CORK turned on the style to stun Kerry, 3-11 to 0-9, in the Munster MFC final at Páirc Uí Rinn on Wednesday night.
Last month the Rebels lost by 14 points (1-16 to 0-5) to the Kingdom in a provincial semi-final but having regrouped to beat Tipperary and earn their place in the final, Cork blew Kerry out of the water when they clashed in the final.
Nemo Rangers’ Brian Hayes was the star man as he scored 2-3 as Cork stunned a shell-shocked Kerry. The home side raced into a 1-9 to 0-5 half-time lead. It got worse for Kerry when their centre-back Darragh O’Connor received a straight red card early in the second half.
Cork didn’t relent as Alan O’Connell and Hayes goaled twice in three minutes midway through the half to push the home team 3-10 to 0-7 ahead.
Cork will now play Derry in the All-Ireland MFC quarter-final.
Scorers - Cork: B Hayes 2-3 (2f); A O’Connell 1-2; C Gillespie, E Myers (1f) 0-2 each; D O’Donovan, O O’Donovan 0-1 each. Kerry: C Dillon 0-3 (3f); P Lane, D O’Sullivan, D Allman (f), J O’Sullivan, I O’Sullivan (f), D O’Connor 0-1 each.
Cork: J Woods; M O’Sullivan, C Molloy, T O’Brien; D O’Donovan, G Daly, A Cullinane; C Geary, C Gillespie; M Kelleher, E Myers, A O’Connell; B Hayes, G Kearney, O O’Donovan. Subs: K McCarthy for T O’Brien (39), A O’Sullivan for M Kelleher (41), N O’Leary for C Geary (41), J Burke for A Cullinane (50), B O’Sullivan for O O’Donovan (53).
Kerry: S O’Meara; M Lynch, L Evans, J Foley; E Healy, D O’Connor, F Murphy; J O’Sullivan, T Ashe; N Collins, C Dillon, J Clifford; P Lane, D O’Sullivan, D Allman. Subs: I O’Sullivan for D Allman (ht), D O’Connor for T Ashe (41), E Boyle for P Lane (50), J Burke for J Clifford (55), P Moynihan for J O’Sullivan (57).
Referee: Niall Quinn (Clare).
