Kerry end Tyrone hoodoo to claim first All-Ireland U20 title in 18 years
Gearóid White scored five points for Kerry in their All-Ireland U20 Football Championship final victory over Tyrone. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Tyrone haunt Kerry at U20 level no more as Tomás Ó Sé’s side turned on the charm to claim the county’s first Dalata Hotel Group U20 All-Ireland title in 18 years.
The Red Hand County had been the bane of Ó Sé’s managerial existence these past couple of seasons and it appeared in the first half here in Croke Park that they would continue to spook him.
However, utter midfield dominance, marvellous individual displays by Evan Boyle, Daniel Kirby and Gearóid White and a two-point second-half shut-out of Tyrone ensured the title was theirs.
Kerry had been as far back as eight points in the middle of the first half but were a point ahead nine minutes into the second half. Kirby’s third point of the game was their eighth without reply, scored in a period where they ruled the skies. White thumped over a two-point free to stretch the gap to three and it became four when Pa Walsh advanced to split the posts.
By the time Shea McDermott brought his own tally to 1-5 in the 49th minute, Tyrone hadn’t scored in 24 minutes. But he doubled his and his county’s second-half tally seconds later and Tyrone were just two behind in the 50th minute.
Kerry shifted gears once more and substitute Jack Joy’s incisive score was backed by another booming White two-point free in the 54th minute and the difference was five.
The game concluded as a contest when Tyrone captain Conor Devlin was sin binned for a deliberate trip on the marauding White and Tomás Kennedy converted the resultant free. Seven points up in the 26th minute, Tyrone had been sitting pretty. All of their 1-8 total had been scored by their inside line, 1-4 for McDermott and another three points by Adrian McGurren.
Their speedy transfers and off-the-ball running had Kerry dazed, no more so than the 11th minute when McDermott finished a goal with great composure.
The Errigal Ciarán tyro had linked up with McGurren and Leo Hughes in taking a score that had a touch of Owen Mulligan 2005 about it.
Tyrone followed it up with three points without reply, two of them McGurren finishes, and Kerry were facing an eight-point deficit. A Kennedy mark stemmed the haemorrhaging but Peter Colton sent another warning shot in the 21st minute, his shot kept out by Kacper Robak.
After White and McDermott exchanged frees, Boyle grabbed the game. He had caught two beautiful balls inside the first 10 minutes but went into overdrive in the final five minutes of the half.
His 26th minute two-pointer came after he had caught a kick-out and he was instrumental in their excellent finish to the half as Tyrone were overwhelmed in midfield.
Substitute Killian Dennehy followed up with a point, Boyle added another for good measure and Kirby’s second brought them within two at the break, 0-9 to 1-8.
G. White (0-5, 2 tpfs, 1 free); T. Kennedy (0-4, 3 frees, 1 mark); E. Boyle (1 tp), D. Kirby (0-3 each); E. O’Flatherty, K. Dennehy, R. Carroll, P. Walsh, J. Joy, J. O’Sullivan (0-1 each).
S. McDermott (1-6, 1 tpf, 1 free); A. McGurren (0-3); P. Colton (0-1).
K. Robak; M. Lynch, G. Evans, D. Stack; E. O’Flaherty, A. Ó Beaglaoich, P. Walsh; D. Kirby, E. Boyle; S. Ó Cuinn, G. White, J. O’Sullivan; R. Carroll, T. Kennedy, P. Lane (c).
K. Dennehy for M. Lynch (24); D. Hogan for P. Lane (inj 34); J. Joy for R. Carroll (46); D. Sargent for S. Ó Cuinn (52); M. McKivergan for J. O’Sullivan (60).
O. Watson; S. Broderick, L. Neeson, M. McNamee; A. Quinn, C. Devlin, B. Gallagher; E. Donaghy, C. O’Neill; C. Sheehy, L. Hughes, T. Muldoon; A. McGurren, P. Colton, S. McDermott.
R. McCullagh for P. Colton (35); J. Concannon for T. Muldoon (53); D. Donaghy for A. McGurren (54).
C. Devlin (56-ft).
T. Murphy (Galway).
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