Cork not looking for another moral victory when they face Kerry this weekend 

It was a missed opportunity for Cork 12 months ago against Kerry.

The Rebels did lead for quite a while in the Munster SFC semi-final in Killarney, but the Kingdom turned it around to win 0-18 to 1-12.

One of the big regrets that the Leesiders would have had heading back over the county bounds was the inability to convert very good scoring chances. They missed several in the first half while they were on top.

John Cleary’s charges were more than a match for Kerry, but it was the small things that tripped them up.

This Saturday in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the old rivals collide in the provincial semi-final with throw-in at 7pm. Cork do have the advantage of having a championship game under their belt heading into this one after defeating Limerick 0-24 to 0-13 in the quarter-final.

Kerry though have been tipping along nicely, Allianz Division 1 Football League winners last month.

For Cork, out of the players that started or came on in the previous meeting with Kerry, 12 contributed to the handsome victory over Limerick nearly two weeks ago.  

Saturday will be a good indicator to see exactly how far Cork have come in a year and whether they have closed the gap again to Kerry. 

Cleary won’t want to be talking about another moral victory after the game in terms of another solid Cork performance that just falls short. 

Key to the Rebels living with Kerry in the last two championship fixtures has been Cork’s defensive shape and getting the match-ups right. They lost to Kerry by just two points down the Páirc in 2023. It's a different game now though with the new rules.

The fact that David Clifford has been relatively quiet in his last two games against Cork and Kerry still had enough to win just shows that they aren’t reliant on one player.

If Cork want a decent chance of a first championship win over Kerry in nearly five years, they will need everything to fall right for them.

The quality of the opposition will be on a level that Cork haven’t come across so far this year. They will have to get their tactics spot on.

Two-pointers could be crucial on Saturday. Cork have landed 11 in the last three games while Kerry haven't landed one.