NFL Division One: Kerry 2-17 Galway 3-14
For Galway, the kind of draw that will feel like a victory, and a league point that might equate to much more when the final accounting is done. For Kerry, the sort of draw that will feel like a loss, which happens when you throw away a 12-point lead at the three-quarter stage of a game.
That might do an injustice of sorts to Galway, though. For it was they who well and truly wrestled away that dominant lead from Kerry as much as the Kingdom let it slip, and anything less than a point would have been harsh on the sort of gutsy resurgent push Galway produced down the stretch.
Goals from Cian Hernon and Johnny Maher, and a pair of two-pointers from Shane McGrath threw this contest on its head, and saw Galway come away with a point that will feel like two.
The first half had totally belonged to Kerry, with goals from Keith Evans and David Clifford helping them to a 10-point lead, albeit with a stiff wind behind them at a wet Austin Stack Park.
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The first quarter was a tepid enough thing, with Kerry points from Dylan Casey, Micheal Burns, Evans and Cillian Trant helping the home side to a 0-4 to 0-2 lead after 15 minutes.
Galway then played hara-kiri in their defence, allowing Armin Heinrich dispossess Brian Cogger, and while Eamon McGrath saved well from Tony Brosnan’s shot, Evans was there to put the ball into the goal.
Galway responded within a minute from Matthew Tierney with a smart finish from a tight angle past Shane Murphy but Clifford converted twice within a minute from outside the two-point arc to put Kerry six ahead.
Tierney kicked Galway’s third point, but then the visitors made a mess of more defensive work when goalkeeper McGrath dropped Casey’s high dropping ball, and Clifford was on hand to sweep the ball to the net.
Points from Burns and Brosnan extended Kerry’s lead to 10 at the break, 2-10 to 1-3.
Oisin Mac Donnacha kicked an early two-pointer for Galway, but points from Joe O’Connor, Evans and Trant (2) pushed Kerry into a 2-14 to 1-5 lead, and it was hard to see a Galway revival from there, even with a stiffening wind behind them.
Shane McGrath’s first two-pointer didn’t move the dial a huge amount but when Cian Hernon found the net to make it 2-16 to 2-11 Galway’s dander was up.
Three minutes later Maher shot low past Shane Murphy and Galway were within two points.
Kerry were the team under pressure now, and struggling to find traction, and when McGrath fired over another two-pointer the Galway comeback was complete.
Kerry: Shane Murphy, Evan Looney, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey (0-0-2), Armin Heinrich, Tadhg Morley, Graham O’Sullivan, Joe O’Connor (0-0-1), Liam Smith, Cillian Trant (0-0-3), Seán O’Shea, Micheál Burns (0-0-2), Tony Brosnan (0-0-1), David Clifford (1-2-2), Keith Evans (1-0-2). Subs: Eddie Healy for G O’Sullivan (51), Mark O’Shea for L Smith (53), Donagh O’Sullivan for M Burns (56), Cathal Brosnan for T Brosnan (64), Paul Murphy for J Foley (69).
Galway: Eamon McGrath, Johnny McGrath, Ryan Roche, Jack Glynn, Brian Cogger, Cian Hernon (1-0-0), Sean Kelly, Kieran Molloy, Matthew Tierney (1-1-2), Shane McGrath (0-2-1), Ciaran Mulhearn, John Maher (1-0-0), Fionn McDonagh, Robert Finnerty, Oisín Mac Donnacha (0-1-0). Subs: Finnian Ó Laoi (0-0-1) for B Cogger (27), Daniel Ó Flaherty (0-0-1) for C Mulhearn (42), Charlie Power for R Roche (45), Dylan McHugh (0-0-1) for K Molloy (47), L Ó Conghaile for O Mac Donnacha (61).
Referee: P Faloon (Down).
