Killarney victory signs off Kerry’s summer of frustration
At half-six on Saturday evening in Killarney, Kerry found themselves six adrift of a team who exited the championship a fortnight ago. Two hours later, talk of Kerry’s own elimination had given way to who might fill the void left by Éamonn Fitzmaurice.
It was a somewhat surreal evening, where matters inside the whitewash, once Kerry hit the front early in the second-half, became secondary to what was happening above in Pearse Stadium. As we quickly learned over the wireless, though, neither Monaghan nor Galway were doing the Kingdom any favours.
No sooner, then, had the post-mortems on Kerry’s season begun — the county’s first time not to make the semis since 2012 — when word filtered through that Fitzmaurice had called time on his six-year stint as Kerry manager.
Everyone has their own names as to who could — or should — succeed Fitzmaurice. We’ll leave the guesswork to others and focus, instead, on the materials the new manager will inherit.
Shortly before Fitzmaurice addressed the media for the final time as Kerry boss, David Clifford ambled up the stairs to collect his man-of-the-match crystal. His 2-6 tally — 1-5 from play — meant he finished as Kerry’s top-scorer from play for the third game in a row.
Throughout the early months of 2018, Fitzmaurice preached patience with regard to Clifford and anyone else who had joined the squad with a minor medal in their top-drawer. It’s just as well the Fossa teenager wasn’t paying heed to what his manager was saying, because, in the first-half, as the home side stood off their opponents in a most casual fashion, and the crowd groaned and twitched in frustration, Clifford, and to a lesser extent Paul Geaney, was the only one giving Kildare any bit of grief.
With Kerry trailing 0-8 to 0-4 after 20 minutes, it was Clifford who almost single-handedly got them back level. He kicked his opening point, before slotting home the penalty, which came about from a clumsy tackle on David Moran.
As for the rest of the new kids around whom Fitzmaurice’s successor will shape his team, Micheál Burns sent over two first-half points, and while Tom O’Sullivan and Gavin White drove forward with intent, their contribution in defence wasn’t hectic. Jason Foley was caught out for the Neil Flynn goal on the half-hour mark. Although holding a deserved 1-12 to 1-6 lead approaching the break, Neil Flynn’s sending-off, on 33 minutes, effectively saw Kildare’s race run.
Seán O’Shea and Clifford, after a beautiful sidestep, brought the deficit back to four, turning around for the second period. Forty-seven seconds after the restart, the margin stood at the minimum; Clifford rolled the ball into the net, after Kildare keeper, Mark Donnellan, coughed up possession cheaply.
After Paul Geaney and Kevin Feely swapped points, a burst of 1-8 without reply from Fitzmaurice’s charges ended this fixture as a contest. Galway, however, were making no inroads on Monaghan, further up west, and so a fair chunk of supporters headed for the exits with well over 15 minutes remaining.
Kildare boss, Cian O’Neill, fumed over Flynn’s dismissal. They finished with 13, after Mick O’Grady walked late-on.
“There might have been some form of minimal contact, but there was definitely no strike. There was no knee, no box, nothing of the sort. You’ve seen the way football has gone. The best way to sum that up is, ‘Don’t blame the player, blame the game’.
“If the officials aren’t conducting themselves in a certain way, it’s up to high-performance athletes to actually play within whatever way they’re officiating. It’s just a shocking decision, from whoever had the ultimate call.”
‘Unfulfilled’ was O’Neill’s take on Kildare’s up-and-down year, more down than up, even if they did outmanoeuvre Mayo and Croke Park in the one week.
‘Unsatisfactory’, more than unfulfilled, was Kerry’s spring and summer. Even in the first-half here, their defence was prised open far too easily. Casting an eye towards 2019 and where the new Kerry manager will have to steer his focus, the number-six position needs sorting out, needs a permanent hanger. Midfield requires a bit of surgery, too, and depth.
Retirements, there’ll probably be one or two. But, as was the case the more the summer progressed, Kerry found themselves looking to — and leaning on — the younger and more inexperienced members.
D Clifford (2-6, 1-0 pen, 0-1 free); J O’Donoghue (1-2); S O’Shea (0-5, 0-3 frees, 0-2 ‘45s); J Barry (0-3); P Geaney (0-1 free), M Burns (0-2 each); D Moran, S O’Brien, K Donaghy, T Morley, K McCarthy (0-1 each).
P Cribbin (1-5); N Flynn (1-3, 0-1 free, 0-1 ‘45); K Feely (0-3, 0-3 frees); P Kelly, J Byrne, K Flynn, T Moolick, N Kelly (0-1 each).
B Kelly; J Foley, P Crowley, T O’Sullivan; P Murphy, K Young, G White; D Moran, J Barry; M Burns, S O’Shea, S O’Brien; D Clifford, K Donaghy, P Geaney.
J O’Donoghue for Donaghy, K McCarthy for Young (both HT): D O’Sullivan for Burns (57); T Morley for Foley (59); A Maher for O’Shea (62); B Begley for White (69, inj).
M Donnellan; P Kelly, M O’Grady, D Hyland; K Flynn, E Doyle, J Byrne; F Conway, T Moolick; K Cribbin, P Cribbin, P Brophy; N Kelly, K Feely, N Flynn.
C Healy for K Cribbin (26); J Murray for Hyland (bc, HT): C Nally for N Kelly (47); E Callaghan for Conway (50); F Dowling for Moolick (55); M Hyland for P Kelly (61).
D O’Mahoney (Tipperary).
