Visitors second on tactics and invention

John O'Keeffe Football Analyst: I felt generally that the game was a little disappointing in the first half and that maybe the advent of the qualifiers is now having an impact because there wasn't the same cut and thrust as in the past when the winner took it all.

The system has had a particular influence on provincial finals and that remains true even if the game picked up in the second half.

Wind advantage played a significant role. In the first half Cork had the chance to play to their main target, Michael Cussen, and leave a supply of early ball into him, but they didn't do it nearly enough.

Cussen got two decent balls in the whole first half and scored two excellent points.

The Cork warm-up surprised me. At no stage did they practise kicking points, and early in the game they wasted four or five gilt-edged chances, which proved costly playing with what I reckon was a six-point wind.

To Kerry's credit, they settled well, playing at the home venue where they train. They used the ball intelligently into the wind and looked far more clinical in their passing and score-taking.

Pat O'Shea will be happy, firstly because of the result. He knows improvement will be necessary, but at least he has avoided the minefield of the qualifiers.

There are plenty of options in the forwards, but that's not true in defence, with only Mossy Lyons a ready replacement.

O'Shea will also be delighted with the spirit and work-rate and how astute his substitutions proved, providing fresh legs and helping break Cork's momentum.

The biggest difficulty for Pat will be trying to maintain the sharpness and focus in the six weeks until the All-Ireland quarter-finals. But winning the Munster title augurs well for the campaign ahead.

I was surprised that from the outset Nicholas Murphy didn't pick up Darragh Ó Sé, who had a blinder in the first half and dominated midfield. Micheál Quirke was isolated by the Cork kick-outs, but that took Murphy out of the play as well.

With the strength of the wind I'm sure Kerry were happy to be just two down at the break.

The move of the game I thought was Cork bringing Cussen to midfield in the second half. It was going to be difficult to hit him against the wind with quick ball. Farther out he controlled matters in the final quarter, but his team were struggling for openings and to get scores - even allowing for Donnacha O'Connor's excellent goal.

Kerry's defence coped well, with newcomers Pádraig Reidy and Killian Young slotting in.

Marc Ó Sé did an excellent man-marking job on James Masters, and the opportunities for Cork were few.

Cork have progressed since last year, but it is disappointing that their best under-21s cannot break through at senior level. Fintan Goold was taken off at half-time yesterday, for example.

This is a concern because teams need the influx of new players and Cork particularly need them in the half forwards.

At a critical time in the second half, Cork were reluctant to get the ball as quickly as possible into the inside line and persisted with predictable crossfield passing that was easy to defend against.

They lacked the thrust in the half forwards that Declan O'Sullivan gave to Kerry.

There was noticeable improvement in the second half, when Conor McCarthy had a far more influential half than Goold, who appears to be far more of a central player.

With Cussen moved in the second half Cork's targets were reduced to Donnacha O'Connor and the off chance that Masters could get free.

The chance near the end when Cork could have had a goal was really well worked. Cussen and Nicholas Murphy are big men to place near goal and they opened up Kerry under Masters's long ball. The only trouble was that Derek Kavanagh was the wrong man to have on the end of it.

It was a great opportunity and showed how close the match was.

Another problem was that Cork had to work so hard to move the ball forward, so when attacks broke down Kerry had space to counter with far less effort.

Kieran Donaghy, without reaching the highs of last year, was effective and kicked the winning point as well as setting up the goal. I'll expect better days for him in the future.

Mike Frank Russell gave an excellent performance and, having taken the responsibility for the frees, did a great job on them - not missing clear-cut opportunities and kicking a couple from distance.

The difference between the teams was Kerry's ability to manufacture scores. They had an edge over Cork in that aspect of play and it proved decisive.