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Kerry 1-20 Limerick 0-10:An All-Ireland quarter-final that won't live long in the memory was won at a canter by Kerry this afternoon. Darran O'Sullivan's moment of magic illuminated an otherwise dull encounter but his joy was tempered by a hamstring injury that could threaten his involvement in the semi-finals.
O’Sullivan’s classy finish was worth the admission price alone at an eerily subdued Croke Park, the Glenbeigh man flicking the ball through a crowd of bodies after the ball was played behind him by Bryan Sheehan.
But it was a rare highlight in the first of today’s double-header as Kerry eased into the semi-finals where they will meet either Mayo or defending champions Cork.
A low-octane opening period could have been oh so different had Limerick taken advantage of the raft of scoring opportunities that came their way. Stephen Kelly was guilty of dropping three kickable frees into the arms of Brendan Kealy while the same player also passed up a gilt-edged goal chance.
Three of the four points Limerick did manage before the break were quality scores, with Kelly going some way to making amends with a fine effort, but Maurice Horan will have been bitterly disappointed the more straightforward chances were spurned.
Kerry were never going to be as profligate. While the likes of Colm Cooper and Kieren Donaghy saw little action, Darran O’Sullivan did plenty of damage, adding three points to his memorable goal before being forced off with that hamstring injury.
Trailing by 1-8 to 0-4 at the interval, Limerick did at least threaten to make a better fist of things in the second half. Three unanswered points from Kelly (2) and Ger Collins lent an air of respectability to the scoreboard before Kerry simply upped the pace.
Surging runs from Bryan Sheehan and Tómas Ó Sé yielded scores before Cooper and Sheehan provided further daylight between the teams. Declan O’Sullivan had a fine effort expertly saved by Scanlon as Kerry emptied the bench and engaged in shooting practice well before the end of a low-key contest.