Full-time: Kerry 3-13 Cork 1-09
Kerry easily retained their All-Ireland crown with an emphatic second half display that saw them claim the Sam Maguire Cup for the 35th time in the county's history. Powerful performances by Colm Cooper (1-05) and Kieran Donaghy (2-00) saw Alan Quirke's goal live a charmed life, and there was never any doubting the destination of this year's crown once Donaghy found the net in the 36th minute. Overall, it was a disappointing, foul-ridden match, with 59 frees, but that will matter little to Pat O'Shea and his players who have firmly confirmed themselves as one the game's finest ever teams.
70 + 2 mins Kevin O'Sullivan had a chance to give Cork a late goal but he blazed wide when put through by Cussen in the last minute.
69 mins Scanlon is booked for a foul on Anthony Lynch, while Kieran O'Connor and Darren O'Sullivan are booked a minute later for an ugly off the ball exchange that sees both players end up on the deck. Mossy Lyons comes on for Pádraig Reidy.
66 mins Substitute Sean O'Sullivan gets his name on the scoresheet after finishing off yet another fine Kerry move. Mike Frank Russell comes in for his 56th Championship game but hits his first effort left and wide from distance. 3-13 to 1-09.
65 mins The assured Cooper scores another excellent point from play. 3-12 to 1-09.
62 mins Goulding adds another point from play, before Darren O'Sullivan comes on for Brosnan. 3-11 to 1-09.
60 mins Cooper knocks over another free to keep Cork at bay. 3-11 to 1-08.
58 mins Donncha O'Connor reduces Kerry's lead to eight points with a fine left-footed point. Tom O'Sullivan replaced Galvin, who didn't seem too impressed by Pat O'Shea's decision, while Fintan Goold, Anthony Lynch and Kevin O'Sullivan have all been introduced by Cork manager Billy Morgan in this second half. 3-10 to 1-08.
55 mins Galvin, Derek Kavanagh and Darragh Ó Sé are all booked following a brief schemozzle in the middle.
53 mins GOAL! Substitute Daniel Goulding collects the ball from the left in a central area and holds off a couple of challenges before rifling the ball to the net. Maybe there's life in this Cork team yet! 3-10 to 1-07.
52 mins Brosnan pulls another effort just wide of Quirke's right post, with Kerry now boasting 26 scoring chances to Cork's paltry ten. They are also well ahead in the midfield battle, winning 23 kick-outs to Cork's 16.
48 mins GOAL! Cork's shaky full-back line is exposed once again as Eoin Brosnan's attempted point drops short and Shields and Quirke get in a muddle under pressure from Donaghy and the ball breaks to the All Star to hammer home into the unguarded net. This could get embarrassing! 3-10 to 0-07.
46 mins Donncha O'Connor registers Cork's first point of the half with a right-footed free. 2-10 to 0-07.
43 mins Cooper takes his tally to 1-03 with another point off the post from the right as Kerry ruthlessly pull away from a shell-shocked Cork, who really haven't got to the pace of the game since the interval. 2-10 to 0-06.
41 mins Captain Declan O'Sullivan gets in on the act with a fine point off the left post as a rampant Kerry continue to dominate the opening exchanges of the half. 2-09 to 0-06.
39 mins Midfielder Scanlon scores his second ever Championship point in 11 appearances after collecting a pass from Cooper on the right and calmly slotting over with the right boot. 2-08 to 0-06.
37 mins Sheehan slots over another free from 30 yards to stretch Kerry's lead. 2-07 to 0-06.
36 mins GOAL! Disaster for Cork in the opening minute of the half when over-indulgence in the backline puts Spillane under huge pressure from Donaghy, who manages to dispossess the Corkman before slotting the ball into an empty net. Cork have a mountain to climb if they are to get back into this game. 2-06 to 0-06.
Daniel Goulding replaces Masters at half-time.
Half-time Kerry 1-06 Cork 0-06: Kerry take a deserved one goal lead in at the interval after enjoying the better of the scoring chances in what was an error-strewn, foul-ridden half. Kerry converted seven of their 15 scoring opportunities, while Cork managed six from eight. There were 37 frees in all during the half, so let's hope things can improve after the break and that some of the forward talent on show can produce the form we know they are capable of.
35 mins Tomás Ó Sé comes up from the back to slot over with his left boot to restore Kerry's three point lead. 1-06 to 0-06.
33 mins Masters does well near the goal to create an opening for Ger Spillane, but his attempted pointed effort drops short and Cussen is penalised for being in the square.
30 mins Masters, after missing an earlier free, returns to form to convert a right sided free to put just two points between the two as the rain begins to fall at Croker. 1-05 to 0-06.
27 mins Michael Cussens scores Cork's first point from play when he uses his aerial strength to good effect. Match commentator Ger Canning notes that there have been 30 frees in the opening 28 minutes, which gives you an idea of how fractious the game has been. 1-05 to 0-05.
24 mins Cork's Micheal Shields is lucky not to concede a penalty when he visibly holds back Kieran Donaghy, but referee Coldrick takes no action despite the protestations of the Kerryman.
22 mins Paul Galvin pops one over from play. 1-05 to 0-04.
21 mins Masters converts a free to reduce the deficit. 1-04 to 0-04.
20 mins Masters misses a free at the other end before Cooper almost gets his second goal, but a surprising lack of composure sees him blaze over the bar with only Quirke to beat. However, it was an opening he created for himself after receiving the ball from Donaghy with his back to goal some distance out, before turning O'Connor and racing towards goal. 1-04 to 0-03.
17 mins GOAL! Paul Galvin creates some space for himself on the left but pulls his shot to the left and wide. However, from the kick-out Kerry regain possession and Seamus Scanlon launches the ball into the danger zone and Colm 'Gooch' Cooper somehow beats Kieran O'Connor and goalkeeper Alan Quirke to fist the ball into the net. 1-03 to 0-03.
16 mins Another foul, this time by Marc Ó Sé on O'Connor, gives the Cork man the chance to level from directly in front of the posts. 0-03 to 0-03.
13 mins The game is being dominated by niggling fouls on and off the ball. Colm Cooper opens his account with another placed ball to give the defending Munster and All-Ireland champions the lead for the first time. 0-03 to 0-02.
11 mins Bryan Sheehan levels two minutes later with a similarly executed free from the left. 0-02 to 0-02.
9 mins The right-footed Donncha O'Connor dissects the posts with a confident free from the left to restore Cork's lead. The game continues to be scrappy. 0-01 to 0-02.
5 mins A nervous opening sees several passes from both sides fail to find their intended destination before Aidan O'Mahony equalises for Kerry. 0-01 to 0-01.
3 mins James Masters gives Cork the lead with a well taken free from close range after Tomás Ó Sé was penalised for a foul on O'Neill. Kerry 0-00 Cork 0-01.
1 min An early positional switch sees Kerry's Tomás Ó Sé move to centre half-back to mark Pearse O'Neill.
3.30pm: Referee David Coldrick gets the 118th All-Ireland underway in glorious sunshine, which should have dried the pitch out considerably.
3.25pm: Colm O'Rourke and Joe Brolly in The Sunday Game studio both tip Kerry to retain their title, with O'Rourke lamenting: 'There are three certainties in life; death, taxes and Kerry winning the All-Ireland.' Brolly believes Kerry's greater class in their forward line should see them through. Kerry have won the toss and have opted to defend the Hill 16 end in the first half.
3.15pm: The big news ahead of the game was James Masters' return to the starting line-up following his broken jaw, while Anthony Lynch takes his place on the bench despite breaking a bone in his hand eight days ago.
3pm: As I travelled to Limerick yesterday and returned to Dublin this morning, it was clear that large numbers from both Cork and Kerry were making the pilgrimage to Croke Park for the unique meeting of Munster's finest in the All-Ireland SFC final.
Suggestions that this fixture would not be a sell-out seem to be well wide of the mark, with thousands swarming the streets of the capital this morning.
Expectations were high amongst both sets of supporters, typically resplendent in their county's colours, with the blustery and showery conditions failing to dampen spirits between these two great rivals.
Conditions will prove testing for the players, with the top surface looking particularly greasy during the minor match, which saw Galway stage a dramatic late rally to deny Derry, who had led from the opening minutes.
Kerry XV: Diarmuid Murphy, Marc Ó Sé, Tom O'Sullivan, Pádraig Reidy, Tomás Ó Sé, Aidan O'Mahony, Killian Young, Darragh Ó Sé, Seamus Scanlon, Paul Galvin, Declan O'Sullivan (capt), Eoin Brosnan, Colm Cooper, Kieran Donaghy, Bryan Sheehan.
Cork XV: Alan Quirke; Michael Shields, Graham Canty, Kieran O'Connor; Noel O'Leary, Ger Spillane, John Miskella; Nicholas Murphy, Derek Kavanagh (capt); Conor McCarthy, Pearse O'Neill, Kevin McMahon; James Masters, Michael Cussen, Donncha O'Connor.
Referee: David Coldrick (Meath).
