Cork hung on for a deserved victory over great rivals Kerry at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Saturday.

A Conor McCarthy goal 15 minutes from the end seemed to signal Cork were going to pull away from their opponents as they established a 1-11 to 0-8 lead.

However, Kerry refused to buckle and a wonderful Sean O'Sullivan goal, following a 40-metre run, ensured an exciting finish. The Kingdom cut Cork's lead to the minimum with points from Declan Quill and Paul Galvin before the final whistle ended Cork's agony.

The sides were level, 0-6 each, at the end of the first half when Cork had the stiff wind behind them. Cork had a great chance of a goal in this half but James Masters failed to connect with William Morgan's long delivery. Kerry also missed a goal chance when Declan Quill shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The Munster Council have announced that the Munster under-21 football final between Limerick and Cork to be played on either April 11th or 12th at Kilmallock is to be an all-ticket affair with a ceiling of 8,000.

Cork: K Murphy; D Duggan, G Canty, S O'Brien; N O'Leary, A O'Connor, T Kenny; D Kavanagh, D O'Sullivan; D Niblock (0-2), J Olden, C McCarthy (1-1); J Masters (0-4), C Murphy (0-3), C Brosnan. Subs: W Morgan (0-1) for Brosnan, B Healy for O'Sullivan, E Wiseman for O'Brien.

Kerry: K Cremin; D Donegan, J Cahalane, R O'Connor; S O'Sullivan, A O'Mahony, M O Se; S Scanlon, K O'Connor; R O'Connor (0-1), E Brosnan (0-2), S O'Sullivan (1-1); D Quill (0-5), R O'Connor, K Lynch. Subs: P Galvin (0-1) for K O'Connor, J O'Connor for R O'Connor, G Walsh for K Lynch.

Referee: B White (Tipperary).