The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Early set-back overcome with ease by brilliant Kerry
Kerry 3-19 Meath 1-9
BEFORE the game there was nobody much questioning Kerry’s ability to win the game.
The greater concern was their level of consistency. Having failed to follow up a thumping great victory over London with a performance to match a week later against Carlow, the fear was that Kerry might not carry through their brilliant form from Newbridge against the Royals.
After Sunday’s performance we might want to learn to believe our eyes. Kerry were in sensational form yet again, serving up a top quality performance for a big crowd gathering for the second part of the double header.
Even if football will always be king in these parts, it was no harm to show the football folk just what these boys are capable of when they’re at their best and what they served up in the early afternoon had to have been pretty close to their best.
Kerry imposed themselves effectively on the visitors to Stack Park. They cleverly exploited the space against the breeze in the first half and cut Nick Fitzgerald’s side apart seemingly at will in the opening twenty or so minutes.
After that Kerry retreated somewhat, showing an understandable caution as they sought to safeguard the significant advantage they’d built up following the early set-back they suffered when Meath’s Alan Douglas billowed the back of Martin Stackpoole’s goal – following an assist by Paddy Connelly – in the second minute.
The goal and the timing of it had the potential to cause young Kerry players to doubt themselves, to wonder whether it was happening all over again, to wonder whether they were in for a repeat of the Carlow disappointment.
Instead they assumed near total control over the game. In the ten minutes after Douglas’ goal Kerry outscored Meath 2-4 to 0-1. It was a powerful statement of intent, especially the two goals.
Both came courtesy of a buoyed up Jack Goulding, who made it clear that he deserves a place in the starting fifteen. He was sharp and hungry and alive to the possibilities at all times. He took an assist from the star of the previous game, Brendan O’Leary, for the first goal and for his second he followed up an effort by Shane Conway.
There were just eight minutes gone at a the time, but it felt very much like game over for the Royals. Kerry kept the pressure up for the next ten minutes and extended their lead to nine points (against the breeze remember) by the twenty third minute.
Kerry did, as we’ve already mentioned, seek to retrench their position somewhat after that. Meath, however, were firing far too many blanks to trouble Kerry. In the first half alone they pucked eight wides allowing Kerry to maintain that nine point advantage by half-time – 2-9 to 1-3.
If Meath had any faint hopes of a second half recovery drive they were soon snuffed out. Shane Conway, from inside his own half of the pitch, hit a long range free. Meath full-back Darragh Kelly looked initially to have claimed the possession, but it slipped from his grasp and slipped over the line. It was pretty much academic after that. It was a box-ticking and scoring taking exercise from Fintan O’Connor men and, while they weren’t as impressive in the second half as the first, they continued to show a mastery over their visitors.
Any time Meath would fashion a score or two Kerry would strike back pretty much straight away. Meath never managed more than two points unanswered and, indeed, despite not really needing the scores, Kerry finished the game with four unanswered for a sixteen point victory.
Meath couldn’t much complain about the margin at the finish, they were comprehensively outplayed. Kerry had a stranglehold over the middle third of the field with Mikey Boyle again leading from the front on the half-back line.
Perhaps it will be argued that Meath had an off day, it seems far more likely that they simply had no answer to what a power-packed Kerry could offer. Meath’s promotion dreams are now done, Kerry’s fate remains very much in their own hands.
All roads lead to Mullingar.
KERRY: Martin Stackpoole (0-1f), John Buckley, Bryan Murphy, Seán Weir, Tomás O’Connor (0-1), Mikey Boyle, Daniel Collins, Brandon Barrett (0-2), Dáithí Griffin (0-1), Paudie O’Connor, Pádraig Boyle (0-5, 2f), Brendan O’Leary (0-1), Jack Goulding (2-3, 1f), Shane Conway (1-4f), Jordan Conway Subs: Colum Harty (0-1) for D Griffin (inj), 38, Barry Mahony for O’Connor (blood), 42, Darren Dineen for D Collins, 52, Daniel O’Connor for B O’Leary, 52, Fionán Horgan for T O’Connor, 60, Pádraig Quille for S Conway, 66
MEATH: Shane McGann, Seán Geraghty, Darragh Kelly, Niall Weir, Keith Keoghan, Damien Healy, Shane Brennan, Joe Keena (0-1), James Toher, Jack Regan (0-5, 1f), James Kelly (0-1), Alan Douglas (1-1), Neil Heffernan, Adam Gannon, Paddy Connelly (0-1) Subs: Eoin Marsh for N Heffernan, 31, Anthony Forde for J Keena, half-time, Stephen Morris for J Kelly, 42, Seán Quigley for A Gannon, 50, Cathal McCabe for D Kelly, 52
REFEREE: Rory McGann (Clare)