Kerry 1-19 Cork 0-9: Then there were three. It didn't take Nostradamus to work out that Armagh, Tyrone and Kerry would be the last counties standing in this year's championship but within the space of eight days the extent of the gulf that separates them from the rest of football has been graphically demonstrated.
All three of the favourites have recorded emphatic victories within that time and none more striking than champions Kerry at Croke Park yesterday. Like the two Ulster front-runners, Jack O'Connor's team have stepped up a gear and, as they were 12 months ago, are now approaching next month's All-Ireland final with all the momentum of an express train.
Cork were the victims yesterday and the one-sided nature of the match came as an unpleasant surprise to many in the 39,594 attendance, who had expected better things of Billy Morgan's team after their vigorous challenge to Kerry in the Munster final last July.
Instead, after a promising start put them two points ahead, they crumpled in the face of a classic blend of tight defence, fast-building attacks and lethal finishing, primarily from Colm Cooper. Last season's Player of the Year was in cracking form, taking five points from play and providing a mobile target for quick ball and an almost effortless ability to gather what was sent his way.
Cork had no answers. That soon became uncomfortably apparent. Morgan and his selectors did spring a surprise at the start when Derek Kavanagh, supposedly so far off fitness with an ankle-ligament injury that he wouldn't have been available for the final, lined out at centrefield. The problem was he clearly wasn't 100 per cent and an area that had gone well for Cork this season went up in smoke.
Given Nicholas Murphy's performance in the Munster final, Kerry decided to take no chances in the air and crowded centrefield, breaking everything down and dominating those breaks.
As Morgan lamented afterwards, his half backs neither pushed up to contest the centrefield exchanges nor dropped back to cover the full backs. In the gaps Cooper and Bryan Sheehan stayed tight on goal while captain Declan O'Sullivan played just behind. Space was available and exploited. Cork didn't drop back to close off the supply and Cooper thrived.
His marker Niall Geary had a horror afternoon, albeit cut short. Having held Cooper to a point in the Munster final before going off injured, the former Waterford player might have fancied his chances. But, unlike last month, Kerry had a platform and under attack from thoughtful ball what can a defence do? Four points - the second a stunning left-foot shot from an acute angle on the right - and 17 minutes later, Geary was gone. And though his replacement, Kieran O'Connor, had a better time of it statistically, Cooper was still in the thick of the attacks, scoring one further point and centrally involving himself in another 1-4.
One of the ways Kerry have emulated Armagh and Tyrone is in the versatility of the defenders. Again yesterday they moved around, with Séamus Moynihan moving to his favourite wing-back post, Aidan O'Mahony dropping back to the corner and Marc Ó Sé starting at centre back.
The mobility of the backs frequently created the familiar blanket defence and also the driving, relentless runs from the back that create real penetration up front. Tomás Ó Sé is the exemplar and his strength on the ball means he always breaks the tackle before surging into space and placing intelligent ball into the full forwards.
At 20 minutes it was 0-7 to 0-2 and Cork were wilting. Graham Canty was holding his own at full back but elsewhere was a struggle. Anthony Lynch, so dynamic against Galway in the quarter-final, couldn't get onto ball as Kerry's attacks swept past him.
Up front was little better. Cork went from the fifth minute to the 24th without adding to their two points. The young forwards who have looked so promising this season had no space to operate and weren't quick enough in the build-up to take out the cover.
Brendan Jer O'Sullivan, a revelation against Galway, was no more successful than his colleagues and in a telling incident in the 31st minute, he was yellow carded for jostling with Moynihan, who couldn't resist a resigned smile as he wriggled clear of O'Sullivan's attentions and walked away with the ball and the free.
The seven-point interval lead could have been smaller had Philip Clifford taken a goal chance created by a rare instance of a Cork forward skipping through clear on goal but the angle was too tight even for his attempt at a fisted point.
The contrast between the benches was also on view in the second half, as Kerry sent on Dara Ó Cinnéide, Eamon Fitzmaurice and Mike Frank Russell, eight All-Irelands between them. Cork had no response to such firepower though one of their replacements, Kevin O'Sullivan, was unlucky to see one goal effort blocked by Diarmuid Murphy and another from the resulting 45 ping off both posts before rebounding to safety.
Kerry had handed the match its closure notice in the 44th minute after Brosnan picked up a fumble by Noel O'Leary and picked out Cooper, whose delightful, curling shot came off the post for Brosnan to slip the ball into the net.
The match wound to its conclusion, a massive win for the champions. After next week's clash of the Ulster titans, we're surely in for one of those era-defining All-Irelands.
KERRY: 1. D Murphy; 4. T O'Sullivan, 3. M McCarthy (0-1), 7. A O'Mahony (0-1); 5. T Ó Sé (0-1), 2. M Ó Sé, 6. S Moynihan; 8. D Ó Sé, 9. W Kirby (0-1); 10. P Galvin (0-3), 11. E Brosnan (1-2), 12. L Hassett (0-1); 13. C Cooper (0-5), 14. D O'Sullivan (capt; 0-2, frees), 15. B Sheehan. Subs: 17. D Ó Cinnéide (0-1, a free) for Sheehan (49 mins), 18. MF Russell (0-1) for Hassett (58 mins), 19. E Fitzmaurice for T Ó Sé, 23. D Quill for Cooper (67 mins), 21. K Donaghy for Kirby (68 mins). Yellow cards: Cooper (26 mins), Brosnan (32 mins)
CORK: 1. K O'Dwyer; 2. G Murphy, 3. G Canty, 4. N Geary; 5. N O'Leary, 6. A Lynch (0-1), 7. O Sexton (capt); 8. D Kavanagh, 9. N Murphy; 10. J Masters (0-2, frees), 11. C McCarthy, 12. K McMahon (0-2); 13. P Clifford (0-2, one free), 14. BJ O'Sullivan, 15. J Hayes (0-2, frees). Subs: 17. K O'Connor for Geary (19 mins), 23. A Cronin for Masters (half-time), 18. M Cronin for O'Leary (51 mins), 24. K O'Sullivan for McCarthy (53 mins). Yellow cards: O'Leary (24 mins), O'Sullivan (31 mins), O'Connor (34 mins).
Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan)
