Kerry survive the numbers game in Omagh finale
Had Kerry scored one point more, they would today be preparing for a Division 1 semi-final because of the draw in Castlebar. One point less, and they would have suffered the indignity of relegation for the first time since 2002.
The fringes were that flimsy but boiled down, they were mere ifs and buts. Kerry survived with a draw that sent Tyrone down, but they were just as close to dropping through the trap door at the hands of a Harte-less sideline and with a goalkeeper who came out of retirement for this encounter.
Kerry can’t complain too much with their lot. They were fortunate here in 2013 to stay up courtesy of a Paul Mannion equaliser in Ballybofey. They couldn’t expect Donegal to help them yesterday by winning in Castlebar.
They were also lucky not to have been sanctioned further by referee Joe McQuillan, who replaced Eddie Kinsella. The free count read 29-14 against the All-Ireland champions and was a fair reflection on how Kerry went about their business, particularly without the ball.
Admittedly, they mixed the dark arts with the majesty of some superb second-half scores. The confusion and stress Kieran Donaghy caused the Tyrone full-back line following a frustrating first half was the latest affirmation he is carrying on his excellent form from the tail-end of last year.
But without the ball, Kerry were the more physical side. All but one of their six yellow cards came in the final 20 minutes, just as they had managed to edge ahead of Tyrone. At least one of them should have been a black card as that shown to Stephen O’Brien in the 42nd minute for a hand trip. David Moran and Darran O’Sullivan could have been sent to the line too, while Jonathan Lyne committed three fouls, which were punished by converted frees.
If Eamonn Fitzmaurice was relieved to stay up, he wasn’t broadcasting it afterwards. “It seems to be the pattern of our leagues that we only barely hang on and I think the lads are saying there if we had held on for the win, that we would have qualified for the league semi-final, the way the result in Castlebar went.
“It was a tight league. We didn’t play especially well but did enough to get a draw that keeps us up, so overall, today was almost like the story of our league: a mixed league where we have been good in games and poor in games and like today a mixed bag, good at times and poor at times.”
It was Darren McCurry’s injury-time equalising point that ultimately denied Kerry a semi-final berth. Why McCurry went for the score when Tyrone needed a goal to send their opponents down in their stead will remain a mystery. Just prior to it, Mattie Donnelly shot for goal from an acute angle, only to be foiled by a combination of Brendan Kealy’s fingers and a post.
That would have put Tyrone ahead for the first time since the 43rd minute, a stage when Kerry drew level on the way to scoring 1-2 in the space of two minutes. Donaghy was central to Paul Geaney’s 45th minute goal, gathering Lyne’s diagonal ball and off-loading to Darran O’Sullivan, whose blocked shot fell to Geaney to net.
Sean Cavanagh should have done better with a goal chance a minute later but his side eventually drew level with five minutes to go.
Just prior to that, Colm Cooper had made his long-awaited entrance and was a key cog in Kerry running down the clock in possession. Anthony Maher’s 67th-minute score was the culmination of a sophisticated web of hand-passes.
A McCurry free drew Tyrone level once more before Cooper delivered a sumptuous cross-field kick to Donaghy at the edge of the square, and he fisted the ball over for a point.
Late drama ensued but Kerry held on, just about bettering their first half when they trailed by 0-8 to 0-7 at the break. That half was punctuated by some excellent long-range scores as each team tackled the other’s stacked defences.
“We weren’t accurate enough in the first half and our ball-handling was a bit off and it felt we did well to be only a point down at half-time,” Fitzmaurice reflected. “To be fair to Tyrone, they came out and really went at us. The second half was a good bit better but in the end, you’d have felt we should have held on for the win.”
Maybe so but Kerry – sixth for the third year running in Division 1 – can’t say they’re not consistent.
D McCurry (0-7, 2 frees); S Cavanagh (0-6, frees); P Harte, M Donnelly, R McNabb, Joe McMahon (0-1 each).
B Sheehan (0-4, 3 frees); P Geaney (1-1); J Buckley, P Murphy (0-2 each); D Moran, P Geaney, D O’Sullivan, A Maher, K Donaghy (0-1 each).
Joe McMahon for P McNulty, C McAliskey for P Hughes (both h-t); PJ Lavery for T McCann (52); R O’Neill for Justin McMahon (58); C McCann for R McKenna (67).
P Geaney for BJ Keane (18); D O’Sullivan for A Fitzgerald (half-time); T Walsh for S O’Brien (black card, 42); M Ó Sé for P Crowley (54); C Cooper for B Sheehan (62); F Fitzgerald for K Young (65).
J McQuillan (Cavan)
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