Young guns bail the Kingdom
they are brilliant at shooting from distance – instead of trying to work the ball into scorable positions, especially with Conor McManus in the kind of form he was in.
Interestingly again Kerry did much better on primary possession that you might have imagined. The Kingdom pretty much matched Monaghan on their own kick-outs – 21 for 28 for Kerry, 22 from 28 for Monaghan – with Jack Barry winning five kickouts (two of those short).
Whatever problems Kerry might have at the moment – and they obviously have a few – getting their hands on ball from restarts isn’t one of them, not with guys like Gavin White stepping up to the mark (pun intended) the way he did. The Crokes man won two marks and two breaks, brilliant stuff especially against a teaktough Monaghan side.
The issue of Kerry’s discipline hasn’t gone away however. After a pretty good first half – they gave away just 7 frees, Monaghan 10 – they coughed up at least 15 frees against them in the second half. You could have quibbles with a couple (Ronan Shanahan was hard done by for one or two), but such was the disparity in the second half (15 against Kerry, 7 against Monaghan) that one can’t lay all the blame at the referee’s door.
ALL-IRELAND SFC SUPER 8 GROUP 1 ROUND 2
Kerry 1-17 Monaghan 1-17
THE moment the ball broke his way – or more accurately from the moment it was broken his way – there was almost an air of inevitability about it.
Of course he was going to do it. Of course he was going to find a way to the back of Rory Beggan’s net. Of course he was going to save his team’s season. It’s what he’s all about. Big moments, big plays, outrageous skill.
David Clifford did as David Clifford does: he found a way. It’s only in looking back at replays and still photography that one gets the fullest sense of just how good that goal was.
Beggan was rushing him, there was at least another Monaghan defender behind Beggan and another again on the line. Clifford had little more than a ball’s width to squeeze it in and he hit it right on the money.
The Fossa man’s strike was probably more instinctual than measured, there was no time for anything else. Clifford is predator and in that moment he sniffed blood, breaking Monaghan hearts and giving the Kingdom a fresh hope.
Mere minutes beforehand you could spy the first trickle of Kerry supporters heading for the exits. To them it felt a lost cause, outplayed by the hosts and, seemingly, on the way out of the championship.
Being honest it wasn’t an outrageous calculation to make. The thing is though Monaghan will always give you a chance. It proved their downfall against Fermanagh and it proved their downfall on Sunday evening.
This was a game Malachy O’Rourke’s men should have won. They were probably four or five points the Kingdom’s better all things considered, but for all their superiority – they led for seventy two out of seventy five minutes – they never pushed as far clear of their visitors as they ought to have done.
In the first ten minutes of the match Monaghan were rampant. Sharper, faster, slicker they rocked Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s men back on their heels and, yet, by the tenth minute Kerry were still within two points of them when they scarcely deserved to be.
Inside three minutes Conor McManus had a goal and a point from play. With his marker Mark Griffin all at sea, it seemed as though Monaghan were in a position to score at will. Instead they kicked a number of poor wides, allowing Kerry to catch their breath and work their way back into the game somewhat.
A couple of Seán O’Shea frees were just what Kerry needed to settle nerves. Monaghan though remained well on top for the rest of the half. Rory Beggan’s kickouts were pin-point accurate and provided the Farney men with a brilliant platform.
Brian Kelly’s kick-outs were pretty good too on Sunday, but they didn’t come close to Beggan’s. Beggan’s not only allowed Monaghan retain possession, they gave Monaghan territory. He managed to fire one – scud missile-like – over sixty metres into a Monaghan attacker’s chest on the half-forward line.
The home side’s lead fluctuated throughout that first half between two points and – very briefly – five before settling in at four at halftime, 0-10 to 1-11, and really at that stage Fitzmaurice and his management team would have been feeling pretty satisfied or at least relieved.
From that position Kerry had a chance. A chance to correct the mistakes from the first half – starting and leaving Griffin on McManus was frankly baffling even considering the mini injury crisis Kerry were suffering in defence