Superb Mayo shred ragged Kerry's unbeaten home run

 

All-Ireland SFC:  Kerry 0-17 Mayo 1-19 

THE SUMMER road will inform us of the wider import of this, but Mayo’s commanding performance and victory over All-Ireland champions Kerry in Killarney on Saturday feels weighted with All-Ireland significance.

A shock victory? Certainly not on the basis of what transpired from first to last whistle. Kevin McStay’s men were quick in thought and deed; their support play and lines were outstanding and available right to the 75th minute of the match. Matthew Ruane dominated the midfield, and their inside forwards had too much movement for a Kerry set-up that looked distorted and out of sync from the opening moments. They got impact off the bench and crucially, they never declared on the scoreboard or parked their offensive verve.

Much will be made of Kerry’s ragged display and the end to their 39-match unbeaten championship record in Fitzgerald Stadium, harking back to 1995. The champions had three second-half goal chances in a five-minute spell that would have catapulted them back into contention, but it would have been a strike against the rhythm of this opening-round game. 

Mayo, it should be pointed out, were similarly profligate in the first half – Kerry keeper Shane Ryan deserves credit for three fine stops – and in the round, the visitors were altogether more impressive in just about every facet of the game.

They looked fresh and hungry for work. That six-week hiatus since the Connacht defeat to Roscommon has been well used, even if, as the manager said afterwards, they spent a fortnight of it licking their wounds.

When he wasn’t winning inside ball, Aidan O’Shea was delaying the transition. Alongside him, Ryan O’Donoghue had the Kerry inside backs on toast. The space he was afforded should generate several threads of conversation in the Kerry post-mortem.

Whatever Jack O’Connor and his bench threw at Mayo in the second period, it was sent back across the net with interest. The game had just ticked into its 60th minute when Ryan O’Donghue (again), won possession in the dressing-room corner to feed the inrushing Eoghan McLaughlin to find the net. Kerry had engineered themselves within a score before that, but the belief went out of their challenge thereafter.

Mayo, with the surge of fresh adrenaline in their legs, tacked on three more points, to stretch the winning margin to five.

How this changes the dynamic of what Mayo do next – and what Kerry try for the visit to Pairc Ui Chaoimh in a fortnight – is the intriguing bit. McStay was justifiably thrilled with the level and consistency of the performance, and there shouldn’t be an upset when Louth visit Castlebar in Round 2. But it is important in terms of completing the circle of trust inside the group and in the broader sense that they go directly into the quarters from here.

They had Kerry rattled inside a minute when Diarmuid O’Connor ghosted inside a sleeping defence only for Shane Ryan to deny him. That trend continued for the opening half, all the way to the last play when O’Donoghue was denied a deserved first goal by Kerry’s Ryan.

They kicked points from distance but the noteworthy thing is the scorer was seldom pressurised. Kerry’s midfield couldn’t get a toehold in the game, and their attacking intent, while sporadically dangerous, had the mark of stress about it. David Clifford spilled a simple pass, and Tom O’Sullivan sliced his stock in trade wide of the far post. What more compelling evidence do you need?

Matthew Ruane made it a six-point game early in the second period, 0-7 to 0-13, before David Clifford decided to make this a personal crusade. He had goal chances in the 44th and 46th minute, the latter sensationally blocked by Padraig O’Hora on the line. Three minutes later he was escorted through on the left flank for the clearest sight of goal, but blasted wide on his near side. On a day when Kerry needed momentum shifts, these were telling misses.

The All-Ireland champions couldn’t get to the pitch of the chase, and their unforced errors and turnovers were the result of being panicked for the first time this year. Again, the Kingdom’s Munster campaign served them poorly.

Not that Mayo were waiting for their hosts to discover their mojo. Enda Hession, McLaughlin, Paddy Durcan and Tommy Conroy all made a positive impact when introduced. They’ll fairly hop into recovery in Castlebar next week.

Scorers for Kerry: D Clifford (0-8, 3 frees), P Geaney (0-3), S O’Shea (0-3, 2 frees, 45), T O’Sullivan (0-2), D Moynihan (0-1) 

Scorers for Mayo: R O’Donoghue (0-5, 2 frees), J Carr (0-3), A O’Shea (0-3, 2 frees, 1 mark), E McLoughlin (1-0), M Ruane (0-2), P O’Hora, J Carney, J Flynn, J Doherty, D McHugh, P Durcan (0-1 each).

KERRY: 1 S Ryan; 2 D Casey, 3 J Foley, 4 T O’Sullivan; 5 G O’Sullivan, 6 T Morley, 7 G White; 8 D O’Connor, 9 J Barry; 10 D Moynihan, 11 S O’Shea, 12 P Clifford; 13 T Brosnan, 14 D Clifford, 15 P Geaney.

Subs: P Murphy for Morley (blood sub 23-27), P Murphy for Casey (half time); A Spillane for Brosnan (half time); R Murphy for Moynihan (45), B O Beaglaoich for Morley (58), S O’Brien for Barry (63).

MAYO: 1 C Reape; 24 P O’Hora, 3 D McBrien, 21 D McHugh; 6 C Loftus, 4 S Callinan, 2 J Coyne; 8 M Ruane, 9 D O’Connor; 12 J Flynn, 11 J Carney, 18 J Doherty; 13 A O’Shea, 14 J Carr, 15 R O’Donoghue.

Subs: P Durcan for Doherty; E Hession for Callinan (both 47); T Conroy for Carr (52); E McLaughlin for O’Hora (55); S Coen for Coyne (59).

Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone)