Shannon Blues 2-15 Kerry 4-9
Kerry finally came away with a reward for their efforts after
a tremendously exciting game of football.
Conditions were poor following a night and morning of heavy rain,
however the teams coped well and there was some great football and scores, with
the lead changing hands and momentum swinging from one side to the other over
the course of the 60 minutes. Kerry
could have won it with some chances for an insurance score in injury time,
however the Blues took advantage of the opportunity and Denis McElligott put
the leveling point over the bar with the final kick of the game.
 |
| Dennis McElligott had the final say with the equalizing point on Sunday. |
Kerry, as they have done in their games so far this season,
took the break with a lead. It was a
five point cushion that they started the second half with. Three goals, one each from Robbie Croft,
Shane O’Callaghan, and Phil O’Sullivan, put Kerry in the driver’s seat after
the Blues had rattled off two quick points to open the game.
The Blues took the opportunity of a penalty to close what
was a seven point gap. Trevor Wallace
did the honors from the spot, and was soon followed by Darrage Roche with a
second Blues goal. Kerry settled after
being hit with the second goal to put some points over the bar, the pick of
which was a Maurice Fitzgeraldesque effort from Croft from the sideline. O’Sullivan’s goal, Kerry’s third, restored
the Kerry advantage to see them into half time on top by five points.
The Blues picked up a head of steam in the second half. Greg Horan was the key in the middle of the
field. Kerry were unable to cope with
the Austin Stacks man and the Blues enjoyed the vast majority of the
possession. The Blues forwards made hay
with the bounty of possession that came their way and outscored Kerry by 10
points to one over the first 17 minutes of the second period. Roche put a couple of beautiful efforts over
the bar, Denis McElligott two from the wing, and Padraig O’Shea from wing back
also got his name on the scoresheet.
 |
| The Kerry corner backs were under pressure for much of the second half. |
Kerry were struggling to move the ball and resorted to the
short kickouts to try and find a way past what was like a solid Blues
wall. The Kingdom eventually had some
success, a Croft free and a point from play following a botched short kickout
brought Kerry within two points. A
fourth goal for Kerry from O’Callaghan gave Kerry a one point advantage heading
into the last 5 minutes as fortune favoured the men in green and gold once
again. The sides traded points, Dwyer
leveled for the Blues before Croft got Kerry back up by one. Again the Blues leveled and Kerry got back
ahead, this time it was Sean O’Driscoll.
After Kerry failed to take advantage of two great chances for an
insurance point the Blues salvaged the point with a Denis McElligott score to
finish the game and on the balance of things, a fair result. The draw with the Blues will provide Kerry
with some belief heading into four critical championship games where a couple
of wins will be needed, and might not do the Blues any harm either.
Kerry: S. Enright, J.
Barry, D. Larkin, R. O’Driscoll, L. Healy, J. O’Shea, D. Foley, E. Mullan, P.
O’Sullivan, S. O’Driscoll, J. O’Keefe, R. Croft, S. O’Callaghan. Blues:
D. O’Brien, T. Wallace, C. Jordan, P. O’Shea, L. O’Connell, D. Clifford,
W. Guthrie, G. Horan, D. McElligott, K. Hurley, D. Wallace, D. Roche, B.
O’Dwyer.
By Rory O'Donnell
No comments:
Post a Comment