The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Kerry Juniors on track for four in-a-row
ALL IRELAND JFC SEMI-FINAL Kerry 2-17 Kildare 1-14
KERRY remain on course for a fourth successive All Ireland JFC title after seeing off a gallant Kildare in their penultimate round meeting at a sun-kissed Páirc Tailteann in Navan last Saturday afternoon.
The Munster kingpins laid the foundations for their victory during the opening 15 minutes when racing into a 1-6 to 0-1 lead, and while Kildare bravely kept alive their lingering hopes longer than their opponents should really have permitted them to – the Lilywhites entered half-time only 1-9 to 0-9 in arrears – Kerry always had that bit more quality and guile about them to resist any real Kildare threat to their safe passage back to GAA headquarters.
Paudie Clifford was Kerry’s score-inchief on the day with 1-3 from centre-forward, but going forward the eighteen-time national champions at this grade were free-flowing and devastating, both individually and collectively, and particularly when Kildare afforded them too much time, space and respect during the opening quarter which proved their ultimate undoing, while both Kieran and Ronan Murphy were towering presences in the engine room, with the latter chipping in with 0-3.
Kildare enjoyed their best spell of the game during the second quarter, where Mark Grace assumed full defensive command at one end, while Mark Sherry began to stamp his mark on proceedings at the other as he moved in between half-forward and midfield.
With Kerry against the ropes, who knows how the game may have panned out thereafter had the interval not intervened to rescue Kerry from the onslaught as Kildare significantly reduced the arrears to offer themselves a glimmer of hope.
That being said, Kildare were always going to need a bright start to the second half and, while Barry Noone pointed inside six minutes of the resumption to reduce the arrears to two points, that was as close as Colin Ward’s troops would get as Kerry recovered their composure sufficiently to dominate possession and turn the tide back in their favour over the remainder of the game, out-scoring Kildare by 0-8 to 0-1 between the 37th and 59th minutes that pushed the score-line out to an unassailable 1-17 to 0-12.
It was very much a similar pattern to how the game commenced, with the writing on the wall for Kildare from the offset; Clifford’s 11th minute – a solo effort that culminated with him calmly slotting home after leaving all would-be challengers in his wake – confirming Kerry’s superiority early doors and opened up a 1-3 to 0-1 advantage. By the time Thomas Hickey (2) and Ronan Murphy added additional points, Kildare were eight points down and a beaten team.
To their credit the recently crowned Leinster champions dug in and rallied – kicking six successive points between the 23rd minute and half-time – all appeared not lost after all at the interlude.
Although they were on Kerry’s coattails, Kildare could never get close enough to strike a meaningful blow and four points on-the-trot from Kerry between the 43rd and 48th minutes put them 1-14 to 0-10 ahead and within sight of the finishing post.
A late rally from Kildare once again, which saw Eoghan Lawless goal from the penalty spot two minutes into time added on, was nothing more than a false dawn.
KERRY: Dara Ó Sé; Trevor Wallace, Dan Donoghue, Paul O’Sullivan (0-1), Conor Ó Sé, Denis Daly (0-1), Padraig O’Connor (0-1); Kieran Murphy (0-1), Ronan Murphy (0-3); Evan Cronin, Paudie Clifford (1-3, 1 ‘45), Ronan Buckley, Thomas Hickey (0-3, 2f), Lee Donoghue, Niall Ó Sé (0-4, 2f) Subs: Cillian Fitzgerald (1-0) for Ronan Murphy, 38, Chris Farley for Donoghue, 42, Gary O’Leary for Cronin, 55, Gavin Horan for Conor Ó Sé, 59, Darren Brosnan for O’Sullivan, 60
KILDARE: Declan Campbell (0-4f); Kevin Corrigan, Mark Grace, Tom Dore; Graham Waters, Eoghan McMonagle, Nathan Sherry; Liam Power, Brian Travers (0-1); David Malone (0-1), Mark Nolan (0-2), Eoghan Lawless (1-2, 1-0 penalty, 1f), Conor Murray, Mark Sherry, Barry Noone (0-4, 3f) Subs: Declan Flaherty for Sherry (inj), 38, Stephen O’Leary for Murray, 43, Cormac Divilly for Dore, 55, John Jennings for Nolan, 58
REFEREE: Liam Devenney (Mayo)