Kerry are Munster U20 champions for the fifth successive year after a hard-fought, three-point victory over Cork on Thursday night.
The Rebels made the most of an early breeze in Tralee to go as far as seven points ahead at one stage, but Kerry clicked into gear in the second quarter, with goals from Paddy Lane and Gearóid White putting them 2-07 to 0-09 ahead at the break.
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Another goal from Lane came after a bright Cork spell in the second half, and put Kerry eight points to the good.
Though Cork whittled that gap down to three by the end, Kerry were deserving winners after a brilliant night of football at Austin Stack Park.
Their manager, Tomás Ó Sé, was part of three of the five teams that secured the Kingdom’s only other provincial five-in-a-row at this age grade, playing on the 1996, ’97, and ’98 Kerry U21 teams.
Though Ó Sé was satisfied with a big step forward from his Kerry team at full-time, he expressed his frustration with the format of the All-Ireland format, expressing sympathy for the defeated Cork.
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Tomás Ó Sé on Kerry’s U20 campaign
The All-Ireland U20s championship sees the four provincial winners progress directly to the semi-finals, with no back door or round robin series.
Speaking to reporters post-match in Tralee on Thursday, Kerry manager Tomás Ó Sé said he felt sorry for Cork and other defeated counties that their seasons would end so abruptly.
Cork shouldn’t be out of the championship tonight. You’ve an under-20 structure, that’s the same as minor, except the minor losers of the provincials go through to a quarter-final. Why is that not the same at under-20 level?
If I was after losing tonight, people would be saying sour grapes. They shouldn’t be gone out of the championship. It’s a great competition, it’s the second tier to the senior championship, and it should be shown a little bit more respect.
You had great matches. You had a phenomenal game up in Ulster. You have eight extremely good teams around the country, and they couldn’t fix another date into it?
It’s an admirable statement to make in victory from Tomás Ó Sé, and there will be plenty up and down the country who agree with his sentiment.
As things stand, though, it will be just four who make their way to the All-Ireland series, with Kerry now looking ahead a fortnight to their semi-final meeting with Roscommon.
That game is likely to be played midweek (Weds/Thurs 13th/14th May), with U20 star Tomás Kennedy likely to be on the panel for the Kerry senior team in the Munster final on Sunday May 10th.
The other All-Ireland U20 semi-final sees Tyrone face the winners of next Wednesday’s Leinster final between Louth and Kildare.
Tomás Ó Sé will be dreaming of leading Kerry to their first All-Ireland crown at this age grade since 2008, when they defeated Kildare. That marks one of only two occasions this century they have even reached the final, coming out second-best against Tyrone in 2024.
A rematch against either county could well be on the cards in this year’s decider.
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