Patrick’s Horgan heroic 3-10 wasn’t enough to save Cork as Kilkenny’s second-half strength proved too much for them.
Cork were the better team with the breeze in the opening half but were bowled over by the Cats in the third quarter and trailed by 8 points in the 52nd minute. Their puck-out was dismantled and they were a distant second-best in the middle third.
5 minutes later and the margin was two points, a Cork rally of 1-3 including Horgan’s third startling Kilkenny. However, it proved to be shortlived as Kilkenny’s bench came to the fore, Walter Walsh picking off three points and Billy Ryan adding two.
The teams were level five times in the opening half but it was Cork who roared into the game. Seamus Harnedy’s aerial ability was significant and he was fouled by Paul Murphy in the parallelogram in mthe third minute as he gathered an Alan Cadogan shot attempt that had dropped short.
Horgan blasted the ball past Eoin Murphy and Cork might have had another goal a minute later when Cork again prospered on their puck-out and Cadogan’s shot was saved by Murphy and Horgan inexplicably fresh-aired the rebound.
Kilkenny fired back with the next four scores, the third of them in the ninth minute a Colin Fennelly goal when he collected from a diagonal ball in front of the square from Adrian Mullen
Cork went scoreless between the fourth and 14th minute but they were creating more opportunities, ending with seven wides by the break.
Mark Coleman levelled the game for the first time in the 20th minute. Cork then went ahead a couple of times only to make some silly errors and Kilkenny exploited them.
Kilkenny snuck ahead in the 27th minute through Richie Hogan but then Horgan pounced for his second goal, Kilkenny failing to clear the ball after Harnedy was blocked down. Daniel Kearney found Darragh Fitzgibbon and he soloed before unloading to Horgan who found the net from his knees.
Kilkenny restored parity again in the 31st minute but Cork finished out the half with Cadogan and Horgan (free) points to lead an error-strewn half by 2, 2-10 to 1-11.
Kilkenny's Richie Hogan buries it in the back of the net! pic.twitter.com/MmTw2y1Pv0
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 14, 2019
: T.J. Reid (0-10, frees); R. Hogan (1-2); C. Fennelly (1-1); W. Walsh (0-3); B. Ryan C. Fogarty, J. Donnelly (0-2 each); B. Sheehan, C. Browne, A. Mullen, R. Leahy, E. Murphy (free) (0-1 each).
: P. Horgan (3-10, 1-0 pen, 0-8 frees); A. Cadogan (0-4); S. Harnedy (0-2); M. Coleman, D. Fitzgibbon (0-1 each).
: E. Murphy; P. Murphy, H. Lawlor, J. Holden; C. Buckley, P. Walsh, P. Deegan; C. Browne, C. Fogarty; J. Donnelly, T.J. Reid (c), R. Leahy; A. Mullen, C. Fennelly, R. Hogan.
Subs for Kilkenny: W. Walsh for C. Buckley (h-t); B. Sheehan for R. Hogan (50); J. Maher for C. Browne (57); B. Ryan for J. Donnelly (63);.
A. Nash; S. O’Donoghue, E. Cadogan, N. O’Leary; M. Ellis, S. McDonnell, M. Coleman; B. Cooper, D. Fitzgibbon; L. Meade, C. Lehane, D. Kearney; A. Cadogan, S. Harnedy (c), P. Horgan.
Subs for Cork: R. O’Flynn for C. Lehane (46); S. Kingston for D. Kearney (47); T. O’Mahony for B. Cooper (inj 50); D. Cahalane for S. O’Donoghue (55); C. Joyce for L. Meade (63).
: J. Owens (Wexford).