Kerry 3-24; Galway 2-17
Kerry gave Galway a 10-point spanking as they booked their place in the Division 1 League final at Pearse Stadium in Salthill on Sunday.
The Kingdom, lining out without their free-taker Sean O’Shea, have looked sharp in front of goal recently and continued that good aspect of their play by claiming three green flags in the first quarter.
However one area that Manager Jack O’Connor won’t be too pleased about is their failure to kick even one two-pointer in this encounter.
The visitors led by 2-11 to 1-10 at the interval with the goals coming from defender Gavin White following a great build up and the second from Dylan Geaney, who was also at the end of slick play to finish off another incisive move with a devastating shot.
On the Galway front, a rejuvenated Kieran Molloy showed up well carrying the ball and scored the only two-pointer of the opening half.
Rob Finnerty showed great opportunism when he finished instinctively after a lobbing ball broke off keeper Shane Murphy.
The teams were very even at this stage despite visitors corner-back Paul Murphy being black-carded following a collision with Damien Comer.
Despite this, Kerry kept on the front foot and three points in a row from talisman David Clifford saw them lead by 2-11 to 1-10 at the short whistle.
The changeover continued in like form as the impressive Paul Geaney landed a brace while another from Dylan Casey gave Kerry a 7-up cushion.
Could Galway respond to Padraic Joyce’s demand for a first league title title since 1981? Comer and Finnerty began winning ball and big Matthew Tierney scored a traditional goal when he caught, turned and buried the ball home with his left peg.
Sub Johnny Heaney followed that up with a point and now they were only two in arrears.
Was it game on? No, that was as good as it got for the big home following in Salthill as Kerry upped the ante again by scoring four points to Galway’s single white flag before Damien Bourke ended the game with his side’s third green flag just after the hour mark.
All of this could be good news for New York as Galway head to the Big Apple in 10 days for the quarter-final of the Connacht championship having lost their last two games to Dublin and Kerry.
As one of the favorites for the Sam Maguire, they will present the men in white and blue with a huge obstacle but losing can become a habit and if New York can get out of the blocks flying, it could lead to an interesting encounter in Gaelic Park.
Kerry: S Murphy; P Murphy, J Foley, D Casey (0-1); G White (1-0), M Breen, B Ó Beaglaoich (0-1); G O’Sullivan, S O’Brien; M Burns (0-1), P Clifford (0-2), J O’Connor; D Clifford (0-3, 0-1f), P Geaney (0-7, 0-6f), D Geaney (1-2) Subs: D Bourke (1-0) for Casey (17-21), BD O’Sullivan (0-2) for O’Connor (20-25), BD O’Sullivan for O’Brien (47), T Brosnan (0-2) for Burns (50), K Spillane (0-1) for G O’Sullivan (55), D Bourke for Murphy (57), C Geaney (0-2) for D Geaney (62).
Galway: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Ó Maoilchiaráin, D O’Flaherty; K Molloy (0-3, 1tp), L Silke, S Kelly; P Conroy (0-2, 1tp), J Maher; M Tierney (1-3, 1tpf), C McDaid (0-1), F Ó Laoí (0-1); C O Curraoin (0-1f), R Finnerty (1-6, 0-5f), D Comer (0-1) Subs: C Darcy for Maher (32), C Sweeney for O Curraoin (33), J Heaney (0-1) for Comer (43), J Glynn for O Laoí (45), J O’Neill for O’Flaherty (52), C Hernon for McDaid (57).
Ref: D O’Mahoney (Tipperary).
Mayo 1-18; Donegal 1-16
Final Day in Division One saw Mayo in a relegation place late in the second half when they trailed Donegal at McHale Park on Sunday. before their comeback for a two-point win saw them qualify for this weekend’s National League final against Kerry.
This was a difficult match to read as Donegal looked the better for long tracts yet they also seemed intent on not making the final. Could we detect that they were driving their vehicle with the handbrake on as Manager Jim McGuinness has made it clear his tenure is all about Ulster and All Ireland titles, not league wins which become Pyrrhic once the fine months come into play.
Derry will be lying in the long grass for the McGuinness bandwagon and he knows that a seven-day turnaround for the first Ulster outing of ‘25 is less than ideal if you want to make waves into the summer months.
Despite all those caveats, this was a first-class game that went all the way down to the wire, or more accurately the hooter, with Mayo booking a Croke Park date with the Kingdom on this Sunday.
A few minutes before full-time, they looked to be heading the other way as Donegal were awarded a penalty which if scored, would have put them on the relegation trapdoor.
Daire Ó Baoill’s penalty in the 67th minute was well anticipated by Mayo netminder Colm Reape who dived to his right to collect the ball and preserve his side’s two-point advantage.
There was another escape almost immediately after when visiting midfielder Hugh McFadden fired a shot that had goal written all over it only to thunder off the crossbar before being cleared to safety. Believe it or not there were still spills in this game as Aaron Doherty managed to cut the deficit to the minimum before Mayo’s talisman Ryan O’Donoghue flashed over an insurance point five minutes into overtime.
Mayo: C Reape; J Coyne, D McHugh, E Hession; S Callinan, D McBrien, F Kelly; S Coen (0-1), M Ruane (0-3, 1tp); J Carney (1-3), D McHale, J Flynn (0-1); A O’Shea, F Irwin (0-3), R O’Donoghue (0-6, 1tp, 1tpf, 1f) Subs: D Neary for McHale (47); P Towey (0-1) for O’Shea (54); E McLaughlin for Kelly (63); F Boland for Irwin (65); D O’Connor for Flynn (69).
Donegal: G Mulreany (0-1, '45); F Roarty (0-1), S McMenamin, B McCole; R McHugh, C McMonagle, C McColgan; H McFadden, C Moore; D Ó Baoill (0-2, tp), C Thompson (0-2), S O’Donnell (0-2); N O’Donnell (0-1), C O’Donnell (0-2), L McGlynn (0-1) Subs: M Langan (0-2) for McGlynn (HT); A Doherty (0-2) for McGonagle (HT), M Curran for McColgan (HT), E McHugh (1-0) for N O’Donnell (HT); C Ward for McCole (63).
Ref: J McQuillan (Cavan).
Tyrone 2-20; Dublin 1-16
Dublin boss Dessie Farrell probably would have taken a mid-table finish before a ball was kicked in this year’s league but by the sound of the final hooter, was far from happy at Healy Park with how his team have faded in games against Northern opposition, particularly on Sunday when they hardly raised a gallop against a Tyrone team fighting for their lives to stay in the top division.
Dublin actually went into the game with a big chance of making the final with a victory while Tyrone knew they needed a win to escape the relegation scrap, and some luck as well.
That hunger ate up Dublin’s half-hearted approach to the game and even a late flurry to two-pointers chiefly by Cormac Costello managed only to put a look of decency on the scoreboard rather than bring Farrell’s men back into real contention.
Speaking after the game, a clearly disappointed Blues boss stated: “We never brought the intensity or fight that was required. We knew what was at stake coming into this game. It was a big game for us, we knew they’d be very competitive.
“It was a big game for us, in terms of making it to a league final and another competitive game which would have been very welcome. Overall, when we take a step back and look at the league in its entirety, it was reasonably positive based on where we were initially with a lot of change in the squad and new lads getting blooded.
“Being one win away from a National League final, we would have taken that at the start. All in all, we're happy enough with how the league has gone, he declared.
That is true considering how much his playing personnel has changed with the likes of James McCarthy, Michael Fitzsimons and Brian Fenton retired and John Small unlikely to figure while Jack McCaffrey is unlikely to figure again with Paul Mannion also a huge loss.
Already a two-time Sam Maguire winner, there is no doubt that this new look Dubs squad will be Farrell’s finest achievement should they manage to bring the coveted vessel to Liffeyside this high summer.
While the ageless Stephen Cluxton was named to start in goal for the second game in a row, he was replaced by Gavin Sheridan while Paddy Small was named as a sub but didn’t travel, with Farrell explaining: “Stephen picked up a knock during the week. Paddy Small is coming back after a long injury and we just thought today wasn’t the best day – with the trip up – for him to return. He stayed back at home to play with his club.”
At the end of his interview, he referred to the new rules, claiming: “Overall, the rules are a worthwhile experiment. There was plenty of chopping and changing but that was always going to be part of it. There’s an opportunity now for them to bed in and I think we’ll all be able to get more comfortable with them over the coming weeks.”
With Leinster likely to be a cakewalk despite all the changes, Farrell will aim to get a hunger into his charges which was sadly missing in Omagh.
Tyrone found their mojo in this game and if they can keep that level of commitment in their quest for every ball, they could be the surprise packet up north where most people aren’t looking beyond Donegal and Armagh.
Darren McCurry was back to his clinical best, making the opening goal with an inch perfect pass into Darragh Canavan and shooting nine points while also making the second goal in his MVP display.
Dublin got the tonic of a Con O’Callaghan early goal when he caught the ball and with Niall Morgan having advanced too far out to compete for the high ball left the recently crowned Club Player of the Year with the simple task of shooting into an empty net.
That was as good as it got for Dublin as the Red Hand boys upped the tempo and left Dublin in their slipstream. By half-time, they were 10 points ahead and even when facing the wind on the changeover, they continued to dominate possession. In fact they hit 10 of the 12 points from that Dublin goal and a Niall Scully point to leave themselves in a strong winning position. The unfortunate detail for them was that victory wasn’t enough while for Dublin defeat foreshortened their season by a possible final game in the league but maybe opened their eyes about where they need to get mentally if they want to really compete for top honors outside of the Leinster championship.
KEY: tp - two-point score; tpf - two-point free; tpm - two-point mark
Tyrone: N Morgan (0-2, 2’45); A Clarke, P Teague, N Devlin; M McKernan (1-0), R Brennan, K McGeary (0-2 (tp); B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; C Daly, M Donnelly (0-1), A Donaghy; D McCurry (0-9, 3f, 2 tpf, 1tp), D Canavan (1-3), P Harte (0-1) Subs: S O’Donnell for Donnell (41), R Canavan (0-2) for Harte (57), M O’Neill for D Canavan (61), S O’Hare for Donaghy (69)
Dublin: G Sheridan; D Byrne, T Clancy, C Tyrrell; C Murphy, S McMahon, G McEneaney; B Howard, P O Cofaigh Byrne; R McGarry, S Bugler (0-4, 1tp), N Scully (0-2); K McGinnis, C O’Callaghan (1-0), C Costello (0-8, 2 tp, 2 tpf) Subs: C Kilkenny for McGinnis (41), L O’Dell (0-2, tp) for McGarry (44), J Madden for O Cofaigh Byrne (45), D Keogh for Scully (60), E O’Donnell for McEneaney (61)
Ref: D Coldrick (Meath).
