Hard-earned victory makes Kerry’s famous five in a row all the sweeter
Thirty games unbeaten. 1,856 days since the county last came off second best in a minor football championship fixture.
A first-ever five-in-a-row at minor level.
For Kerry, there was history made at Croke Park yesterday. For the group of players who made that so, there was the perfect satisfaction at having reached the heights scaled by the four teams who came before them.
Peter Keane has been responsible for three of Kerry’s five consecutive All-Ireland minor crowns. For him, this was the sweetest of the lot.
Why so?
First off, there was the age of eligibility dropping to U17, meaning there was no survivor from last year’s group. Moreover, because no Kerry school made the Hogan Cup final in springtime, the first time since 2013 this has happened, none of Keane’s players had lined out at Croke Park prior to the narrow semi-final win over Monaghan, a game where they trailed the Ulster champions as the clock ran into second-half stoppages.
This was pure new in every sense of the word, that is probably what made it doubly [sweet],” said the victorious manager.
What would have also heightened the collective fulfilment in the winner’s enclosure was the manner in which Kerry dug out this result.
The four-point winning margin, the same as the 2014 triumph over Donegal, was the smallest of this collection of five All-Irelands.
In that first final win of this sequence, however, Kerry didn’t have to come from eight behind to get the job done. Indeed, you’d have to go back through the history books to find the last occasion a Kerry minor team was hit for 1-7 without reply to leave them eight adrift of the opposition.
That was exactly the scenario they faced 26 minutes into this contest.
Galway, despite being 0-4 to 0-1 in arrears after 10 minutes, thundered into proceedings in the subsequent quarter of an hour. The half-back line of Ryan Monahan, Tony Gill and Cathal Sweeney, as they have done all summer, tore forward at every opportunity, with midfielder Conor Raftery equally effective when arriving into the scoring zone.
Eoghan Tinney, Matthew Cooley (0-4, three frees), Liam Judge and Raftery all kicked points, with Gill sliding the ball into the Kerry net on 24 minutes after Daniel Cox’s initial effort was stopped. It left Galway 1-8 to 0-4 ahead and seemingly in control.
Cork and Monaghan may have asked questions of the Kingdom in the Munster and All-Ireland semi-finals respectively, but not to this extent.
This was an entirely different equation for the Kerry youngsters to try and solve.
Indeed, with the supply of ball inside having reduced to a trickle, the Kerry management was forced to bring top-scorer Paul Walsh away from the Galway danger area and try and involve him further out.
Killian Falvey ended their 16-minute wait for a point and of the four remaining scores tallied in the opening half, three were kicked by a teenager wearing green and gold. It certainly wasn’t a case of the pendulum oscillating towards Kerry, rather Galway becoming terribly wasteful in possession.
Walsh and Falvey angled over two important scores in first-half stoppages, the interval scoreline of 1-9 to 0-8 wholly unreflective of the Tribes’ first-half superiority.
Donal Ó Fátharta’s side had earned a reputation for being a second-half team, such were their come-from-behind victories against Clare and Meath in the All-Ireland quarter and semi-final. Here, they didn’t raise a flag for the opening 14 minutes of the second-half, again squandering a host of chances, as Kerry went about wiping out their lead.
Michael Lenihan, Walsh (free), Dylan Geaney (0-2) and a huge Darragh Rahilly kick edged the Munster champions into a 0-13 to 1-9 advantage.
From there to the 59th minute, this contest was level four times. Kerry, though, were slowly turning the screw. The maroon half-back line was no longer being allowed charge forward, Kerry now feasting under the Galway restart. Paul O’Shea was conducting matters around the middle, Falvey and sub Ó Beaglaoích razor sharp further forward.
No more than the end of the first-half, Kerry produced one sizeable burst for the line. In the space of 75 seconds, Walsh, Falvey and Ó Beaglaoích split the posts to put the favourites three clear. In a flash, the game had gone from Galway.
Seven minutes of injury-time was allotted. No use it was to Galway. Their error count continued to rise in tandem with Kerry’s points tally. Jack O’Connor (free) and Falvey wrapped up the county’s 16th All-Ireland minor crown.
The drive for five complete.
P Walsh (0-1 free), K Falvey (0-4) each; R Ó Beaglaoích, D Rahilly (0-3 each); P O’Shea (0-1 free, 0-1 ‘45), D Geaney (0-2 each); J O’Connor (0-1 free), D McCarthy, M Lenihan (0-1 each).
M Cooley (0-5, 0-4 frees); T Gill (1-0); C Raftery, T Culhane (0-2 each); R Monahan, P Kelly, L Judge, E Tinney, O Gormley (0-1 each).
M Kelliher (Glenflesk); C Moriarty (Annascaul), O Fitzgerald (Gneeveguilla), C Flannery (Dingle); D McCarthy (Kenmare), D Murphy (Rathmore), D Mangan (Laune Rangers); D Lyne (Legion), P O’Shea (Kilcummin); D Rahilly (Rathmore), P D’Arcy (Glenflesk), K Falvey (Annascaul); P Walsh (Brosna), M Lenihan (Dr Crokes), D Geaney (Dingle).
R Ó Beaglaoích (An Ghaeltacht) for D’Arcy (42 mins); K O’Donoghue (Legion) for Mangan (54); J Kennelly (Ballydonoghue) for Lenihan (55); J O’Connor (Beaufort) for Walsh (63).
D Halloran (Cortoon Shamrocks); C Deane (Moycullen), E Walsh (Cortoon Shamrocks), S Black (Clifden); R Monahan (Oughterard), C Sweeney (Salthill Knocknacarra), T Gill (Corofin); P Kelly (Moycullen), C Raftery (Glenamaddy); S Horkan (St Gabriel’s), A Halloran (Salthill Knocknacarra), L Judge (Caherlistrane); E Tinney (Salthill Knocknacarra), M Cooley (Corofin), D Cox (Moycullen).
O McCormack (Ballinasloe) for Horkan (38 mins); T Culhane (Clane, Kildare) for Cox (45); O Gormley (Bearna) for A Halloran (47); C Halbard (Corofin) for Sweeney (51, inj); C Hernon (Bearna) for Judge (55); E McCormack (An Cheathru Rua) for Cooley (64).
S Hurson (Tyrone).
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