D Monday, September 21, 2009 METROSPORT 23 Losing an All-ireland final to Kerry by four points, technically, marked progress for Conor Counihan in his second season as Cork manager. Unsurprisingly, he was not in much of a mood to take the positives from a chastening defeat by the old enemy. When you lose an All- ireland final its a serious setback, said Counihan. our thoughts go out to each and every one of our players. Theyve given everything to that Cork jersey. Theyve come up short but id still be proud of each and every one of them. The reality is when you come up to Croke Park for an All-ireland final its 50-50 for both teams and you have serious belief. But there can only be one winner and that was Kerry. so why did Kerry come out on top when all the form lines pointed to Cork finally getting the better of their old rivals? Counihan said: Well look at it all over the next few days but the reality is that it wont change the result. SPORTDigest On top Mayweather (left) was dominating against Marquez Floyd flawless on return BOXING: Floyd Mayweather moved nearer a blockbuster super-fight with either Manny Pacquiao or Shane Mosley after demolishing Mexicos Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas. Mayweather produced a devastating show of precision boxing on his way to a unanimous 120-107, 119-108, 118- 109 points decision, to re-state his case as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the business. After the bout, Mosley, the reigning WBC welterweight champion, issued a challenge to his fellow American. But Mayweather refused to be drawn into any speculation about his next opponent and said: No disrespect to Mosley but hes supposed to be in training camp, not worrying about me. All roads lead to Floyd Mayweather. Everybody wants to fight me. I cant fight everybody. Mr Sixty wins in Vienna GOLF: Rafael Cabrera Bello shot a European Tour record-equalling 60 to come from eight behind and win the Austrian Open. The Spaniard even had a chance on the final green to record the circuits first-ever 59, but missed a 30-foot eagle putt in Vienna. Cabrera Bello finished one ahead of overnight leader Benn Barham after the Englishman missed a 18- footer on the last. Damien McGrane was best of the Irish, tied for tenth eight back on 12 under, one ahead of compatriot Gary Murphy. England avoid whitewash CRICKET: Graeme Swann jokingly claimed England are on a roll after defeating Australia by four wickets to avoid a 7-0 whitewash in the one-day series. The off spinner took five wickets but England were nervous in their run chase and there were hardly any celebrations when they finally scraped to victory. Were on a roll now, arent we? said Swann, who took five for 28 as the tourists were bowled out for 176. Weve been thoroughly outplayed for six games. It was important to win because we didnt want to lose 7-0. Valverde claims Vuelta CYCLING: Alejandro Valverde capped the most successful season of his career with a first grand tour win in the Vuelta a Espana. The Caisse DEpargne rider crossed the line in the main pack at the end of yesterdays final stage into Madrid. The 29- year-old Spaniard was forced to sit out the Tour de France after being banned from racing in Italy because of an alleged link to an anti-doping investigation. Irelands Philip Deignan finished a superb ninth after his Stage 18 win. Taylor just unstoppable BOXING: Irelands Katie Taylor cruised to a fourth European title in a row following an 11-0 victory over Turkeys Meryem Aslan Zeybek in yesterdays lightweight final in the Ukraine. The Bray fighter (pictured) held a four-point advantage after the first of four rounds before extending her lead throughout the remainder of the fight, maintaining her remarkable perfect record of not conceding a single point in any of her three fights en route to gold. kings of the Hill Late arrival: Corks Eoin Cadogan narrowly fails to block Tommy Walshs effort Picture: Sportsfile He must be admired too for his gamble on calling Mike McCarthy out of retirement, a player who once again yesterday was Kerrys ultra-reliable centre-back. But to look too far from the players them- selves as the reason for Kerrys turnaround would be wrong. The S brothers, Marc, Toms and Darragh, have enjoyed a decent season and were superb again, wing-back Toms the pick of the trio. Toms and Colm Cooper were dropped for the Antrim game because of a much-publi- cised breach of team discipline, but they linked up for a vital point and Coopers over- all 0-6 tally took him to the head of the Cham- pionships scoring charts with 1-34. Then there is Tadhg Kennelly, the man who quit a professional career with the Sydney Swans to follow his dream. His dream came true yesterday when he emulated his late father, Tim, and brother Noel by winning an All-Ireland title. Kennellys hard running helped drag Kerry back after that awful start and by the time he pointed for the second time in the 30th minute Kerry had taken a 0-9 to 1-4 lead. Cooper hit five points in that opening half, giving Anthony Lynch a torrid time before the Cork defender was eventually taken off. Cork perhaps reached the final too easily, with comprehensive wins over Donegal and Tyrone, and when they needed to scrap for their lives they were not able for it. In contrast, Kerry were typically cool, and Tommy Walshs brace of points in the 57th and 58th minutes ultimately killed off the game. man of the match COLM COOpER (KERRy) A close call but Cooper just about gets the nod ahead of corner-back Tom OSullivan. OSullivan shackled Daniel Goulding brilliantly while all three S brothers were on top form too. But Coopers (pictured) brilliance was his ability to deliver once again when it truly counted. He hasnt had a great season by his standards but won his battle with Anthony Lynch hands down and kicked six crucial points. He also set up Tommy Walsh and Toms S for points. Fittingly, his six-point haul lifted him to the top of the Championship scoring charts with a summer haul of 1-34. turning point THE 20-minute spell after Corks 11th-minute goal was to prove decisive. Kerry trailed 0-1 to 1-3 after Colm ONeills strike but outscored Cork 0-8 to 0-1 in the next 20minutes or so to shoot themselves back into a lead they would not relinquish. Kerry steamrolled Cork in this period and the Rebels never fully recovered. Counihan so proud of his beaten Rebel challengers pride: Counihan JACK OCONNOr hailed his latest All-Ireland title success with Kerry as the sweetest of the lot. OConnor led Kerry to Sam Maguire wins in 2004 and 2006, at Mayos expense, but claimed people reckoned they were soft wins. He was also delighted that Kerrys latest win answered their critics who, he believes, wrote the Kingdom off after a difficult campaign. It was special this year because there were fellas like [Pat] Spillane almost having pity on us, said OConnor. He was saying there wasnt even one kick in us. We got our energy from enjoying each others company and just trying to build as the year went on. We felt we were right coming into the final and that the heat was on Cork after the way they had performed all year. OConnor claimed the turning point of Kerrys season was against Antrim in the qualifiers. Mike McCarthy drove the team on in a big, big way that day, recalled OConnor. I think he more than anyone turned the year for us. Third times the charm for Jack index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html