Kingdom overpower Meath to end Molumphy's reign on winning note
FOND FAREWELL: Kerry manager Stephen Molumphy was victorious in his final match in charge. Pic: Domnick Walsh/Eye Focus LTD
Stephen Molumphy’s three years at the helm of Kerry hurling ended on a winning note with a comfortable victory over Meath in this dead-rubber Joe McDonagh Cup encounter at a wet Austin Stack Park in Tralee.
The Waterford man, who brought the Kingdom to hurling’s second tier decider in 2022, leaves after bringing through several promising youngsters into the squad. Departing with three McDonagh wins from five games this season is a respectable return.
Hitting the ground running from the first whistle, with top scorer Gavin Dooley firing over the game’s opening point, the hosts raised their first green flag in the fourth minute. A speculative delivery from Brandon Barrett was opportunistically batted to the net by Michael Leane.
The Royals, already resigned to relegation to the Christy Ring Cup for 2025, didn’t turn up to simply fulfil the fixture and they were competitive throughout. However, they were far too dependent on wing-forward James Murray for attacking inspiration.
Kerry were four points to the good (1-3 to 0-2) by the 10th minute, before powerful Meath full-forward Damien Healy won a penalty for the visitors. Making no mistake, Murray rocketed the ensuing strike to the roof of Louis Dee’s net.
To be fair, that was a temporary set-back for the Kingdom, and they quickly put the collective foot on the accelerator. Dooley was moving very sweetly and following an assist from Dan Goggin he dispatched a composed finish past Meath custodian Philip O’Brien in the 17th minute (2-5 to 1-2).
By the interval Kerry were five points ahead (2-7 to 1-5) and, despite facing into the breeze on the resumption, they were in a dominant position. Meath were also down to 14 men at this stage, wing-back Eoin Donegan receiving a straight red card in the 28th minute for a frontal challenge on Leane.
Murray had been responsible for all of Meath’s tally in the first half and he registered their first point from open play in the 45th minute. However five minutes later Dooley hammered home his second goal from close range and Kerry were basically out of sight (3-10 to 1-6).
Dual star Luke Crowley, who lined out for the Kerry under-20 footballers in their All-Ireland final defeat to Tyrone last Sunday, enjoyed an impressive second-half cameo, arrowing over a brace of points, while Daithi Griffin and Evan Murphy were rock-solid in the Kingdom defence.
Kerry were to finish with 14 men themselves, substitute Tomás O’Connor also being issued with a straight red card in the 62nd minute after an incident with Meath talisman Murray. There were no late scares though for the winners, with Molumphy bowing out with one final victory under his belt.
G Dooley 2-3, B Barrett 0-4(fs), M Leane 1-0, L Crowley, F Mackessy 0-2 (0-1 ’65) each, E Murphy, D Goggin 0-1 each.
J Murray 1-7 (0-6fs, 1-0pen), S Ennis, K Rogers, S Geraghty 0-1 each.
L Dee; E Leen, D Griffin, F McCarthy; B Keane, E Murphy, K O’Connor; R Walsh, C Walsh; G Dooley, D Goggin, K Hayes; B Barrett, F Mackessy, M Leane.
L Crowley for Leane, temp (29-35), D Shanahan for R Walsh (ht), T Doyle for Leen (ht), Crowley for C Walsh, inj (ht), N Mulcahy for Hayes (46), T O’Connor for McCarthy (57), D Kearney for K O’Connor (68).
P O’Brien; J Kelly, S Whitty, R Byrne; E Donegan, D Shine, S Geraghty; E Devine, K Gorman; J Murray, T Shine, D Healy; D Murtagh, E Og O Donnchadha, M Horan.
S Ennis for Murtagh (ht), M Burke for Devine (49), N McLarnon for Horan (54), S Martin for O Donnchadha (59), K Rogers for Healy (63).
C Doyle (Tipperary).
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