THE DUBS DRAW LEVEL WITH KERRY
Mannion fires over in added time to equal Kerry record in heated Tralee battle
THEY can’t be beaten, it seems. Or maybe, it is just the All-Ireland champions have forgotten how to lose. Whatever the reason, this remarkable Dublin team equalled Kerry’s 84-year-old unbeaten League and Championship record on a heated night in Austin Stack Park. It’s 34 games and counting for Jim Gavin’s extraordinary side but this is a result that will hurt Kerry.
They will wake up this morning, knowing they should have beaten the All-Ireland champions. They were the superior side for long stretches but at crucial junctures, composure let them down. For Paul Mannion’s late leveller, Paul Murphy sloppily gave the ball away with a free.
With almost 12,000 in Tralee creating an atmosphere that fizzled all night, occasionally boiling over, the home supporters seemed to believe that they were about to witness something special. At one point in the second half, when Stephen Cluxton fired a kick-out over the sideline moments after David Moran’s point of the evening, the home crowd erupted, believing that Dublin were on the ropes.
And they were. Moments later, Kevin McCarthy nailed a fine point after some great work by Walsh. Within 10 minutes of the second half, Kerry had raced into a fourpoint lead, 0-9 to 0-5.
But this Dublin team don’t do panic. The starting half-forward line of the All-Ireland champions had malfunctioned but Jim Gavin just did some quick surgery. Heavyhitters, such as Kevin McManamon and Paul Flynn were called from the bench as well as Cian O’Sullivan at half-time. Suddenly, Dublin had a much more formidable look.
The changes worked. Trailing by four points in the 44th minute, after Kevin McCarthy finished a move created by yet more fine work from Donnachadh Walsh, the Dubs were in front 11 minutes later when Dean Rock converted his seventh free.
It was a remarkable turnaround from a remarkable team. Whenever Kerry injected pace, Dublin looked in bother, especially down the middle but, somehow, despite having only two scorers from open play, Jim Gavin’s men found themselves ahead going down the final stretch.
The final 20 minutes were a joy to behold as the teams pounded each other like two tireless prizefighters. Barry John Keane and Darran O’Sullivan added some energy to the Kerry attack, Keane getting on the scoresheet before Donnachadh Walsh nailed what looked like the winning score in the 70th minute.
But Dublin were patient and continued to look to punch holes in the Kerry rearguard. Rock stepped up to nail his ninth free before Mannion’s equaliser, meant that Dublin have now equalled Kerry’s longstanding record.
It won’t just be Kerry bodies that will be sore this morning, after a heated match that saw 11 players booked and Ciarán Kilkenny sent off before the end. This will hurt this Kerry side’s confidence. They should have beaten Dublin last night, especially when they came to their house and they tried to lay down the law.
At times, the atmosphere in the stands was matched on the field. By the 25th minute, there was as many yellow cards as scores in the match as flashpoints erupted all over the field.
Tyrone’s Seán Hurson is one of the rising stars within GAA officiating, but he is also inexperienced.
Nevertheless, he managed a charged atmosphere as best he could. There were flare-ups all over the field – from Cluxton’s goalmouth to the Dublin full-forward line. Tempers flared to such an extent that Kerry boss Éamonn Fitzmaurice and Philly McMahon had a heated discussion as they walked across the field.
The teams were level at half-time, 0-5 each, although Kerry must wonder how that was the case as they
limited Dublin to a single score from play, Conor McHugh’s effort in the 23rd minute, and were running the Dublin midfield ragged with their kick-out strategy.
Brian Fenton improved in the second half, but he was still outshone by David Moran, Paddy Andrews was getting little change out of Mark Griffin. Andrews’ poor evening was typified when he was penalising for over-carrying in the middle of the first half.
Cluxton made a fine save from Geaney just before the break, to ensure that the teams went in level and with goal chances at a premium, it was a vital stop. Kerry restricted their opponents to a single goal chance when Mark Griffin made a goal-line clearance from Conor McHugh in the second half.
Still, this was a night when Kerry laid down a marker. They haven’t gone away, even if they can’t seem to beat Dublin. Dublin: S Cluxton; D Daly, P McMahon, M Fitzsimons; D Byrne (C O’Sullivan h-t), J Small (P Mannion 49), E Lowndes; B Fenton, MD Macauley (K McManamon 44); N Scully (P Flynn 42), C Kilkenny, S B Carthy; D Rock, P Andrews E O’Gara 47), C McHugh (B Brogan 69) Scorers: D Rock 0-9 (9f), C McHugh 0-2, E O’Gara, P Mannion 0-1. Yellow cards: C Kilkenny (21&74), S Cluxton (22), M Fitzsimons (32), E O’Gara (70+3) Red card: C Kilkenny (74) Wides: (5)6 KeRRY: B Kealy; S Enright (J Lyne 18), M Griffin, R Shanahan; P Crowley, T Morley, K Young (M Geaney 62); D Moran, J Barry; A Spillane (D Walsh 52), P Murphy, D Walsh( BJ Keane 49); K McCarthy (D O’Sullivan 62), P Geaney, J Savage(S O’Brien h-t) Scorers: P Geaney 0-7 (4f), D Moran, D Walsh, P Crowley, BJ Keane, B Kealy (45), K McCarthy 0-1. Yellow cards: T Morley (21), P Geaney (22), D Moran (25), P Crowley (32), S O’Brien (45), M Geaney (66), D Walsh (67), BJ Keane (68) Wides: (4) 9 Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone).