Kerry 2-17
Cork 2-13

Kerry have been crowned Munster minor champions after seeing off a late Cork rally.

The Kingdom looked to be in complete control when Jordan Kiely netted to leave them leading by 7 points, 2-13 to 1-9, with 12 minutes left to play.

Cork, however, didn't lie down and managed to reduce the deficit to the minimum thanks to a goal from Gary Murphy with two minutes of normal time remaining.

Kerry showed their class in the final moments to reel off three unanswered scores to secure victory.

An early Tomas O Se goal got the Kingdom off to the ideal start, helping them into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead after just 6 minutes.

Cork responded well and when Seamus Ronayne finished to the net following Michael Hurley's delivery mid-way through the half, the Rebels only trailed by one point. 1-5 to 1-4.

The remainder of the half was evenly contested, Kerry edging matters on the scoreboard to leave them ahead 1-9 to 1-6 at the interval.

Cork couldn't manage to reduce the margin after the resumption, and when Kiely bagged Kerry;s second major, the issue looked to be beyond the Rebels.

They were handed a lifeline, however, when they were awarded a penalty with four minutes left and when Murphy netted the rebound Cork looked to have all the momentum entering the closing stages.

Kerry upped a gear in the dying moments and were clinical in front of the posts to finish the stronger and claim the Munster title.

Kerry - S Ryan; B Sugrue, B O Beaglaioch, T O'Sullivan; M O'Connor, D O'Donoghue, C Coffey (0-1); B O'Sullivan, L Kearney (0-1); M Flaherty (0-1), B Rayle (0-2), M Burns (0-1); J Kiely (1-1), K Spillane (0-7, 6f), T O Se (1-0). Subs: L Carey (0-2) for B Rayle, S O'Sullivan (0-1) for T O'Sullivan, R Wharton for M O'Connor.

Cork - C O'Driscoll; S Power, K Flahive, T Bushe; J Mullins, C O'Donovan, C Kiely; S O'Leary, M Desmond (0-1f); S Ronayne (1-0), D Dineen (0-1f), S O'Donoghue (0-3, 2f); S Kingston (0-1), M Hurley (0-2), G Murphy (1-5, 0-3f). Subs: D Buckley for S Ronayne, E Ryle for S O'Leary, A Hassett for M Desmond.

Referee - R Moloney. Tweet

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