Sunday, June 7th 2026 - Men's Senior Football Championship - Shannon Blues vs Kerry Boston

Shannon Blues vs Kerry Boston

Sunday, June 7th 2026, 3:30PM

Shannon Blues 4-13 | Kerry Boston 2-21

The second round of the Men's Senior Football Championship got underway in the Canton heat.

Both sides had goal chances early in the game, with Kerry's effort drifting just wide while the Blues struck the post.

The Blues opened the scoring with a point from Brendan O'Hagan after James Austen laid it off to him with a hand pass. The Blues then broke through on goal after some quick hand passing and Paddy Kelly found the back of the net for his side.

Joe Cooper won the breaking ball from a kickout and laid it off to Matthew Flaherty, who kicked it into Steven Palmer. Palmer pointed to get Kerry up and running.

Kerry's Andrew Moynihan then broke down the middle and laid it off to Joe Cooper, who pointed a 2-pointer for Kerry. The scoreboard read 1-1 to 0-3.

The Blues patiently attacked next and Jack Higgins pointed for his side. Kerry's Colm Clifford won a kickout which led to Kevin Lahiff pointing for Kerry, making the score 1-2 to 0-4 after 12 minutes.

The Blues drove forward quickly and James Austen got through on goal for the Blues, but his effort was pointed over the bar. Rian Fitzpatrick gathered the breaking ball from a kickout and laid it off to Brendan O'Hagan, who found Jack Higgins. Higgins made no mistake in finding the back of the net for the Blues' second goal, making it 2-3 to 0-4.

Kerry responded with a 2-pointer from Matthew Flaherty. Kevin Lahiff added another point following a hand pass from John Cooper. Joe Cooper then pointed a free for Kerry, bringing it back to a one-point game at 2-3 to 0-8.

Kerry then broke through the Blues defence again and Mikey Kerr found the back of the net to put Kerry ahead by two, 2-3 to 1-8.

Andrew Moynihan won the next kickout and found Joe Cooper, who pointed another 2-pointer to extend Kerry's lead, making it 2-3 to 1-10.

The Blues had another goal chance, but Jack Higgins' effort drifted just wide. Ryan O'Donnell added a point for the Blues before another promising attack was denied by some strong Kerry defending.

The Blues patiently worked the ball forward again and Rian Fitzpatrick pointed for his side. Joe Cooper added another 2-pointer off his left boot just before the break.

Half-time:

Shannon Blues 2-5 | Kerry Boston 1-12

Joe Cooper opened the scoring in the second half with a point to extend Kerry's lead to five. Blake Murphy then converted a 2-pointer free for the Blues.

Conor Fitzgerald fisted the ball down from a kickout and it found its way to Jack Higgins, who made no mistake in burying it in the back of the net for the Blues' third goal, levelling the game at 3-7 to 1-13.

Some good hand passing between the Kerry forwards led to Dylan Murtagh pointing for his side to put Kerry back in front. Joe Cooper followed up with a pointed free to make it 3-7 to 1-15.

Steven Palmer and John Cooper then added a point each for Kerry, extending their lead to four, 3-7 to 1-17.

Rian Fitzpatrick got the Blues back in touch with a 2-pointer to bring it back to a two-point game. The Blues added another point when Jack Higgins laid it off to Paddy Kelly, who split the posts. Joe Cooper pointed another free for Kerry, leaving the scoreboard reading 3-10 to 1-18 in Kerry's favour.

The Blues broke through the Kerry defence and Cian Hughes found the back of the net for the Blues' fourth and final goal of the day, making it 4-10 to 1-18.

Jack Doyle fisted over a point for Kerry before Kerry were awarded a free. Joe Cooper went short with it and found Steven Palmer, who buried the ball in the back of the net to make it 4-10 to 2-19. Kerry now led by three points.

The Blues pointed a free to reduce the deficit to two, but Kerry replied with a point from substitute number 17. The Blues responded through Paddy Kelly before Kerry added another point following a strong run from Andrew Moynihan, making it 4-12 to 2-21.

The Blues had another goal chance when Blake Murphy broke through, but some good Kerry defending kept them out and resulted in a 45.

Murphy got underneath the resulting 45 and his effort dropped into the square, where Kerry's Robbie Croft fisted it away for another 45. Murphy stepped up again and pointed it over for the final score of the game.

The referee blew the full-time whistle shortly afterwards and Kerry secured the win after a high-scoring contest between the sides.

Full-time:

Shannon Blues 4-13 | Kerry Boston 2-21

Teams & Scorers:

Shannon Blues:

1. Eoin Blanchfield
2. Fionn Duggan
3. Cian O'Donohue
4. Ryan O'Donnell (0-1)
5. Ryan Nugent
6. Rian Fitzpatrick (0-3, x1 2-pointer)
7. Brendan O'Hagan (0-1)
8. Dean Sherlock
9. Conor Fitzgerald
10. Jack Higgins (2-1)
11. James Austen (0-1)
12. Paddy Kelly (1-2)
13. Cian Hughes (1-0)

Subs: Blake Murphy 0-3 x1 2-pointer 

Kerry Boston:

1. Charlie Thomison
2. Colm Clifford
3. Jack Doyle (0-1)
4. Kevin Cooper
5. John Cooper (0-1)
6. Walter Hally
7. Andrew Moynihan
8. Dylan Murtagh (0-1)
9. Mikey Kerr (1-0)
10. Matthew Flaherty (0-2, x1 2-pointer)
11. Kevin Lahiff (0-2)
12. Joe Cooper (0-11, x3 2-pointers)
13. Steven Palmer (1-2)

Subs: #17 (0-1)

Referee: Neil McEnaney