Patchy day for Kerry stars as Munster bite the dust

Ulster 3-17 Munster 1-15: Kerry men have been leaving Dublin empty handed for quite a while now and Kingdom duo Aidan O’Mahony and Tommy Walsh experienced more of the same yesterday. Defeat while on interprovincial duty at a near empty Parnell Park won’t of course sting like a loss at nearby Croke Park to the Dubs in August or September.

Still, neither player, particularly O’Mahony, will reflect too fondly on an afternoon in front of around 100 — including GAA President Aogan O Fearghail — at the north-Dublin venue.

O’Mahony, the only Kerry player from this year’s Championship panel in the Munster setup, captained the team but was black carded after just 27 minutes.

His exit occurred during a period of Ulster dominance with Pete McGrath’s side in the throes of scoring 2-7 without reply, a haul that went a long way to securing victory and a final clash with Connacht.

As for Walsh, the outing — a little like Shane O’Rourke with Leinster the previous day — was interpreted as an opportunity to impress county management and to earn a recall for the 2017 season. Ex-AFL man Walsh started at full-forward and dropped out to midfield for a period though failed to exert his influence on the game and was restricted to a single fisted point.

In contrast was the performance of Peter Harte, Tyrone’s All-Star forward, who lit up the afternoon with an excellent display for Ulster.

Harte finished up with 1-8 and scored his goal from a 59th minute penalty kick following earlier northern net blasts by Aidan Breen and Enda Lynn. Ulster led 2-9 to 0-6 at the break, though suspicions of a rout were well off.

Munster restarted with gusto and outscored Ulster by 1-5 to 0-2 in the third quarter. Clare’s Jamie Malone got the goal and fellow Banner man David Tubridy hit three points as a sub.

Three points was as close as Munster came though and Ulster finished strong, converting that late penalty for a slightly flattering eight-point winning margin.

Scorers for Ulster:

P. Harte (1-8, 4 frees, 1-0 pen), S. Campbell (0-5), T. Corrigan (0-4, 2 frees), E. Lynn and A. Breen (1-0).

Scorers for Munster:

P. Whyte (0-4, 3 frees), J. Malone (1-0), D. Tubridy (0-3), I. Corbett (0-2), G. Brennan, T. Walsh, B. Fox, K. Sexton, R. Deane and C. Sweeney (0-1f) (0-1 each).

ULSTER:

N. Morgan (Tyrone); D. O’Hagan (Down), K. Clarke (Cavan), M. Jones (Fermanagh); T. McCann (Tyrone), C. Moynagh (Cavan), A. Breen (Fermanagh); E. Donnelly (Fermanagh)(C), C. Vernon (Armagh); K. Niblock (Antrim), P. Harte (Tyrone), E. Lynn (Derry); S. Campbell (Armagh), C. McAliskey (Tyrone), T. Corrigan (Fermanagh).

Subs:

M. Bradley (Tyrone) for McAliskey (38), R. Johnston (Down) for Lynn (43), N. Sludden (Tyrone) for Moynagh (43), T. Kernan (Armagh) for Niblock (46), D. McCusker (Fermanagh) for McCann (50), G. McGovern (Down) for Jones (59), McAliskey for Bradley (60), C. Snow (Fermanagh) for Morgan (62).

MUNSTER:

E. Comerford (Tipperary); K. Hartnett (Clare), A. Campbell (Tipperary), T. O’Gorman (Waterford); I. Corbett (Waterford), C. Dorman (Cork), C. O’Driscoll (Cork); G. Brennan (Clare), A. O’Mahony (Kerry)(C); J. Malone (Clare), P. Whyte (Waterford), K. O’Driscoll (Cork); E. Cleary (Clare), T. Walsh (Kerry), C. Sweeney (Tipperary).

Subs:

D. Tubridy (Clare) for Cleary (20), P. Hurney (Waterford) for Sweeney (20), B. Fox (Tipperary) for K O’Driscoll (28), D. Treacy (Limerick) for O’Mahony (29, black card), R. Deane (Cork) for Brennan (h/t), K. Sexton (Clare) for Whyte (h/t), Brennan for Malone (39), K. O’Driscoll for Walsh (44), Sweeney for Hurney (50), M. Quinlivan (Tipperary) for Treacy (54), C. Hendrick (Tipperary) for Comerford (59).

Referee:

A. Nolan (Wicklow).