Clare close gap but still fall short of Kingdom
But on top of what transpired in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, there’s clear evidence that the margins aren’t as wide in Munster football as would be imagined.
Obviously, both Clare and Tipperary were motivated by the unfair seeded draw and steeled by the extra games they have had in contrast to Kerry and Cork who have been sitting on their hands for 11 and 10 weeks respectively.
Had the Division 4 finalists pulled off the wins, we might be terming it as the weekend the whipping boys whipped back or referring to it as The Munster Spring.
But they didn’t and in this latest case Kerry weren’t as troubled as Cork were by Tipperary, extending their lead to six points with two minutes of normal time remaining.
It wasn’t that Clare lost steam, though. Their accuracy in front of goal deteriorated as the game progressed and they had earned their half-time lead, 1-8 to 1-7.
Yet within five minutes of the second half, Kerry had levelled the affair for the sixth occasion and a Paul Geaney point in the 43rd minute, one of six from play from the Dingle man, pushed Kerry into the lead.
They never looked back from that moment on, forcing Clare into high risk shots and restricting them to just five points in the second half.
Bryan Sheehan and Declan O’Sullivan were to the fore in grabbing the semi-final by the scruff of the neck and Kerry were comfortable enough without Anthony Maher for the last 13 minutes of action after the midfielder was red-carded for a second yellow card foul.
But then midfield was regularly ignored by both teams from restarts and David Moran made way in the 23rd minute not because of the heavy strapping around his right knee but as a sacrifice for a new approach.
Darran O’Sullivan also made way at the interval after a solid first half, replaced by Donnchadh Walsh. He too appeared to have picked up a knock to his arm but Eamonn Fitzmaurice revealed both substitutions were tactical.
“We said we’d change it up. We felt David was doing fine but he was marking a forward really in midfield and that can be tough. Darran has had a few injuries and probably wasn’t fully up to game speed and we gave Donnchadh a cut at it.”
Clare themselves had lost Shane Hickey to a black card in the sixth minute but it hardly rocked them as the benefit of their games against Waterford was obvious to see. Kerry were forced into a number of turnovers as their opponents’ intensity shone out.
Yet it was Kerry who grabbed the early initiative with a well-taken Paul Murphy goal, the debutant corner-back slotting the ball past Joe Hayes after creating an overlap following some good work by Stephen O’Brien.
But there were alarm bells for the visitors shortly afterwards as Brian Kelly, also making his first championship start, had to be on his toes to deny David Tubridy. From the parry, Shane Enright then had to make a goal-line clearance from Enda Coughlan.
Clare did find the net in the 18th minute when, after converting three points on the spin to draw level, Shane McGrath expertly shot home after he was set up by the ever-industrious Podge Collins.
The goal sent the home support in the 5,938 crowd into rapturous delight, although Kerry restored parity with three unanswered points by the 23rd minute.
The half ended positively for Clare, Tubridy tagging on a couple of points, one of them originating from a possession conceded cheaply by Sheehan. He, however, was a different player in the second half while Paul Geaney was the toast of the debutants with another three points in that latter period.
“I think all the debutants did quite well,” said Fitzmaurice, “and we’re happy with them. We see them at training so we know what they are capable of.
“I was happy for them to get their first game under their belt. It’s a big deal in Kerry to have a championship jersey so it’s nice for them to have played and see that they are up to it.”
Barry John Keane’s 68th- minute point, putting Kerry six up, put the game beyond Clare.
For the second day in a row, another Munster minnow gave aristocrats a hard time of it.
Paul Geaney’s 52nd- minute point was a clear wide yet it was deemed good by the umpires.
Paul Geaney will rightly pick up the plaudits for his six-point return. Bryan Sheehan and Declan O’Sullivan impressively led the team in the second half.
An early call by David Gough to dismiss Shane Hickey for a cynical foul on Darran O’Sullivan was spot on.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice kept things simple whereas Clare were constantly chopping and changing the positions of their personnel. It worked well for them up to a point.
David Gough’s free count was two to one in Clare’s favour. He managed the game competently.
A second successive Munster final for Kerry against Cork on July 6. Clare’s second round qualifier is the previous day.
Scorers for Clare: S McGrath 1-2; D Tubridy 0-4 (2f); E Coughlan 0-2; M O’Leary (f), S Brennan, S Collins, R Donnelly, C Cleary 0-1 each.
Scorers for Kerry: P Geaney 0-6; B Sheehan 0-4 (1f); P Murphy 1-0; Declan O’Sullivan (f); S O’Brien 0-2 each; A Maher, M Geaney, BJ Keane 0-1 each.
CLARE: J Hayes; D Ryan, M McMahon, K Hartnett; C Russell, Gordon Kelly, S Hickey; S McGrath, G Brennan; S Collins, P Collins, S Brennan; D Tubridy, M O’Leary, E Coughlan.
Subs for Clare: J Malone for S Hickey (bc, 6); R Donnelly for M O’Leary (44); S McNelis for K Hartnett (inj, 53); C O’Connor for S Brennan (60); E Cleary for E Coughlan (69).
KERRY: B Kelly; P Murphy, S Enright, M Ó Sé; P Crowley, K Young, F Fitzgerald; A Maher, D Moran; Darran O’Sullivan, B Sheehan, M Geaney; S O’Brien, Declan O’Sullivan, P Geaney.
Subs for Kerry: A O’Mahony for D Moran (23); D Walsh for Darran O’Sullivan (ht); J Lyne for M Geaney (55); BJ Keane for S O’Brien (63); P Kilkenny for F Fitzgerald, K Donaghy for P Geaney (both 68).
Red card: A Maher (59, second yellow).
Referee: D Gough (Meath).
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