David Clifford times it perfectly to come of age for Kerry
Give David Clifford time, people said. Don’t expect too much in his first season at senior, they advised. Think long term.
Looks like nobody told Clifford.
Kerry’s best forward in the opening group stage loss to Galway last Sunday week, the teenager followed it up with another display dripping with maturity. Then he capped it all with a goal that rescued Kerry’s season and who knows what else besides.
David Clifford Goal for @Kerry_Official pic.twitter.com/Oopmmu60yu
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 22, 2018
One kick of the ball and everything changed utterly. Monaghan’s ticket to an All-Ireland semi-final revoked, Kerry’s exit from the championship postponed — and an unseasonal starting point for a winter of discontent and rancour along with it.
There’s no other place to begin a dissection of this absorbing Super 8 draw than with the scene that turned the entire drama on its head: With Kerry three points down, four minutes into injury-time, and on the brink of elimination from the All-Ireland.
Any number of component parts had to be in sync and bang on.
James O’Donoghue had to get his long and high delivery just right, Kieran Donaghy had to do enough in a crowded phone booth of an area to direct the dropping ball to Clifford who, in turn, had to find the corner of the net from the tightest of angles.
“There’s a lot of the forwards that are good, and if they get that chance they could stick it, but obviously David is a fantastic finisher and the ball fell to the right man and he stuck it,” said Éamonn Fitzmaurice.
“That was great for us.”
Monaghan v Kerry Full-time highlights pic.twitter.com/LEUPXktJcs
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 22, 2018
The Kerry manager’s appreciation of the execution and its effect did it little justice. Clifford served up an exquisitely difficult shot under the most extraordinary of pressure. It was as if time stopped for him while the world around melted in a frenzy of noise and spittle.
Otherwordly it may have been but the draw it afforded Kerry amounted to an act of grand larceny on the evidence of everything before it.
This was the sporting equivalent of the Allied Banks and Great Train robberies rolled into one.
Monaghan haven’t been to an All-Ireland semi-final in 30 years — and God knows Kerry have done more than most to bring about that stretch this last 12 years or so — but the Ulster men did more than enough to reach the last four here with a game of the Super 8 to spare.
Or, should have.
They were the better side from the moment Conor McManus fielded a long Kieran Duffy ball forward in the opening minutes, turned Mark Griffin who had lost his bearings and his footing in that order, before planting the ball low into the net.
The Ulster side led from that point through until Clifford’s late thrust of the dagger in injury-time and the wonder is that Kerry were still only five points adrift with as many minutes to play and in a position to mount that late rally.
McManus was sublime, close to unplayable at times. The decision to leave Griffin on him for the entirety of the first half will zip about the airwaves in Kerry for the next fortnight but then Ronan Shanahan struggled on the Farney ace when detailed to the posting after the interval.
The Clontibret forward’s contribution to the scoreboard from play did dip on the restart but he was never less than a pain in the rear to a Kerry defence that succeeded in keeping every other Monaghan attacker scoreless for the duration, but it was no one-man show.
Monaghan dominated the skies for long spells and, Clifford apart, they were equally successful in keeping a lid on the opposing forwards.
Only Sean O’Shea, exceptional from frees, could join the Fossa man in claiming a point from play from the ranks of the starting attackers.
“We have massive respect for them,” said Fitzmaurice of their hosts afterwards.
“We come up against them all the time in the National League. They are always tough games. They are well coached, they have good players.”
Kerry never got to grips with the puzzle placed before them this time. It was one made all the more complicated by the fact that any frees conceded at a distance of up to 60m out were invariably punished by goalkeeper Rory Beggan’s cannon of a boot.
The Monaghan keeper landed four of his half-dozen efforts.
Kerry spent most of the afternoon trying in vain to close the gap fashioned by McManus’ early three-pointer. They would bring it back to two points and then see it yawn again to four. And then they would go and do it all again.
Frustrating wouldn’t be the word for that.
Donaghy, added to the named team along with Brian Kelly who replaced Shane Murphy in goal, spent the afternoon alternating between his post at full-forward and in midfield where they desperately needed a toehold in possession.
It summed up the firefighting that they were all having to do to stay in touch and yet it paid off with the likes of Tom O’Sullivan and Micheal Burns — the latter off the bench — injecting energy and impetus into a stuttering performance.
It escaped no one’s attention that it was the younger generation doing most of the heavy lifting, though, and Kerry will need to find a way of lightening the load on the shoulders of the newly established Clifford & Co if this isn’t to be just some stay of execution.
C McManus (1-9, 0-5 frees); R Beggan (0-4 frees); K O’Connell (0-2); D Hughes, S Carey (both 0-1).
D Clifford (1-3); S O’Shea (0-8, 6 frees and 1 ‘45’);T O’Sullivan (0-2); P Murphy, D Moran and A Maher (all 0-1); S O’Brien (0-1 free).
R Beggan; K Duffy, K O’Connell, R Wylie; D Wylie, V Corey, C Walshe; N Kearns, D Hughes; R McAnespie, D Malone, S Carey; F Kelly, C McManus, C McCarthy.
K Hughes for McCarthy (42); O Duffy for Carey (62); D Mone for Kelly (68).
B Kelly; R Shanahan, M Griffin, T O’Sullivan; P Murphy, P Crowley, G White; D Moran, K Donaghy; K McCarthy, J Barry, S O’Shea; D Clifford, P Geaney, D Clifford.
M Burns for McCarthy (HT); J O’Donoghue for Geaney (49); B O Beaglaoich for Griffin (50); D O’Sullivan for O’Shea (54); F Fitzgerald for White (56-58); A Maher for Barry (63; P Geaney for T O’Sullivan (72).
M Deegan (Laois).
No contest, obviously. David Clifford’s sublimely taken injury-time goal was the difference between Kerry apocalypse and the dream of another All-Ireland title. The teenager was his team’s top scorer from play to boot.
Whether or not they account for Kildare the next day and make the All-Ireland semi-finals, Kerry appear to be a team still desperately searching for an identity and a pattern and a roster of settled personnel.
The GAA had the prayers answered with Clifford’s late goal and Kerry’s unlikely draw.
Without it the Super 8 games in the closing round of fixtures would have been a complete anti-climax.
James O’Donoghue starting from the bench. Paul Geaney taken off and brought back on. No scores from play from four of their six starting forwards. Kerry continue to add up to less than the sum of their parts up front.
Monaghan isolated Conor McManus for long stretches of this one and it left the Clontibret man with acres of room in which to torment Mark Griffin in the first-half.
Leaving Griffin alone on McManus for 35 minutes wasn’t easy to understand but the Monaghan ace proved after the break, when Ronan Shanahan picked him up, that he can be close to unplayable regardless of his attendant. Claimed 1-9 on the day.
Maurice Deegan’s performance was a rich topic of debate for both managers afterwards. Could have shown Kieran Donaghy red for a swinging elbow but settled for yellow. No shortage of debated decisions all told.
Kerry welcome a Kildare side that is playing for little other than pride to Killarney in a fortnight’s time.
Galway and Monaghan meet in Salthill and only two of that trio will progress to the All-Ireland semi-final. Juicy.
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