Kerry keep cool and survive late Laois blitz

Kerry 3-8 Laois 2-8

Then Sue Ramsbottom and Laois erupted, just like they did before taking victory in the league final, against the same opposition. On Saturday, she almost did the same thing. Almost.

In those final frenzied seven minutes, the ball barely passed the Kerry 65m line as Laois, and Ramsbottom pounded Kerry’s last line of defence. Tracey Lawlor, Ramsbottom and Mary Kirwan landed points, before Ramsbottom and Lawlor combined for a goal, upping Laois hopes and Kerry heartbeats.

“Fortunately we were up the seven points,” Kerry boss Robbie Griffin admitted, “but Laois are a very experienced side, we knew they were going to come at us, but what we said at half-time, whether we were three points down or seven points up, we’d have to dig deep for the full 60 minutes. Fortunately we did, it wasn’t good for the heart, but we got through in the end.”

Let’s not count the hat-trick of goal-saving stops made by Kerry keeper Andrea O’Donoghue, the heroics of a Kerry defence in which wing Sarah O’Connor was magnificent, and missed opportunities of the Midlanders.

Ultimately though, goals defined this game. Laois held an early lead and were two points to nil ahead after six minutes, courtesy of Ramsbottom and Lawlor.

Then Kerry full-forward Geraldine O’Shea burst in from the left wing and blasted past Bernie Deegan in the Laois goal. A point from centre-forward Kacey O’Driscoll followed before the Kingdom saluted their second green flag. An intelligent ball out of defence from O’Connor was collected by roving corner-forward Patrice Dennehy. She released hard-running Katie Kenneally, and the Ballyduff girl provided the perfect finish.

To their credit, Laois responded with a goal by Martha Kirwan. The brace of goals, however, helped Kerry to a 2-3 to 1-4 half-time lead.

Kerry’s third goal came less than three minutes into the second half, and it was, effectively, the game winner. O’Driscoll had begun their second half scoring with yet another pointed free and from the resultant kick out, O’Shea’s pace again saw her win possession and race clear. The full-forward found O’Driscoll. Her close-range shot was well saved by Deegan, but Deirdre Corridan was on hand to bang in the rebound.

Midfielder Kathleen O’Reilly had briefly raised Laois hopes with a point from distance, before the Kingdom ladies again took control. For the next 15 minutes it was all Kerry, with a succession of moves rewarded by points from Dennehy, O’Shea on the double and O’Driscoll.

In the end justice prevailed, Kerry were the better team overall, but it was all too close for Robbie Griffin’s comfort. “This has been a tough week for us. We lost the Munster minor final to Cork last Sunday evening and ten of the girls were involved in that. To their credit, they put that behind them and we came back today, dug deep. I think we just wanted it more in the end, that was the difference.”

Scorers for Kerry: G. O’Shea 1-2 (0-1 free); K. O’Driscoll 0-4 (0-3 frees); K. Kenneally 1-0; D. Corridon 1-0; E. O’Connor, P. Dennehy, 0-1 each.

Laois: T. Lawlor 1-2 (0-1 free); Martha Kirwan 1-0; Mary Kirwan 0-3 (frees); S. Ramsbottom 0-2 (0-1 free); K. O’Reilly 0-1.

KERRY: A. O’Donoghue; L. Ross, G. Ni Flatharta, J. Murnane; S. O’Connor, C. Kelly, K. Gleeson; M. Finnegan, E. O’Connor; K. Kenneally, K. O’Driscoll, N. Fealey; P. Dennehy, G. O’Shea (c), D. Corridon. Subs: S. Delaney (Corridon 42); D. Fenton (Ross 56).

LAOIS: B. Deegan; P. Fogarty, A. Connolly, M. Phelan-Mulhall; A. Casey, M. Casey, G. Weston; E. McEvoy, K. O’Reilly; T. Lawlor, S. Ramsbottom, L. Brennan; M. Keogh, Mary Kirwan, Martha Kirwan. Subs: L. Buggy (Weston 37); G. O’Connor (Brennan 42); L. Carroll (Keogh 53).

Referee: J. Murray (Dublin).