Kerry make statement with 16-point win over Mayo

The Kingdom were economical in how they navigated the challenge of Andy Moran's visitors. 

MAIN MAN: David Clifford of Kerry celebrates scoring a goal. Pic: INPHO/James Lawlor

Allianz FL Division 1 Kerry 2-29 Mayo 0-19 

The idea of Kerry half-arsing their way into another National League final might sound trite and nonsensical but the defending champions have another decider within their gift. Avoid defeat to Armagh next weekend and they will likely face Donegal in next month’s Division 1 final at Croke Park. Fancy meeting you here, and all that.

If there is a faint whiff that they have reached a safe basecamp of nine points without expending too much oxygen, it also ignores one of Kerry’s most fundamental and prized assets – game intelligence.

At two distinct moments in Saturday’s 16-point win over Andy Moran’s new Mayo, Kerry had a very refined sense of what the moment demanded. Stopping Mayo’s early momentum, stepping on the gas to deliver eight first-half points without reply on the bounce. And then powering for home early with 1-6 in the third quarter. Statistics can be deceiving but 2-29 is a hell of a statement to make against one of the talking teams of the spring. Sean O’Shea didn’t just collect 0-11 from a variety of scoring moments but surely penned a place for himself in anorak history with the first two-pointer from play off the ground. Yes you read that correctly. When Kerry needed some gas in the first half, David Clifford extended his engines, and he teed up Dylan Geaney for the door-closing goal in the 53rd minute – that made it 2-21 to 0-14 for the Kingdom.

Those scorebursts rendered the final quarter as irrelevant as it was pedestrian. Kobe McDonald’s debut was difficult and low key and that might be no bad thing.

The Kingdom led 0-13 to 0-10 at the interval, and when you factor in Rob Hennelly’s two-point free within a minute of the restart, the score from there was 2-16 to 0-6.

Stunning and shocking in equal measure because there was quite a lot to process from the first half. We tend to reach for the psychology manuals most times something untoward happens to the Mayo footballers, like going from 0-9 to 0-4 in front after 17 minutes in Tralee, to being 0-13 to 0-10 down at the break.

SIGN OF THE TIMES: Tom and Pauline McDonald with a banner ahead of the game. Pic: INPHO/James Lawlor

But chronologically speaking, they were quick, nimble and decisive out of the gate in Tralee and had three two-pointers kicked before Kerry could tag anything. Midfielders Tuohy and McBrien were surging, and around the fringes of the arc, Jordan Flynn and Jack Carney nailed from distance. The pick of the perimeter scores, however, came via a Ryan O’Donoghue spear off the outside of the book from beyond 40m. That came in the 17th minute, and put Mayo five in front and looking comfortable.

Then the game underwent a dramatic transformation, not dramatic in the way of any electric shock therapy from Kerry, but more in the damning statistics for the visitors.

From the 18th to the 31st minute, the All-Ireland champions would accumulate eight points on the bounce, three of them fisted. There was more to them than that – David Clifford went direct and powerful for a brace, Dylan Geaney betrayed the growing maturity and poise of a man with two recent All-Ireland titles in his satchel, while more established champions such as Tom and Graham O’Sullivan plus Joe O’Connor stepped up.

Kerry started without midfielder Mark O’Shea, while Kobe McDonald replaced Aidan O’Shea from the start for Andy Moran’s side. In their early flush, McDonald skipped outside Joe O’Connor to fist a point, but Kerry swapped him around their full back line to a nullifying effect from there to the break.

It took an unlikely turnover from David Clifford for Mayo to break a 16-minute frustration without a score, Sam Callinan blasting over to make it 0-12 to 0-10 to Kerry on 33 minutes.

Five minutes earlier, perhaps the key moment of the half. Jordan Flynn bumped Paul Murphy to find the yard of space inside and if his first effort on goal was well blocked by Shane Murphy, all the bouquets go to the Crokes keeper for getting up to smother the second effort. By the general acclaim that greeted it in Austin Stack Park, the home support sensed its significance.

They weren’t far wrong.

Scorers for Kerry: S O’Shea (0-11, 2 2p, 2 2pf), D Geaney (2-3), D Clifford (0-8, 2 2pt), K Evans (0-2), G O’Sullivan, T O’Sullivan, J O'Connor, S O'Brien, M Breen (0-1 each).

Scorers for Mayo: R O’Donoghue (0-8, 1 2p, 3 frees), F Boland (0-3, 1 2p), J Flynn (2p), J Carney (2p), R Hennelly (free) (all 0-2), K McDonald, S Callinan (0-1 each) 

KERRY: S Murphy; P Murphy, J Foley, D Casey; T O’Sullivan, T Morley, H Heinrich; J O’Connor, S O’Brien; C Trant, S O’Shea, G O’Sullivan; D Geaney, D Clifford, K Evans.

Subs for Kerry: M Burns for G O’Sullivan (47), M Breen for T O’Sullivan (51), T Kennedy for Geaney (55), L Smith for O’Brien (56), T Leo O’Sullivan for Murphy (59), E Healy for Casey (63).

MAYO: R Hennelly; J Coyne, R Brickenden, D McHugh; S Callinan, D. O’Connor, C Dawson; B Tuohy, D McBrien; J Carney, R O’Donoghue, J Flynn; D Beirne, K McDonald, F Boland.

Subs for Mayo: S Morahan for Dawson (27), D. Duffy for McHugh (half time), S Coen for D O’Connor (40), A O’Shea for Beirne (41), C O’Connor for Tuohy (55) 

Referee: M McNally (Monaghan).