It's one of the least advertised 'Drive for Five' in years, but Kerry have completed a quintet of Munster football titles with a hammering of Cork in Killarney.
It comes after a week of build-up noticeable for former Kerry players talking up the Cork threat. Darragh O' Sé tipped Cork to win in his Irish Times column earlier in the week, although he admitted that such a prediction could be perceived as cute hoorism, or as O'Sé admitted himself, "peak Yerra".
Plenty of others piled onto this idea, including Colm Cooper and Marc O'Sé that Cork are a different prospect in Killarney (they haven't won there since 1992), but the Rebels were roughly disabused of any notions of winning (or indeed challenging) when Kerry blitzed them with four points in the first three minutes, in what proved to be a scintillating attacking performance.
They were utterly dominant, and here are five stats to prove it.
They didn't hit a wide for 42 minutes
Mayo and Donegal's errant shooting was one of the notable themes from yesterday's action, but Kerry were utterly ruthless in this game: they had 0-16 on the board before they kicked their first wide of this Munster final, in the 42nd minute. James O'Donoghue the man responsible, by the way.
Kerry kicked 1-17 from play
Just seven points came from placed balls: Mikey Geaney kicked a '45, his brother a single free, with James O'Donoghue kicking another four frees.
It's just the sixth time they've scored 20 or more points against Cork
This courtesy of GAA Stats:
It's the 26th time Kerry has hit 20+ w/flags in the SFC and the 6th time v Cork #KERRYvCORK
— GAA Stats (@GAA_Stats) July 2, 2017
It's Kerry's biggest Killarney win over Cork in 35 years
1995 was the most referenced Munster final in the build-up to this game, given that it was the last time Cork came away from Killarney with a win. So one-sided was this game, however, that the biggest reference point is 1982: the last time Kerry put more than 1-23 on their rivals. On that occasion, it finished 2-18 to 0-12 to Kery.
FT: Kerry 1-23 Cork 0-15. Kerry's biggest championship win over Cork at Fitzgerald Stadium since 1982. #GAA
— Pat Nolan (@pat_nolan) July 2, 2017
Even Shane Enright scored
Among the Kerry scorers was defender Shane Enright, who gambolled forward to kick a point in injury time. Having made his Championship debut in 2011, it's just the second Championship point of his career.
Also, it's fair to say that the attempts to talk up Cork didn't look too well after, or indeed during, this game.
We are right to call all the Kerry plamas about Cork over the last week as pure bullshit. #KerryVCork Yerra nonsense.
— Matt Cooper (@cooper_m) July 2, 2017
So much for the 'Yerrah, Cork are Cork' horseshit.
— Kieran Cunningham (@KCsixtyseven) July 2, 2017
