Kerry beat Cork 1-23 to 1-15 for Football Results six-in-a-row
Kerry delivered the football results that mattered most in Killarney, beating Cork 1-23 to 1-15 in the Munster senior football championship final at Fitzgerald Stadium. The eight-point win gave Kerry a sixth Munster title in succession and pushed their provincial run to 13 of the last 14 titles.
Fitzgerald Stadium Swing
Cork made Kerry work for it. They led by five points early and were back within two points on the hour mark before Kerry finished with six unanswered points to close out the final. David Clifford led the scoring with 1-6, while the crowd of 32,691 saw the home side steady itself when the game tightened.
O'Connor's Bench Impact
Jack O’Connor said Kerry knew the final would have to be earned because Cork were “a decent team, showing good form.” He also pointed to the changes that swung the closing stages, saying, “The likes of Tony [Brosnan] kicking five points off the bench is a massive thing, Killian [Spillane] got his customary good score. Gavin White was just fantastic for a man who has very little football played.”
That depth mattered once Cork had dragged themselves back into range. Brosnan’s five points off the bench gave Kerry a lift late, and White’s contribution came after a spell of limited football. O’Connor also said, “Given the fact that we are down bodies at the moment, it was going to make that task even harder.”
Clifford and Cork
Clifford’s 1-6 kept Kerry ahead through the scoring stretches that Cork could not match. The final margin also preserved a proud home record against Cork at Fitzgerald Stadium that stretches back to 1995, a run that has become part of how Kerry now defend Munster year after year.
For Cork, the issue was efficiency. John Cleary said his side left too many scoring chances behind compared with Kerry’s consistency and efficiency, and he added, “Look, the only thing we’re worried about now is dusting ourselves down after today and heading for Saturday week. We’ll see then. That’s a big, big game for us.” Kerry now turn to Donegal in 13 days, carrying a provincial record that has again been reinforced by a final they had to work to finish.
