|
Rebels seek to upset Kingdom
 By
David Thorpe
A rivalry which has straddled sporting history will be unleashed upon
the biggest stage of all when Cork and Kerry face each other in the All-Ireland
football final for the first time.
Football fans in both counties who have been keeping score about the number
of provincial titles won know that all of those honours will take second
place in the hearts of the fans who watch their county lift the Sam Maguire
Cup by defeating their neighbours.
Billy Morgan’s Cork are a side who have been slow to come to the
boil. Steadily improving with each season they are excellent as frequently
as they are poor but with Ger Spillane at centre-back, Nicholas Murphy
at midfield and Michael Cussen in the forward line they have a strong
backbone.
Unfortunately for fans of the Rebels Cork have a habit of being at their
least reliable when they face Kerry although most observers believe that
the Rebels were hard done by in the Munster final this year.
At this stage both managers report no injury concerns while Cork defender
Noel O’Leary has avoided a ban for his apparent punch on Meath’s
Graham Geraghty in the semi-final.
With the referee declining to mention the incident in his report the controversial
O’Leary will be able to renew rivalries with Paul Galvin, with whom
he tangled violently in this year’s Munster final.
The return of James Masters will boost their attacking opt-ions after
the talented forward missed the semi-final victory over Meath but his
Championship outings against Kerry have yielded a poor return in recent
seasons and the Nemo Rangers star will have to improve his strike rate
against Kerry if he is to lead his team to a first All-Ireland title in
17 years.
The Kingdom are contesting their fourth final in a row and while few would
argue that they have been at their best this season the performance against
Dublin showed that they have lost none of their hunger for the fight.
The three O’Se brothers — Dara, Marc and Thomas — have
each provided separate auditions for the footballer of the year prize
this season while the forward line remains as coldly efficient as always.
the Kerry forward were claiming scores at the vital moments in matches
and they were far too strong for a fancied Dublin team in the semi-finals.
Most neutrals will be hoping that the Rebels can produce the performance
of their footballing lives and upset a Kerry team looking to become the
first side to win back-to-back All-Irelands since Cork did it more than
a decade ago.
But with their experience of the big stage, quality forwards and fearsome
defence, Sam Maguire could be spending another year residing in the Kingdom.
|
