Kerry 0-15 Dublin 1-10
It already felt like the perfect afternoon for Kieran Donaghy and then he mentioned the birthday. His first game as Kerry football captain, and as if beating close rivals Dublin wasn't pleasing enough, Donaghy continued to turn back his career clock on the day his body clock turned 32.
There he was towards the end, too, neatly fetching a high ball in front of his own goal, as Dublin’s dropped in one last search for victory. Kerry held on – and although perhaps a little closer than it should have been, the All-Ireland champions were nonetheless deserving of it.
“Look, it was big, big day for me,” said Donaghy. “Losing the club semi-final two weeks ago, with Austin Stacks, was very disappointing. But I’d been given the privilege of the Kerry captaincy, so you can’t be sitting around feeling sorry for yourself.
Hotly contested
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity for me, and I just want to play in as many games as I can, now, after being back on the fringes for a long time. I wanted to make sure I was back out there.
“And I mean it was always going to be hotly contested, Kerry against Dublin, at the end of the day. They came down with full ambitions of winning, and when we were down a point at half-time, I told the lads that’s what it was – a war, a battle – and that’s what I’m proudest of, how we were able to pull through.”
It was a battle alright – played out in a bitterly cold Fitzgerald Stadium, complete with several hail showers. Both teams finished with 14 men, too – Kerry’s Jack Sherward black-carded in the final minute, at which stage they’d already used all their substitutes; then in injury time Dublin’s Michael Fitzsimons was shown a straight red card for his part in the minor melee which marred the closing moments.
Indeed Dublin finished with one red, five yellow, and two black cards – while Kerry had two yellow and two black, and Dublin manager Jim Gavin hardly concealed his dissatisfaction that his team were apparently open to harsher calls. The Dublin supporters who make the trip south didn’t exactly applaud match referee Eddie Kinsella off the field.
“You saw the reaction of our travelling support at the end,” said Gavin, “and I think that probably spoke volumes. It’s something I can’t control, and all I ever want my players to do is influence their own game, and I’m very proud of them in that respect.
“And I thought our players tried their very best, especially in the first two quarters. We lost a bit of momentum in the third quarter, but rallied hard again. So I’d be pleased overall, and felt our discipline was good. But some of the incidents we need to look at again. They seemed to be a bit reactionary.”
Kerry effectively won the game in that third quarter, outscoring Dublin seven points to one, with Bryan Sheehan’s placed-ball kicking particularly influential (he finished with 0-6). Five of the six starting forwards scored (Donaghy the only exception), with Stephen O’Brien, Paul Geaney, and Johnny Buckley also added 0-5 between them. Barry John Keane also scored an exciting two points off the bench – helping Kerry out-score Dublin nine points to 1-3 in the second half.
They also took an increasing grip on Dublin’s kick-outs, and as Donaghy put it, “played a bit more Kerry football”. Sherwood was particularly solid at centre back, but so too was the full back line of Pa Kilkenny, Mark Griffin and Fionn Fitzgerald, especially in the first half, ensuring Dublin never got a run on them.
Concentrated defence
Dublin did get their noses in front by the break, 0-7 to 0-6, with Jack McCaffrey, Shane Carthy and Ciarán Kilkenny all jumping from the gun. Then Bernard Brogan – introduced at half time – later brought them back into contention, sweeping in their goal on 61 minutes, after Kevin McManamon’s initial shot was snuffed out. Yet neither team scored again, Kerry’s concentrated defence ensuring Dublin didn’t get any closer.
“It’s such a competitive league, and we’re delighted with another win,” said Eamonn Fitzmaurice, the Kerry manager. “This time the last two years we’d zero points, and didn’t get carried away, so we’re not going to get carried away with two wins, either. Dublin had a good record against us too, for the last few league meetings, and we were keen to arrest that.
“We got the scores straight after half time, four points in a row, then the hail shower came down, which made it a bit more interesting. So I think that gave us the momentum, really. We probably should have closed it out, better, but it’s still March 1st, and we’ve plenty to work on.”
So, Kerry also hit the midway point in the Allianz League well positioned for one of the semi-final berths; Dublin, with two defeats from their three games, now need to worry about steering themselves clear of relegation.
For Donaghy, who in fact made his Kerry senior debut in this corresponding fixture a decade ago, in what was also the last time they beat Dublin in the league at a Kerry venue, the rising star continues.
KERRY: B Kelly; P Kilkenny, M Griffin, F Fitzgerald; J Lyne, J Sherwood, P Murphy; A Maher, D Moran (0-1); M Geaney (0-1), B Sheehan (0-6, five frees), J Buckley (0-2); S O'Brien (0-2), K Donaghy, P Geaney (0-1). Subs: K Young for Murphy (34 mins, black card), BJ Keane (0-2) for M Geaney (half time), T Walsh for P Geaney (58 mins), A Fitzgerald for Sheehan (64 mins), P O'Connor for Lyne (68 mins).
DUBLIN: S Currie; M Fitzsimons, R O'Carroll, D Daly; J McCaffrey (0-2), P McMahon, J Cooper; D Bastic, S Carthy (0-1); T Brady (0-1), D Rock (0-1, a free), C Kilkenny (0-1); K McManamon (0-1), E O'Gara (0-1), C Costello. Subs: C O'Sullivan for Bastick (14 mins, black card), B Brogan (1-2, one free) for Costello (h-t), P Andrews for Rock (45 mins), N Devereux for McMahon (55 mins, black card), B Fenton for Brady (57 mins), E Lowndes for Cooper (64 mins).
Referee: Eddie Kinsella (Laois).
