Kerry master conditions but Donegal fold tamely in the storm
To frame this contest as Kerry versus Donegal would be inaccurate. The primary battle here was between the home side and Storm Franklin.
Not long after Maurice Deegan’s last whistle had sounded and the unused Kerry substitutes finished their post-match sprints, a heavy fall of sleet battered the empty Killarney field. It was about the only element of weather Kerry and Donegal were spared on this dog of an afternoon in Killarney.
Chances are, mind, that Jack O’Connor’s charges would have made light of the shower, as they did everything else they had to negotiate en route to maintaining their unbeaten league start.
Indeed, what would have surprised them most yesterday was that the questions they were asked came not from the visiting Donegal, rather the relentless gale and the near-impossible playing conditions it fostered.
Declan Bonner’s troops, if we’re being blunt, were truly dreadful.
Aside from the opening 12 minutes, at the end of which Donegal stood level with Kerry at 0-2 apiece and were showing an impressive indifference to the storm they were playing into, the visitors folded up shop as tamely as the many cheap umbrellas that had already given way around the ground.
Rarely has the Fitzgerald Stadium terrace been so sparsely populated for a Kerry football fixture, those few brave - and foolish - souls who shunned the main stand dressed more for a hike up Carrauntoohil than an Allianz League game. This writer even spotted two terrace fanatics wearing the in-fashion Dry Robe, a piece of clothing more associated with Inch and Banna than matchday in Killarney.
It was that cold and that wet of an afternoon, and so all the more impressive was Kerry’s adapting to the storm, particularly so in the second period when they outscored their gale-backed opponents.
In a first half understandably littered with misplaced passes and an amount of handling errors, a sprinkling of Kerry points went against the weather-dictated grain for their precision and cohesive build-up.
Lively corner-back Dan O’Donoghue got forward to kick a fine point midway through the half, while Paudie Clifford’s 32nd-minute effort emanated from an O’Donoghue steal close to the Kerry goal.
The half’s outstanding score was the last to arrive in the opening 35 minutes. Adrian Spillane’s persistence forced the Donegal turnover in the corner before possession was worked through the hands of Paudie Clifford, Dara Moynihan, and finisher Killian Spillane.
Seven without reply saw Kerry lead 0-9 to 0-2 turning around for the second period, Donegal having gone the last 23 minutes of the half without adding to their tally. So starved were the Donegal forwards of possession during this period that, at one stage, inside forward Patrick McBrearty was the deepest lying Donegal player on the field, giving an indication of just how far he had to travel to get his hands on the ball.
Seven points was a most closeable gap considering the strength of the gale, but instead of Donegal intent and directness upon the change of ends, they rose only one white flag in the 20 minutes after half-time. Six points was as close as Donegal came to their hosts in the second period.
A fortuitous goal from sub David Clifford on 49 minutes - his miscued point attempt slipped in past Shaun Patton - put the tin hat on proceedings, with the excellent Seán O’Shea kicking his fifth point of the afternoon shortly after to stretch Kerry’s advantage into double-digit territory (1-10 to 0-3).
Donegal responded with four in a row from Shane O’Donnell, Conor O’Donnell, and McBrearty (0-2), but summing up their day was the absolute meal Ryan McHugh made of a late goal chance. The two-time All-Star, instead of taking the easier option and shooting himself, overcooked his handpass to McBrearty who was in a far less clearcut position.
McHugh’s subsequent slamming of the ground was a metaphor for Donegal’s collective frustration — not even the absence of the injured Michael Murphy, Caolan McGonagle, Michael Langan, and Jamie Brennan could excuse their Killarney inertia.
“Disappointed with most of that second-half performance. We didn’t [take the initiative], got turned over, and missed a number of opportunities. It’s always a difficult place to get a result but the performance wasn’t good enough to get something,” said Bonner.
For Kerry’s part, they left three second-half goals behind them. And yet, they still scored more against the elements than Donegal did with them.
The stony grey soil of Inniskeen is next for O'Connor's crew. But as they showed yesterday, grey and bleak is a backdrop they can work with and around.
S O’Shea (0-7, 0-2 frees, 0-1 sideline); D Clifford (1-1); K Spillane (0-2); P Clifford, P Geaney, D O’Donoghue (0-1 each).
P McBrearty (0-1 free), S O’Donnell, C O’Donnell (0-2 each); E Bán Gallagher (0-1).
S Ryan; D O’Donoghue, J Foley, T O’Sullivan; P Murphy, T Morley, B Ó Beaglaíoch; D O’Connor, J Barry; A Spillane, S O’Shea, D Moynihan; K Spillane, P Geaney, P Clifford.
S O’Brien for A Spillane (13-21 mins, temporary); D Clifford for K Spillane (43); S O’Brien for A Spillane (54); T Brosnan for Geaney (57); J Savage for P Clifford (64); G Horgan for Barry (66).
S Patton; B McCole, C Ward, O McFadden Ferry; E Bán Gallagher, P Brennan, P Mogan; J McGee, H McFadden; S O’Donnell, C Thompson, R O’Donnell; R McHugh, C O’Donnell, P McBrearty.
S McMenamin for Brennan (41); N O’Donnell for R O’Donnell (43); O Gallen for McFadden (50); D Ó Baoill for S O’Donnell (66); E O’Donnell for McFadden Ferry (70).
M Deegan (Laois).
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