DUBS’ CON JOB ON KERRY
Blues full-forward in unstoppable form as he blasts a hat-trick to sink Kingdom
EARLIER in the day, new GAA president Jarlath Burns spoke about how he would like to see Gaelic football be the best version of itself as a spectacle. How a football review committee would be set up to that effect. It’s significant that the man who will head up that same group is Dublin’s six-time All-Ireland winning manager Jim Gavin.
On a night when Dublin met Kerry at Croke Park, it was tempting to suggest there really isn’t much wrong with the intercounty game.
In fact, the first half – or first 26 minutes at least – saw a masterclass from Dublin. It was vintage Gavinera stuff in many respects as Dublin pummelled Kerry to the tune of 2-10 to 0-6, all six forwards contributing to make up that total. That 1-9 of it came from open play showed how Dublin were slicing and dicing the Kerry defence.
No wides, either.
It was a ruthless display of attacking verve that is up there with any similar period on Dessie Farrell’s watch.
This was a part of the game when Dublin seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, almost toying with Kerry. Here’s Ciaran Kilkenny – a player dropped and under pressure last year – dummying the shot, seeing his marker whizz by, and then kicking a quality score. Here’s Con O’Callaghan, repeating the same trick to send his man flying past before turning back on his left to point.
In the first quarter alone, the same player almost completed a hat-trick. Only the outstretched arm from goalkeeper Shane Ryan deprived him of the match ball after he thumped home a penalty to go with his fifth minute strike.
He wouldn’t be denied that honour before the end.
And all of this without a roll call of first team regulars. None of the three players with nine medals were in the match day squad – Stephen Cluxton, James McCarthy or Michael Fitzsimons. Or the likes of Jack McCaffrey either.
Kerry were under huge pressure on their own kick-out in the face of Dublin’s high press. When Shane Ryan was forced long on one, Brian Fenton just plucked it from the clouds.
By contrast, David O’Hanlon’s rapid restarts were gone and away to a Dublin shirt before Kerry had time to think about an interception.
David Clifford’s struggles down the other end were symptomatic of Kerry’s issues. He dropped one short, pulled a free wide to the left, then dragged a goal effort into the side net, showing his growing frustration with the last miss.
Sean O’Shea was the brightest spark in attack, his two from play and a free amounting to over half of Kerry’s half-time total as they trailed by nine, 2-11 to 0-8.
That they produced it in front of a crowd of 36,807 – in the top three attendances for this spring series of league games since the show moved to Croke Park – shows the eternal attraction of this meeting.
Even when David Clifford was fouled by Eoin Murchan after the restart, the normally reliable Sean O’Shea hit the upright from barely 25 metres out, just to the right of goal.
But Kerry began to find their groove, reminding everyone of their own blue chip attacking talent when the mood takes them.
O’Shea showed his nerve by kicking the first score of the half and another free and then Kerry found the net with a lovely necklace of passes that unlocked the Dublin defence.
Midfielder Joe O’Connor burnished his growing reputation by sidestepping around David O’Hanlon to find the net and suddenly Kerry were only four behind, trailing 2-11 to 1-10.
Dublin threw on Tom Lahiff for Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne at midfield to try and get a bit of control and Ciaran Kilkenny took matters into his own hands in that respect by curling a beauty in from the left with his left foot.
The momentum of the game though was now firmly with Kerry and Joe O’Connor again sliced through the middle to kick another score. That full-back Jason Foley popped up to nab a point showed how Dublin were now dropping deeper and deeper to stop the waves of Kerry attack.
When Sean O’Shea then kicked a 45 on the three-quarter mark, it was just a one-score game.
With Dublin in real trouble, a few
players in particular stood up. Lee Gannon has established himself as one of the team leaders and the wing back was brave enough to steal forward and kick a point.
O’Callaghan slotted a free as Clifford again blazed over the bar with half a goal chance and when O’Callaghan sprinted through to send a low shot to the bottom corner with seven minutes to go, that was it. A hat-trick against Kerry – now that’s something to remember.
Kerry weren’t helped when substitute Barry Dan O’Sullivan nailed John Small with a poor frontal challenge after the ball had gone which earned him a black card and saw the Dublin defender replaced.