Ravenous Listowel humble favourites Castleisland Desmonds in North Kerry final

Whether they were affected by the three-week gap since their last match, but Desmonds simply never turned up.

Listowel Emmets crest

North Kerry SFC final: Listowel Emmets 0-13 Castleisland Desmonds 0-7

SHOWING a ravenous hunger for success, a far more cohesive and together Listowel Emmets outfit stunned three-in-a-row-chasing Castleisland Desmonds with a comprehensive victory in the North Kerry SFC final on Sunday in Ballylongford.

Undoubtedly battle-hardened off the back of a difficult passage to the decider, especially the recent drawn and replayed semi-final battles with Brosna, Emmets thundered into the game from the outset, paying little respect to the credentials of the back-to-back champions.

As a result, the pre-match favourites were never allowed to gain any kind of momentum, and whether they were affected by the three-week gap since their last match, or the ferocity of the challenge brought by their opponents, Desmonds simply never turned up.

The first quarter was extremely tepid, with defences on top, and poor shooting the order of the day, and while Davy Keane got Emmets off the mark in the 13th minute with a pointed free, Desmonds replied with three converted placed balls of their own, two from Adam O’Donoghue, within five minutes.

That was as good as it got for the reigning champions. Five unanswered points from Emmets, including the only two scores from play in the opening 30 minutes, courtesy of Darragh Leahy and Jack McElligott, gave the underdogs a three-point cushion at the interval (0-6 to 0-3).

With key individuals like Luka Brosnan, Brian Leonard, Adam Donoghue and Cian W O’Connor well marshalled by a tactically superb Emmets, Desmonds needed a fast start to the second half, but a monster long-range effort from Cillian Holly, plus two Keane frees, stopped any potential fightback dead in its tracks.

Entering the last ten minutes, Emmets had retained that six-point lead (0-11 to 0-5), and with the inspirational Ger McCarthy, and the ever-consistent Niall Collins, in control at the back, Desmonds, despite launching a few hit-and-hope aerial assaults, were unable to break through for a goal.

The writing was on the wall for the losers long before the finish, with the Listowel side dominant all over the pitch, and when midfielder Jamie McVeigh launched over the game’s final point three minutes into added time, Emmets were free to celebrate an unexpected, but memorable, triumph.

Scorers for Emmets: D Keane 0-8 (0-7f, 0-1m), D Leahy, J McElligott, C Holly, M Kennedy, J McVeigh 0-1 each.

Scorers for Desmonds: A O’Donoghue 0-5 (0-4f), C W O’Connor (free), M Hickey 0-1 each.

LISTOWEL EMMETS: T Harte; C Pierse, J McElligott, N Collins; M Kennedy, G McCarthy, E Browne; D Leahy, J McVeigh; S Gilbert, S Keane, C Holly; J Moriarty, D Lynch, D Keane.

Subs: C Keane for Gilbert (43), C Mulvihill for Moriarty (56), B Sweeney for S Keane (59).

CASTLEISLAND DESMONDS: S Bartlett; G Leonard, M Lynch, L Brosnan; D Finnegan, D O’Connor, M Walsh; M Hickey, B Leonard; A Donoghue, C W O’Connor, S Lynch; P Hickey, A O’Donoghue, G O’Connor.

Subs: L Lyons for G O’Connor (ht), P Fitzgerald for Walsh (38), K Brennan for P Hickey (49), C J O’Connor for S Lynch (56), C Roche for Brosnan (56).

Referee: E Moran (Ballydonoghue).