All-Ireland SFC Q-Final – Kerry v Dublin

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final

Kerry defeated Dublin by 1-24 to 1-7 in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final on Monday in Croke Park.

Kingdom put Dubs to the sword

From the GAA.ie web site

Kerry cruised into the All Ireland semi-finals with a clinical 1-24 to 1-7 destruction of Dublin at Croke Park on Monday. It was redemptive day for the Kingdom after a summer of acrimony and unrest in the south west – and the win was all the sweeter coming against their age old rivals, Dublin.

For the Dubs, the same old refrain: an early summer of promise followed by a shattering defeat outside the cosy confines of provincial football. In retrospect, it was all so predictable. Jack O’Connor’s side made a mockery of the underdog status they had been saddled with in the build-up to the game. After losing the Munster final replay to Cork, Kerry stumbled through the Qualifiers and narrowly avoided embarrassing defeats to Longford, Sligo and Antrim. The talk was that they were in disarray and the Dubs were on the rise.

But give Kerry a fitting stage and the wide open spaces of Croke Park and all the magic returns. “We felt that we worked very hard over the last couple of weeks since the Cork game and that somewhere along the line that we would click,” Kerry manager Jack O’Connor said. “There is no better place than here where we have the space to play our natural game. A lot of people dismissed the Qualifiers and the teams we were playing but those teams approach those games like All Ireland finals.

“They put us to the pin of our collar and did us a big favour so we felt somewhere along the line that there was a big game in us and thankfully it was today.” The ‘Gooch’ was back to his best after struggling with his form for much of the year. He finished with 1-7 and caused panic in the Dublin full-back line every time he won the ball. Darragh O Sé destroyed the Dublin midfield with another epic performance in a career that has delivered so many.

It was clear that Kerry were affronted by the bad press and the tales of woe over the past weeks. They played like a team possessed in the opening half and it is hard to believe that any team in the country could have lived with the incredible pace they set. Kerry boss O’Connor played Declan O’Sullivan at full-forward from the start and moved Tommy Walsh out the field, while Darran O’Sullivan was given a free role between the half-forward and full-forward lines. Declan O’Sullivan finished with three points from play, but he was the architect of so much of Kerry’s wonderful attacking play, especially in a glorious first 35 minutes. It was surely the Dromid Pearses man’s finest hour in a Kerry jersey.

Darren O’Sullivan produced his best game at this level for some time, too. He kicked three points from play in the first half alone, but his strong running and link-up play with Declan O’Sullivan and Cooper did so much of the damage to the Dublin defence in the opening minutes. Dublin have made a habit of flying out of the blocks in the Championship this year, but it was Kerry who beat them at their own game this time. They led by 1-2 to 0-0 after just four minutes, and it was hard to see Dublin recovering from such an early gut shot. Their goal came inside a minute. Mike McCarthy, back in the Kerry side after nearly two years in retirement, charged forward from centre-back and found Cooper with a clever hand pass. The ‘Gooch’ slipped the ball under Stephen Cluxton and Kerry had their dream start.

It didn’t end there either. Declan O’Sullivan nipped ahead of his marker, Denis Bastick, to kick the Kingdom into a 1-1 to 0-0 lead after just three minutes. Darran O’Sullivan was buzzing at corner forward and he slung over a great shot off his left to add another point. Dublin were drowning in the opening minutes, but they could have been right back in the game when Alan Brogan made a mazy run through the Kerry attack, before unleashing a superb angled shot only for Kerry goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy to tip the ball onto the crossbar and out of danger.

Barry Cahill did his best to make up for the sluggishness in the Dublin attack when he broke from defence and scored his customary buccaneering point. Rather than inspire the Dubs, it just seemed to anger Kerry, who kicked the next eight points to take a 1-10 to 0-1 lead after 27 minutes. Their attack was awesome in that crazy 15-minute spell. In the middle of the madness, Pat Gilroy had brought on Ciaran Whelan in place of Darren Magee at midfield. Although the move had lifted the Dubs temporarily, it was merely a sticking plaster on a gaping wound. Whelan won the first kick out upon his arrival and fed Diarmuid Connolly, but the St Vincent’s man cracked the ball off the crossbar from a tight angle.

But that was a minor diversion in a script that was only going to have one inevitable conclusion. Trailing by 12 points just 27 minutes in, Gilroy brought in Pat Burke and Cian O’Sullivan for Jason Sherlock and Bryan Cullen respectively. The fought back the tide momentarily, with Alan and Bernard Brogan adding points to Cahill’s earlier effort. Kerry hit back with three Cooper frees and Darran O’Sullivan’s third point from play to lead 1-14 to 0-3 at the break. Kerry’s intensity wavered a little after the break, but it was more down to the number of subs they brought on than Dublin’s ability to get under their skin. Bernard Brogan, who was a beacon of hope for Dublin throughout the Championship, was brilliantly tracked by Tom O’Sullivan, who vied with his namesake, Declan for the match bauble. Brogan’s older brother, Alan, was probably the Dubs’ outstanding performer on the day, scoring three points from play in an attack that was completely outplayed.

Paul Flynn, Conal Keaney and Diarmuid Connolly were all anonymous, although Keaney did give his side some hope when he netted a goal in the 57th minute. However, Dublin were still 1-19 to 1-7 down and it was to be their last score of the day. Kerry hit the last five points of the day to complete, with substitute Paul O’Connor grabbing two and Tadhg Kennelly also getting in on the act.

Dublin: S Cluxton; D Henry, D Bastick, P Andrews; P Griffin, B Cullen, B Cahill (0-); R McConnell, D Magee; P Flynn, D Connolly, B Brogan (0-3, 0-2f); A Brogan (0-3), C Keaney (1-0), J Sherlock

Subs: C Whelan for Magee ’15, P Burke for Sherlock ’24, C O’Sullivan for B Cullen ’28, A Hubbard for Henry ’40, S Ryan for Connolly ’62.

Kerry: D Murphy; M O Sé, T Griffin, T O’Sullivan (0-1); T O Sé (0-2), M McCarthy, K Young; D O Sé, S Scanlon (0-1); P Galvin (0-2), Declan O’Sullivan (0-3), D Walsh (0-1); C Cooper (1-7, 0-4f), T Walsh, Darran O’Sullivan (0-3).

Subs: T Kennelly (0-2) for T Walsh ’31, P O’Connor (0-2, -1f) for D Walsh ’49, S O’Sullivan for D O’Sullivan for D O’Sullivan ’60, A O’Mahony for Young ’61,M Quirke for D O’Sé ’61.

Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan)

Cooper cuts loose as Dubs fall apart

Kerry 1-24 Dublin 1-7

By Brendan O’Brien for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

IF football matches had titles this one would be labelled ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’. Or maybe 40. Once Colm Cooper found the Dublin net inside the first minute the realisation dawned that our expectations were about to be shattered. It was supposed to be the day that we paid our last respects to a great but aging Kerry side, a day when the Dubs ended a 32-year wait for a win over the Kingdom and took the scalp of a ‘top’ side for the first time since 1995. How wrong can so many people be? Sales of humble pie must have rocketed. Kerry won by the same margin as in that famous All-Ireland final in 1978 but at least they had the consolation of having led before John Egan’s goal kick-started an incredible comeback back then.

If Cooper’s goal was a statement of intent, then so too was his celebration, as were those of Declan and Darran O’Sullivan when they followed that opening score up with a pair of points just minutes later. There was a fire in Kerry that could be felt from the stands. We waited for Dublin’s response, for their trademark run of scores that can generate a noise like no other in Croke Park. Then we waited some more. It never came. They were a beaten docket all over the pitch. For 70 minutes. It took the Leinster champions five minutes just to get a move going, eight to win a free and 36 to actually score a point from a placed ball. They lost the kickout count 20 to six in the first-half.

It was the proverbial dyke and finger syndrome. Pat Gilroy began making changes after just 15 minutes but, as he intimated afterwards, he could have closed his eyes and picked out anyone in a blue jersey. Picking out a man of the match must have been a logistical nightmare. Colm Cooper scored 1-7 – 1-3 of it from play – and he wasn’t within an ass’s roar of claiming the piece of crystal, or whatever it is they give out these days. There simply isn’t the time or the space to run through all the CVs. Just listing them is exhausting. Tom O’Sullivan, Tomás O Sé, Darragh O Sé, Paul Galvin, Declan O’Sullivan, Darran O’Sullivan and Tadhg Kennelly could all make a strong case. See? Exhausting.

It’s like an Oscar speech. If anyone has been left out, apologies. The one Kerry player not to play well was Tommy Walsh who was replaced by Kennelly four minutes prior to half-time but Jack O’Connor’s decision to start the big youngster on the ‘40’ was, ironically enough, a success. Starting with Walsh at half-forward and Declan O’Sullivan on the edge of the square seemed to throw Dublin’s defensive plans, especially with Darran O’Sullivan being handed a licence to come and go as he pleased. The ease with which Kerry picked off points was frightening and Tommy Walsh, Declan O’Sullivan and Paul O’Connor were all denied seemingly certain goals by either a defender or Stephen Cluxton’s agility. The pity of it all, from a neutral’s point of view, was that it killed the game as a contest. Kerry were seven points ahead after 15 minutes, 14 by half-time and … well … you get the picture. It ended at 17 but could have been worse.

That Dublin were in serious trouble was apparent after six minutes when Alan Brogan opted to go for goal when a point was there for the taking and was denied by a brilliant Diarmuid Murphy save. Spectacular though it all was, Dublin were scoreless at the time and badly in need of a settler and Brogan should be old enough and experienced enough to have known the value of a white flag at that stage. Diarmuid Connolly followed suit 18 minutes in. When his shot pinged back off the crossbar it was obvious that Dublin were in for a long afternoon, a fact emphasised in the 70th minute when Bernard Brogan hit the post. Conal Keaney finally found the net for the Dubs after 57 minutes but Kerry were 16 points to the good at the time and it was a rare high point for a forward line that, Alan Brogan apart, completely misfired. If there was any doubt about this not being Dublin’s day it must have been dispelled when they re-emerged after half-time. On the two giant screens Owen Mulligan was slaloming through their defence in 2005 over and over again. That had to hurt.

Scorers for Kerry: C Cooper, 1-7 (4f), Declan O’Sullivan, Darran O’Sullivan, 0-3 each, P Galvin, T Kennelly, T O Se, P O’Connor (1f), 0-2 each; T O’Sullivan, D Walsh, S Scanlon, 0-1 each.

Scorers for Dublin: A Brogan, B Brogan (2f), 0-3 each; C Keaney, 1-0, B Cahill, 0-1.

Subs for Kerry: T Kennelly for T Walsh (31), P O’Connor for D Walsh (49), S O’Sullivan for Darran O’Sullivan (60), M Quirke for Darragh O Sé (61), A O’Mahony for Young (61).

Subs for Dublin: C Whelan for Magee (15), P Burke for Sherlock (24), C O’Sullivan for Cullen (28), A Hubbard for Henry (40), S Ryan for Connolly (63).

Referee: Pat McEnaney (Monaghan)

Match Preview

It’s one of the most intense rivalries in Gaelic football, having produced some classic contests over the years and the latest instalment promises to maintain the great tradition. Dublin, who won the Leinster title for the fifth successive season earlier this month, are bidding to beat Kerry for the first time in the championship since the 1977 All-Ireland semi-final.

Since then, the counties have clashed eight times, with Kerry winning seven while there was one draw (2001 All-Ireland quarter-final). They last met two years ago when Kerry won an All-Ireland semi-final by two points.

Kerry, the only county to have reached the quarter-finals every year since the new championship system was introduced in 2001, are attempting to extend a great run as they have never been beaten at this stage of the campaign. They drew with Dublin in 2001 but otherwise it has been success all the way against (Dublin 2001(replay), 2004), Galway (2002-2008), Roscommon (2003), Mayo (2005), Armagh (2006), Monaghan (2007).

Dublin reached the quarter-finals in seven of the last eight years with their record reading as follows: Played 10, Won 3, Drew 3, Lost 4. The wins came against Donegal (2002 replay), Westmeath (2006), Derry (2007). They drew with Kerry in 2001, Donegal in 2002 and Tyrone in 2005 and lost to Kerry (2001 (replay) and 2004), Tyrone (2005 (replay) and 2008).

Paths to the quarter-final

Dublin 0-14 Meath 0-12

Dublin 4-26 Westmeath 0-11

Dublin 2-15 Kildare 0-18 (Leinster final)

Cork 1-10 Kerry 0-13 (Draw)

Cork 1-17 Kerry 0-12 (Replay) Munster semi-final

Kerry 1-12 Longford 0-11 (Qualifier Round 2)

Kerry 0-14 Sligo 1-10 (Qualifier Round 3)

Kerry 2-12 Antrim 1-10 (Qualifier Round 4)

Last Championship Clash

Kerry 1-15 Dublin 0-16 (2007 All-Ireland semi-final, Croke Park) Kerry kicked three points in the first four minutes before Dublin recovered to lead 4-3 after 20 minutes. They were a point clear (0-8 to 0-7) at half-time but Kerry made a match-winning break just after the break when a Declan O’Sullivan goal was followed by a string of points which put them 1-12 to 0-9 ahead after 49 minutes.

Dublin fought back in great style, out-scoring Dublin by 0-7 to 0-2 in 17 minutes to cut the margin to a point before Declan O’Sullivan landed Kerry’s final point.

Kerry: Diarmuid Murphy; Padraig Reidy, Marc O Se, Tom O’Sullivan; Tomas O Se (0-1), Aidan O’Mahony, Killian Young; Darragh O Se, Seamus Scanlon; Paul Galvin (0-2),, Eoin Brosnan (0-2), Declan O’Sullivan (1-3); Colm Cooper (0-3), Kieran Donaghy, Bryan Sheehan (0-3).

Subs: Tommy Griffin for Darragh O Se, Darragh O Se for Griffin, Sean O’Sullivan (0-1) for Galvin, Darran O’Sullivan for Brosnan.

Dublin: Stephen Cluxton; David Henry, Ross McConnell, Paul Griffin; Paul Casey, Bryan Cullen (0-2), Barry Cahill (0-1); Ciaran Whelan, Shane Ryan; Bernard Brogan (0-1), Jason Sherlock, Colin Moran; Conal Keaney (0-4), Alan Brogan (0-3), Mark Vaughan (0-5).

Subs: Ray Cosgrove for Sherlock, Darren Magee for Bernard Brogan, Tomas Quinn for Vaughan.

Last Competitive Clash

Dublin 1-15 Kerry 1-15 (2009 NFL, Parnell Park, March 29).

Dublin led 0-9 to 0-7 at half-time and by 1-10 to 0-7 after five minutes of the second half after Mark Davoren (goal) and Pat Burke (point) extended the lead.

Dublin led by 1-15 to 0-13 after 59 minutes but Kerry staged a great finish with Paul Galvin and Kieran Donaghy scoring points which were separated by a goal from Aidan O’Mahony.

How they fared in All-Ireland quarter-finals

Dublin

2001: Kerry 1-14 Dublin 2-11 (draw)

2001: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 1-12 (replay)

2002: Dublin 2-8 Donegal 0-14 (draw)

2002: Dublin 1-14 Donegal 0-7 (replay)

2004: Kerry 1-15 Dublin 1-8

2005: Tyrone 1-14 Dublin 1-14 (draw)

2005: Tyrone 2-18 Dublin 1-14 (replay)

2006: Dublin 1-12 Westmeath 0-5

2007: Dublin 0-18 Derry 0-15

2008: Tyrone 3-14 Dublin 1-8

Played 10, Won 3, Drew 3, Lost 4.

Kerry

2001: Kerry 1-14 Dublin 2-11 (draw)

2001: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 1-12 (replay)

2002: Kerry 2-17 Galway 1-12

2003: Kerry 1-21 Roscommon 3-10

2004: Kerry 1-15 Dublin 1-8

2005: Kerry 2-15 Mayo 0-18

2006: Kerry 3-15 Armagh 1-13

2007: Kerry 1-12 Monaghan 1-11

2008: Kerry 1-21 Galway 1-16

Played 9, Won 8, Drew 1.

DUBLIN v KERRY: CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

2007: Kerry 1-15 Dublin 0-16 (All-Ireland semi-final)

2004: Kerry 1-15 Dublin 1-8 (All-Ireland quarter-final)

2001: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 1-12 (All-Ireland quarter-final replay)

2001: Kerry 1-14 Dublin 2-11 (All-Ireland quarter-final)

1985: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 2-8 (All-Ireland final)

1984: Kerry 0-14 Dublin 1-6 (All-Ireland final)

1979: Kerry 3-13 Dublin 1-8 (All-Ireland final)

1978: Kerry 5-11 Dublin 0-9 (All-Ireland final)

1977: Dublin 3-12 Kerry 1-13 (All-Ireland semi-final)

1976: Dublin 3-8 Kerry 0-10 (All-Ireland final)

1975: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 0-11 (All-Ireland final)

1965: Kerry 4-8 Dublin 2-6 (All-Ireland semi-final)

1962: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 0-10 (All-Ireland semi-final)

1959: Kerry 1-10 Dublin 2-5 (All-Ireland semi-final)

1955: Kerry 0-12 Dublin 1-6 (All-Ireland final)

1941: Kerry 2-9 Dublin 0-3 (All-Ireland semi-final replay)

1941: Kerry 0-4 Dublin 0-4 (All-Ireland semi-final)

1934: Dublin 3-8 Kerry 0-6 (All-Ireland semi-final)

1932: Kerry 1-3 Dublin 1-1 (All-Ireland semi-final)

1924: Kerry 0-4 Dublin 0-3 (All-Ireland final)

1923: Dublin 1-5 Kerry 1-3 (All-Ireland final)

1908: Dublin 0-10 Kerry 0-3 (All-Ireland final)

1904: Kerry 0-5 Dublin 0-2 (All-Ireland final)

1892 Dublin 1-4 Kerry 0-3 (All-Ireland final)

Played 24: Kerry 16, Dublin 6, Draws 2