Patrick Doyle: Big call by the management to go back to the Knocknagree club man, who was dropped after the league final in favour of Micheál Aodh Martin.
Kerry picked off five Cork kick-outs in each half but they had more size in the middle third and apart from one restart out over the sideline, Doyle’s kicking was solid.
Cork goalkeeper Patrick Doyle clears under pressure from Tomás Kennedy. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Also made a fine first-half save from David Clifford. 6.
Maurice Shanley: Spent a lot of the first half on Paudie Clifford and fared very well there. 6.
Daniel O’Mahony: Is there a more thankless task than having to track David Clifford in Killarney with a prairie in front of him to collect deliveries?
The Kerry captain kicked 1-6, though his goal and two-pointer in the second half were sublime. 5.
Sean Meehan: Picked up Kerry rookie Tomás Kennedy initially and broke pretty even there. Ended up under pressure in the third quarter when Kerry gained a grip. 5.
Brian O’Driscoll: Even before his thunderous goal brought Cork back into the game late on, was their most impressive performer.
Two assists and a two-pointer in the first half and came forward with far more urgency than many of his team-mates. 8.
Tommy Walsh: Involved in a couple of scores coming up the field but wasn’t able to force enough turnovers defensively. 6.
Luke Fahy: Like Walsh, didn’t do a whole lot wrong but Kerry’s energy and overlapping in the second half put Cork firmly on the back foot. 6.
Ian Maguire: Cork really struggled to establish a midfield platform.
Put in a captain’s shift to stay at it and a won a vital kick-out straight after O’Driscoll’s goal that Steven Sherlock should have turned into a point. 6.
Colm O’Callaghan: Had his moments, including a fine point coming up to a half-time and a battling spell in the second half. To upset the odds, Cork needed their midfielders to be Man of the Match contenders. 6.
Paul Walsh: Quiet game overall. Sliced a wide in the second half at a stage when Cork desperately needed a point. 5.
Sean McDonnell: Landed a soaring two-pointer in the first half when Cork took the fight to Kerry. Worked hard but Cork’s half-forward line overall was off the pace. Not the playmaker at 11 the Rebels require in Dara Sheedy’s absence. 5.
Ruairí Deane: After an excellent second half in Thurles, came into the starting 15 but is a better impact sub realistically. Just couldn’t get on the ball enough. 5.
Mark Cronin: With 0-4 from play, made the biggest contribution in attack. Showed well for possession throughout and his running and link play was effective. 7.
Chris Óg Jones: Very lively first half in which he landed two points but also spilled the ball a couple of times when Cork threatened goals.
Starved of a second-half supply then. 6.
Steven Sherlock: Nailed a sideline and a 45 in the first half but, despite trying very, very hard, everything that could go wrong in the second half did. Two wides and another couple of efforts short, including a glorious chance straight after the goal. 5.
Seán Brady: Came on after 47 minutes but had to go off injured in the 64th minute. Having no luck in that regard. 5
Conor Corbett: Threatened to do damage but hit a wide and clipped the post. Still has so much potential. 5
David Buckley, Seán Walsh, Rory Maguire: All introduced in closing stages with Buckley grabbing a point.
Not on long enough to rate.