missed a few chances from frees and play and ended the day on five wides but, to his great credit, he never lost confidence and took on the Kilkenny defence at pace throughout most of the second half.
Cork's second-quarter revival cut Kilkenny's lead to a single point (0-7 to 0-6) at the interval, a position which must have pleased Donal O'Grady. Kilkenny had controlled more possession than Cork in the first half but had only the minimum to show for it.
Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, John Gardiner and Diarmuid O'Sullivan had done most to minimise Kilkenny's advantage which was wiped out early in the second half when Niall McCarthy pointed.
It signalled the arrival of the Carrigtwohill banker as one of Cork's dominating influences in a second half which they won by 0-11 to 0-2.
His marker Peter Barry continued to make some good catches but McCarthy's running, passing and finishing grew ever impressive and he ended the day on 0-3 and a man-of-the-match recommendation.
The new and the re-born in the form of Kieran Murphy and Brian Corcoran and the classy Joe Deane all began to stretch their markers to breaking point, while Jerry O'Connor and Tom Kenny increased their running tempo from midfield. Behind them, John Gardiner seemed to have a special relationship with the ball which repeatedly popped into his hand. He made it all look incredibly easy when, in reality, it was the reward for skill, cunning and courage.
Wayne Sherlock, O'Sullivan and sub John Browne also applied the bolts to Cork's defensive operation and, on this occasion, Kilkenny had no answers.
Cody's decision not to make any adjustments until eight minutes from the end suggests that he had no great faith in his reserve attackers, while he also opted against switching Tommy Walsh up front.
In hindsight, it might have been worth a gamble as Walsh did well in attack in last year's final. Besides, it was clear that Kilkenny were losing attacking drive as the second half progressed.
Meanwhile, Cork continued to fire over the points at the rate of one every three minutes in the final quarter and it was appropriate that the final score on a day of immense joy for the Rebels should fall to Corcoran who angled over a delightful point in injury time.
A year earlier, he watched sadly from the stand, having prematurely signed himself into retirement - now he was punching the air in celebration. It summed up Cork's memorable day.
There was nothing Kilkenny could salvage from the wreckage of a season in which they failed to land any title for the first time since 1997. And, to make it all the more dismal, this was their biggest defeat in an All-Ireland final since losing to Tipperary by 14 points 40 years ago.
Truly, empires can crack very quickly.
TEAMS AND RATINGS
SCORERS - Cork: J Deane 0-5 (5f); B O'Connor 0-3 (3f); N McCarthy 0-3; B Corcoran, K Murphy 0-2 each; J O'Connor, T Kenny 0-1 each. Kilkenny: H Shefflin 0-5 (3f, 1 '65); M Comerford 0-2; J Fitzpatrick, D Lyng 0-1 each.
CORK - D Og Cusack 8; W Sherlock 8, D O'Sullivan 9, B Murphy 6; J Gardiner 9, R Curran 7, S Og O hAilpin 8; T Kenny 7, J O'Connor 8; B O'Connor 7, N McCarthy 9, T McCarthy 7; K Murphy 8, B Corcoran 8, J Deane 8.
KILKENNY - J McGarry 7; M Kavanagh 7, N Hickey 7, J Ryall 5; T Walsh 8, P Barry 7, JJ Delaney 9; D Lyng 7, K Coogan 5; H Shefflin 6, J Hoyne 6, DJ Carey 6; J Fitzpatrick 5, M Comerford 6, E Brennan 5.
REF - A MacSuibhne (Dublin).
Attendance: 78,212.
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