Stephen O'Brien is bracing himself for a Cork backlash in the Munster SFC final on July 2nd.

The Rebels have been lambasted in the media following their narrow wins over Waterford and Tipperary, but O'Brien - who came off the bench to net a crucial late goal against Clare on Sunday, thinks they will be doubly-determined in Killarney on provincial final day:

"They're going to respond, definitely, so we're going to have to be ready for them," the Kenmare attacker states in The Irish Examiner. "The Kerry U21 teams I was a part of, Cork beat us in two Munster finals. We never beat them at minor, either. So it's still a rivalry, without a doubt. 

"We never played them last year, so it's great to have the rivalry going again. We know the quality of their players."

As for Kerry's battling victory over the Banner County, O'Brien adds: "We were up against it at half time; down a man, a level game, and we were against the wind in the second half. There was nothing to say at half time. We challenged ourselves to do that which we did in the second half. We're happy we came through the adversity posed to us. It was a brilliant test."

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