Kerry 1-18 Galway 0-13
As the past that separates Galway from their most recent championship win over Kerry stretches into a 53rd year, the terms of their latest defeat in Sunday’s All-Ireland quarter-final were sufficiently demoralising to suggest that no end to the sequence is in sight.
Kerry didn’t play particularly well and will have plenty of scope for improvement, which is fine for Eamonn Fitzmaurice, as he contemplates a fifth successive semi-final. But for his Galway counterpart Kevin Walsh it’s never nice to be the defeated team that leaves your conquerors that much latitude, as they progress.
Apart from isolated spells of threatened excitement, this year’s first quarter-final was about as exciting as watching a charge card getting topped up every time its credit dipped below a certain level.
The match got away from Galway at both ends. They had abundant scoring opportunities but took far too few of them whereas when the afternoon was taking shape in the early stages their defence never got to grips with Kieran Donaghy and he wrought the damage that turned the match into a contest that the Connacht team were always chasing.
In other words Kerry won as they wished, taking a comfortable lead and maintaining it as Galway flailed away trying to get back into contention. Kerry might be concerned about James O’Donoghue, who was the subject of injury rumours beforehand and who looked out of sorts before being replaced in the 49th minute.
Before the start Walsh made one change to the announced team: David Walsh came into the full-back line in place of Cathal Sweeney with the intention of playing full back on Donaghy. He was assisted in the task by Liam Silke, paying sweeper beside him.
This Silke screen never quite worked, largely because they gave Donaghy too much leeway, allowing him catch ball rather than succeeding in exerting enough pressure to break it away from him.
The price was paid in the 13th minute when Donaghy caught a good delivery from David Moran and side stepped his markers before planting the ball into Bernard Power’s net for the match’s only goal and an already daunting five-point lead, 1-4 to 0-2.
Two minutes later another fine ball, this time from Peter Crowley, resulted in a point for the Kerry full forward.
It didn’t all come through the full-back line, though; Galway’s half backs lost touch with their men on occasions – Kerry captain Johnny Buckley popping up unmarked for a couple of points.
In those early stages Kerry looked slick and menacing, full of movement up front and intelligent supporting runs from defence. But as they settled into a commanding position the collective attention wandered and a great deal of urgency was drained from the match.
This was reflected in the statistics of correction. Five scores out of 32 came from frees and just two yellow cards were issued by referee David Coldrick, although the one shown Shane Enright in the 34th minute could easily have been black as he pole-axed Johnny Heaney after the Galway forward had played in Seán Armstrong for a point.
Galway did at times manage to pressurise Kerry down the central corridor but the conversion rate form chances created was poor. They finished with the same number of wides as Kerry but any realistic appraisal of the match would have emphasised the need for Galway to take a high proportion of their chances if they were going to avail of any slackness on Kerry’s part.
The failure to take goal chances really undermined them. Brian Kelly blocked smartly from Ian Burke – who nonetheless did his bit with four points from play – in a one-on-one situation, deflecting the ball for a point rather than an agenda setting goal.
Further chances followed. Damien Comer, his effectiveness reduced by the usual defensive duties as well as dogged marking by Mark Griffin, did manage one incisive burst at the end of which the goal opened up but the shot was blocked by Fionn Fitzgerald, yielding instead just a point from Burke.
Other chances followed after the break, at which point Kerry led 1-10 to 0-8. Comer fetched a Burke shot that dropped short but having created the opening couldn’t execute the opportunity.
All the while Kerry chipped away on the scoreboard, finding the right man to shoot often enough to keep the scoreboard moving. Paul Murphy got up from the back to score two points in either half and when Fitzmaurice ran his bench he got a decent dividend with his replacement forwards taking five points between them – two for Barry John Keane and Stephen O’Brien plus another from Jack Savage.
There were wides as well, testifying to a looseness in their approach, but if there was even a hint of a comeback, Kerry responded. The minutes before half-time were indicative of this. Galway had plenty of possession and three attacks, including the Comer run, but returned with just two points to show whereas just before the whistle Donncha Walsh popped up to bag a point from an isolated effort.
The margin grew from four and five to five and six and so on until Kerry won by eight.
KERRY: 1. Brian Kelly; 2. Fionn Fitzgerald, 3. Mark Griffin, 4. Shane Enright; 5. Peter Crowley, 6. Tadhg Morley, 7. Paul Murphy (0-2); 8. David Moran (0-2), 9. Jack Barry; 10. Michael Geamey, 11. Johnny Buckley (capt.; 0-2), 12. Donncha Walsh (0-1); 13. Paul Geaney (0-4, one free), 14. Kieran Donaghy (1-1), 15. James O'Donoghue (0-1, free).
Subs: 18. Stephen O’Brien (0-2) for M Geaney (38 mins), 20. Jack Savage (0-1) for O’Donoghue (49 mins), 17. Anthony Maher for Barry (54 mins), 21. Barry John Keane (0-2) for Donaghy (57 mins), 22. Killian Young for Morley (63 mins), 19. Jonathan Lyne for Walsh (67 mins).
GALWAY: 1. Bernard Power; 3. Declan Kyne, 22. David Walsh, 2. Eoghan Kerin; 6. Gary O'Donnell (capt.), 5. Gareth Bradshaw, 7. Liam Silke; 8. Paul Conroy, 10. Tom Flynn ; 9. Johnny Heaney (0-1), 11. Michael Daly (0-1), 13. Shane Walsh (0-1, free); 14. Damien Comer, 15. Seán Armstrong (0-4, one free), 12. Ian Burke (0-5, one free).
Subs: 4. Cathal Sweeney for D Walsh (39 mins), 23. Eamonn Brannigan (0-1) for S Walsh (44 mins), 19. Michael Farragher for Bradshaw (53 mins), 21. Fiontán ó Curraoin for Daly (57 mins), 18. Cillian McDaid for Flynn (63 mins), 26. Danny Cummins for Armstrong (66 mins).
