THERE’S S ABOUT KERRY OMETHING
Cagey Kingdom negotiate a stodgy quarter-final to dispose of Derry and give themselves a huge chance of lifting Sam
KERRY beat Derry at their own game to set up a semi-final date with Armagh in a fortnight’s time.
This dour affair was the exact opposite of last year’s semi-final thriller, which moved at 100mph up and down the field, with chances galore and excitement levels off the charts.
In a tit-for-tat game where the sides were level seven times, Kerry went pragmatic to nullify Derry’s goal threat from the half back line.
And bar a Gareth Mckinless goal chance, which he rolled wide after 35 seconds, they succeeded in blotting out the Ballinderry man, who terrorised them last year.
In the second half of last year’s encounter between the sides, Derry managed just four points and it was exactly the same here.
The Oak Leafers did have one huge second half chance to really make a game of it when goalkeeper Odhran Lynch carried the ball all the way inside the Kerry 45 on 50 minutes.
Lynch appeared to be waiting for Niall Toner to turn and go straight in on goal for a hand pass over the top but the substitue wasn’t aware of the space inside and the chance was gone. The pattern of the first half was both sides conceding the kickout meaning the game was a massive game of 15 v 15 backs and forwards.
David Clifford flicked a centre from Lachlan Murray out for a 45 with Chrissy Mckaigue trying to palm it home and Conor Glass sending the 45 wide.
It was cagey stuff and highly disciplined at the back with both teams engaging in very little contact when they had the ball, for fear of being turned over.
That was reflected in the fact there was only one scorable free conceded in the first half, when Dara Moynihan pulled back Ethan Doherty and Mcguigan popped it over.
Just four kickouts were contested in the first half, with Lynch popping one over the sideline aimed at Diarmuid Baker and nailing the other one, while Glass (pictured at the end, right) plucked a Shane Ryan long one and Ryan completed the other to the wing.
Some of Ryan’s kickouts late on when Derry attempted to squeeze him were top drawer.
Brian O Beaglaoich caused trouble down the right wing throughout with his jinky running, hitting one point and threatening more as he went at men out wide all day.
David Clifford shot Kerry’s first point in the second minute and took one huge catch inside off a Diarmuid O’connor long ball to nail a mark, while he had a wide on the break as the crowd roared him on.
But Mckaigue, with far more
cover than last year, rarely allowed the Kerry talisman to get on the ball, although with the attention he attracts he looked dangerous in the second half when he did.
Kerry had their own goal chance on 13 minutes when Paul Murphy raided up the left, but his fisted effort hit the post.
It fell to Gavin
White, but his shot was blocked by
Shane Mcguigan, with Lachlan
Murray blocking the follow-up from
Tadhg Morley.
It was a microcosm of the modern game, with Derry’s two prime inside forwards doing the defensive dog work and three of Kerry’s efenders having shots – all in the one play. Diarmuid O’connor had a half sniff of goal on 25 minutes but fisted over after a brilliant flick back from the endline by Sean O’shea.
The big match ups were slightly different this year with Conor Doherty sent to man mark Paudie Clifford, rather than Conor Mccluskey, who picked up Paul Geaney. A 52nd minute incident threatened to spark the game into life
as Paul Cassidy pointed off a post to tie up the game, after some skirmishes off the ball.
Joe O’connor seemed intent on finding Ciaran Mcfaul as often as possible, while Mckaigue was late on David Clifford, who stayed down with both men yellow carded.
In the lead-up to Cassidy’s point, Sean O’shea was flying in on goal only for Mckinless to execute the tackle. After the mini flashpoint, Kerry kicked on to hit seven of the next nine points.
Last year they hit five of the last six to see Derry off. The outcome was the same, but it didn’t seem anything like the swashbuckling Derry outfit that saw off Dublin in the Division 1 final.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then.