This article is from page 69 of the 2011-02-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 69 JPG
Kerry 0-13 – Clare 1-07 at Dr Crokes Ground, Killarney
KERRY rolled out eight of their artillery who have won All-Ireland medals on the field of play – with such firepower they then rolled over Clare with the minimum of fuss on Saturday afternoon to retain the McGrath Cup.
That’s the negative aspect of this largely pedestrian tournament final from Clare’s point of view – the positive was that they battled to the very end and with a bit more accuracy in front of goal could have been closer than the three points separating the sides at the end.
Be under no illusions though, had Clare somehow produced a comeback akin to what they managed against Leitrim in last year’s league, it would be been a larceny on a very grand scale.
Kerry controlled this game once they weathered Clare’s early enthusiasm, moving into an impregnable seven-point lead early in the second half as this contest drifted towards its inevitable conclusion.
The combined influence of Tomás Ó Sé pulling the strings at centreback, midfield domiance thanks to David Moran and Seamus Scanlan and Daithí Geaney running riot in the full-forward line were the essential differences between the sides as the 36-time All-Ireland champions showcased the appetite of some grizzled All-Ireland veterans and the enthusiasm of those hoping to join them on the pantheon.
For Clare the hope was to be competitive – that they achieved at the start and then at the end when the kept going. The hope was also to try and take a catapult to Kerry – they never really looked like ticking that box.
It was Kerry’s ability to string the points together that killed Clare – they hit five in a row in the first half to turn an early 0-3 to 0-1 deficit into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead.
With that Clare’s hugely positive start that saw David Tubridy, Cathal O’Connor and John Hayes hit brilliant points from play inside the first five minutes came to nothing.
Kerry’s forwards buzzed, especially 2009 All-Ireland winning captain Darran O’Sullivan in the half-line and newcomer Dáithí Geaney who tormented the Clare full-back line over the 70 minutes with five points from play.
The Kingdom cranked to life with points by Geaney (2), David Moran (2) and Mike O’Donoghue, while Clare were made to endure a 28minute scoring drought in the first half before Alan Clohessy pegged back a point in the 33rd minute.
The real pity was that Cathal O’Connor failed to convert a chance a minute later after a determined burst through the middle. It would have left only a point in it at half-time, but as it was another Daithí Geaney point just before the break that edged Kerry into a 0-7 to 0-4 lead that always looked like being enough to buttress them for anything Clare might summon on the turnover.
This was certainly the case when Kerry responded to a thumping point from distance by Niall Browne after five minutes with another five-point salvo in a devastating seven-minute spell.
With that this McGrath Cup was won and lost.
Again Daithí Geaney was the scourge of Clare – the Dingle man may only have been borrowing Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper’s number 13 geansaí in this McGrath Cup competition, but such was his influence in this final that he might be thrown another number come the real business of the 2011 season.
Tomás Ó Sé teed him up for this fourth point from play in the 44th minute, while a Darran O’Sullivan effort and Geaney’s fifth made it double scores of 0-10 to 0-5 by the 47th minute.
Clare’s challenge had faltered badly and entered in the mixed zone of damage limitation. To that end they achieved respectability as this game petered out, but it was only after Kerry eased up in the closing 20 minutes after further points by Paul Geaney and David Moran put them 0-12 to 0-5 clear that Micheal McDermott’s side became competitive again.
The mini-revival was ignited in the 62nd minute when Cathal O’Connor, who had been moved from midfield to full-forward, fielded a high delivery from Shane Brennan , bustled his way past Marc Ó Sé and forced the ball over the line.
It was down to four points – but it should have been two, only for Alan Clohessy to miss two scoreable frees either side of the goal.
It meant that instead of a nervy finish for Kerry, Daithí Geaney’s sixth point eased them five clear once more by the 68th minute, while two late Alan Clohessy frees ensured that the scoreboard didn’t have a lopsided look to it from Clare’s point of view.