FLYING START’S KEY FOR KERRY
1-12 Roscommon
A SPARKLING opening 10 minutes set the stage for Kerry to eventually hold off the stubborn challenge of visitors Roscommon at Austin Stack Park last night.
Flying out of the traps, with a noticeable extra zip to their game, the All-ireland champions hit the Connacht side for an unanswered 1-3 in the first quarter, putting the opposition on the back foot from there to the finish.
After Dara Moynihan had fisted over the opening point, Kerry struck for a goal in the fifth minute – and it was a stunning score. Tony Brosnan, with a defencesplitting, eye-of-theneedle assist, found David Clifford and the captain buried a low drive to the far corner of the net.
When the lively Donal O’sullivan slotted over two points from play, the home team looked all set to gain a total stranglehold on proceedings.
But Davy Burke’s charges absorbed the body blows they had received and soon settled into the game.
Kingdom man Conor Cox got his adopted county off the mark with a pointed free in the 12th minute and, as Kerry’s overall display dipped after the blistering start, Roscommon more than held their own from there to the interval at 1-7 to 0-5. Indeed, the visitors’ chances of causing an upset were strengthened by a strong beginning to the second half, with three points on the trot, reducing the margin to two.
Kerry lost corner-back Graham O’sullivan to a black card in the 46th minute.
Plagued by a certain degree of sloppiness, and now a man down for 10 minutes, Jack O’connor needed a reaction from his players and they certainly responded.
Outscoring Roscommon 0-3 to 0-1 while numerically disadvantaged basically sealed the victory for Kerry. With Gavin White producing a sterling display on his return from a long-term knee injury and Paudie Clifford covering every blade of grass, the Kingdom moved five clear again before they endured a nervous finale, Tadhg Morley their second man in the sin-bin in injury-time. KERRY: S Ryan; G O’sullivan, J Foley, T O’sullivan 0-1; P Murphy, T Morley, G White; J Barry, B O’sullivan; D Moynihan (0-1), S O’shea (0-2f), P Clifford (0-1); T Brosnan (0-2), D Clifford (1-2, 0-1f), D O’sullivan (0-2). Subs: D O’connor for B O’sullivan 51, K Spillane (0-1) for D O’sullivan 55, R Murphy for Moynihan 64, P Warren for White 64, P Geaney for Brosnan 68. ROSCOMMON: C Carroll; C Hussey, B Stack, D Murray; N Daly, E Mccormack, R Dolan; T O’rourke, D Ruane; C Murtagh (0-1), C Lennon, E Smith; D Cregg (0-1), D Murtagh (0-2f), C Cox (0-6 0-4f, 0-1m). Subs: K Doyle for Dolan 25, R Hughes for Lennon 48, B O’carroll for D Murtagh 48, D Smith (0-2f) for C Murtagh 61, C Mckeon for Ruane 64. REFEREE: D O’mahoney (Tipperary).