No Clifford, no problem as East Kerry secure comfortable semi-final win

Paudie Clifford of East Kerry in action against Jordan Conway of St Brendan's during the Kerry County Senior Football Championship Semi-Final match. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

East Kerry 1-11 St Brendan’s Board 0-8

No David Clifford, no fuss.

East Kerry, minus the services of the suspended All-Star forward, were in no way troubled when moving within one hour of back-to-back Kerry county titles.

All told, this was a most disappointing semi-final contest - if you could even call it that. The second-half, certainly, was a total non-event.

That East Kerry could afford to kick seven consecutive wides between the 33rd minute and three-quarter hour mark without the slightest inroad being made on their then six-point lead lays bare the paucity of the St Brendan’s challenge.

The winners registered nine second-half wides, in total, and only four points, and yet still managed to outscore their opponents in the second half an hour.

St Brendan’s - fallers at the semi-final hurdle for a second year running - failed to raise a flag of any description between the 26th and 54th minute. And while a pair of Diarmuid O’Connor points did put them within five of their opponents four minutes from the end, they then proceeded to launch - in unmasked desperation - high ball after high ball in on top of their full-forward line in search of the required goal. To no avail, however. Paul Murphy used his bank of experience to redeploy himself as a sweeper in front of the full-back line and was on hand to swallow up any breaking ball.

Where East Kerry were intelligent, Brendan’s were without ideas.

Lively full-forward Darragh Roche could have had a second East Kerry goal approaching the finish, but ‘keeper Eoghan O’Brien was equal to the shot.

Roche’s fourth free of the evening brought the curtain down on a forgettable fare and while he will be reunited in the inside line with Clifford in a fortnight, it will be a difficult call as to who loses out. Mike Foley stood in for the two-time All-Star this evening, but given the Spa man's solid first-half showing, which included a point, the dropped player may come from further out the field.

Dara Moynihan of East Kerry, 10, attempts to tackle Jack Barry of St Brendan's. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

In sharp contrast to their second-half wastefulness, East Kerry were certainly the more clinical in the first-half, if not the more dominant when it came to possession or chances created.

Brendan’s would have been most frustrated with their final product in attack, particularly during the opening quarter where they managed just one point from six very scorable opportunities. One of those chances was a green-flag opening, ‘keeper Shane Ryan repelling Trevor Wallace’s snatched effort inside the first minute.

Both Ivan Parker and Eoghan O’Brien endured a difficult first-half from the placed-ball, both men kicking a pair of wides apiece. One Parker free which came back down off the post ended with a Darragh Moynihan fisted point at the other end. The Kerry senior, who would double his tally two minutes later to move East Kerry 0-4 to 0-1 clear, was afforded far too much space down the right flank throughout the opening half.

Brendan’s belatedly located the radar either side of the water break, points from Jordan Conway, Eoghan O’Brien (free), Michael Kelliher, and Thomas Kerins saw the underdogs thrice come within the minimum of their opponents.

Crucially, though, they never got back on level terms. Their best opportunity to do so was a Parker free which drifted narrowly wide three minutes from the break.

In the subsequent action, St Brendan’s were punished for failing to deal with a Mike Foley shot to come back off the post, Evan Cronin gathering possession and drilling home the game’s sole major.

He added a point in the next play to leave the champions 1-7 to 0-5 in front at the break.

They never looked back from there, neither were they made to.

Scorers for East Kerry: E Cronin (1-2); D Roche (0-5, 0-4 frees); D Moynihan (0-2); P Clifford, M Foley (0-1 each).

Scorers for St Brendan’s: D O’Connor (0-2); E O’Brien (0-1 free), T Kerins, I Parker (0-1 free), M Kelliher, J Conway, A Barry (0-1 each).

East Kerry: S Ryan (Rathmore); N Donohue (Firies), J Sherwood (Firies), C O’Donoghue (Glenflesk); S Cronin (Spa), P Murphy (Rathmore), D O’Donoghue (Spa); M Ryan (Rathmore), R Buckley (Listry); D Moynihan (Spa), P Clifford (Fossa), B O’Keeffe (Rathmore); M Foley (Spa), D Roche (Glenflesk), E Cronin (Spa).

Subs: D O’Brien (Glenflesk) for M Ryan (50); D Spillane (Spa) for Foley (53); J O’Donoghue (Glenflesk) for O’Keeffe (60); B O’Donoghue (Glenflesk) for E Cronin (62); P Doyle (Gneeveguilla) for Roche (63).

St Brendan’s: E O’Brien (Churchill); T Wallace (Ardfert), L Bastible (John Mitchels), F Barry (Na Gaeil); K Dwyer (St Pat’s), T Kerins (John Mitchels), J Conway (St Pat’s); J Barry (Na Gaeil), D O’Connor (Na Gaeil); I McCarthy (Na Gaeil), D Griffin (Ardfert), C Fitzgerald (Churchill); A O’Donoghue (John Mitchels), I Parker (Churchill), M Kelliher (John Mitchels).

Subs: T Lenihan (Churchill) for McCarthy (HT); D O’Callaghan (St Pat’s) for Kelliher, B Barrett (Ardfert) for Griffin (both 37); J Lenihan (Churchill) for Fitzgerald (43); A Barry (Na Gaeil) for Dwyer (49).

Referee: B Griffin.