Shannon Blues provided Kerry with a golden opportunity to
pull off a big win, but the Kingdom failed to take it. With the scores tied early in the second
half, Blues center back, Dennis McElligott, was tagged with a second yellow
card. As the game wore on however, it
was the Kerrymen who seemed to tire, while the Blues used the ball well to make
the most of their opportunities, and outscore their arch rivals by 4 points to
win the game.
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| Shane Briggs and Kerry Matched the Blues in the first half. |
Kerry put it up to their opponents in the opening
period. The Blues introduced a face from
last year, Darragh Treacy lined out in the middle of the field alongside James
Walsh, forming a formidable midfield partnership. The Blues got on the board first with a
couple of points, but Kerry got a lift with a well taken Graham Glenn
goal. The Clareman fisted into the right
spot from just outside the small square.
Croft popped over a couple of dead balls and Kerry were looking
good. A goal was on the cards for the
Blues however. The Kerry defence was
opened up on a couple of occasions, and eventually a foul in the penalty area
drew the signal. Paul O'Connor fired
home low to Lee Stacey's left. It was
O'Connor for the Blues and Croft for Kerry matching each other for scores up
the final whistle. It was a 1-6 each
game at the break.
 |
| But Paul O'Connor and Blues pulled away in the second. |
The second half saw the Blues go down a man after McElligott
was shown a second yellow card, and Kerry fail to capitalize. There was a golden opportunity for a goal
that fell to Croft after the ball was poked across the face of goal. The Dubliner tried to place it, but mishit
the shot and the chance went a begging.
Kerry had a decent handful of chances to score after working the ball
within range, but it looked as though a bit of anxiety crept in and the end
product did not have the desired effect from a Kerry viewpoint.
The Blues on the other hand made good use of the ball, and
also almost had the ball in the net but the post denied Niall Murphy. One score exemplified the precision with
which the Blues were playing. With Kerry
having the extra man in the full back line, Sean O'Connor played a beautiful
ball into Paul O'Connor who was between two Kerry defenders, and O'Connor put
it over the bar. As time went on Kerry
were the side that looked to tire more quickly.
The O'Connor point put the Blues 3 up, and Kerry pulled within one
following two Croft free kicks with minutes left. The Blues, however, finished the stronger
side with three unanswered points to go top of the table. Kerry still in the playoff picture, but this
was one that will leave the Kingdom wondering what they need to do to come out
on the right side of the result.
Kerry: L. Stacey, M.
Godley, A. Fitzgerald, P. Devane, S. Briggs, C. Moriarty, D. Foley, M. Condron,
O. McGreevey, G. Glynn, J. Fitzpatrick, R. Croft, N. Sheehy. Blues:
C. Wallace, S. Kelly, C. Long, T. Wallace, D. McElligott, S. Moriarty , J. Walsh, D. Treacy, M. Brosnan, D.
Clifford, S. O'Connor, P. O'Connor, N. Murphy.
By Rory O'Donnell
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