Derry 2-13 Kerry 2-9: LIFE'S LIKE that: just when you think you're winning, you're not any more. Having impressed presumably even themselves by the steady progress through the competition despite missing several first-choice players, Kerry reached yesterday's Allianz National Footbal League Division One final with confidence high and players coming back only to get a rude awakening from a Derry team that overcame a desperate start to win pulling away.
If the homely environs of Parnell Park, with an attendance of 9,732 that didn't exactly indict the decision to hold the final there, were supposed to be an advantage to Derry compared with the All-Ireland champions' second home just down the road, it didn't work out that way for most of the first half.
The Ulster team looked to have frozen and wasted good possession while their opponents effectively used the ball to nearly optimal effect to lead by seven, 2-4 to 0-3, after 23 minutes through good forward movement and efficient free-kicking by Michael Francis Russell.
Whatever happened after that - Kerry losing all urgency while Derry acquired a lot more - the remaining 50 minutes were a story of an 11-point turnaround.
Central to the role reversal was a compete tightening of the challenge in the midfield. Kerry manager Pat O'Shea conceded the middle third had been the cockpit where the match was lost and Derry trainer John McCloskey, who was unhappy with what he identified as off-the-ball fouling by Kerry in the first half, pinpointed the decision to switch Enda Muldoon out to the sector.
"We were losing out on that. Break ball was coming off it and they were coming at us picking up the breaks. Once we got him out there he caught a couple of kicks and held the ground, which took the momentum out of their attacks and we slowly clawed our way back into it."
Once that happened the game changed. Kerry had never been lording it in centrefield but their quick deployment of the ball had set up excellent attacking platforms. As the momentum swung time and space on the ball contracted and the favourites were under pressure. The game ceased to be on their terms.
There had always been a contrast between the two central pairings. Darragh Ó Sé and Séamus Scanlon were strong in possession and Scanlon unleashed some very effective long ball but Fergal Doherty and Joe Diver, even when the match was going against them, still pushed forward and allowed their opponents very little clean possession. When Derry had tightened their approach they won the breaks and they shut down Kerry.
Before the start Kerry replaced the injured Tommy Griffin with Ronán Ó Flatharta and Derry lost captain Kevin McCloy. He was replaced at full back by Niall McCusker, who played Kieran Donaghy quite well in Killarney during the teams' divisional meeting last month. Yesterday the defender ended up scoring more than his opponent, a breakaway point to nil, but in the early stages he was under huge pressure as Donaghy's high catching and robotic vision threatened to tear Derry apart. His lively basketball paws were detectable on all but three points, 2-2, of Kerry's first-half total.
But the big deliveries dried up and Donaghy was caught between dropping deep and waiting for what occasional big plays would make their way through to him.
For Derry the situation was correspondingly brighter. Having struggled with Marc Ó Sé in the early stages Paddy Bradley ended up breaking about even with the footballer of the year but as everyone knows, breaking even with Bradley costs a team and yesterday's tariff was three points from play plus a pointed free awarded for a foul on him.
Kerry's goals came from Donaghy's aerial prowess: Donncha Walsh finishing well in the second minute and Darren O'Sullivan, who saw off Francis McEldowney before half-time, fortuitously miss-hitting his shot which in consequence bobbled past Barry Gillis in the 23rd minute.
Thereafter the All-Ireland champions were outscored 2-10 to 0-5 by a hungrier Derry outfit, who at half-time were told not to come back to the dressingroom without having won the match. Sharp follow-ups to rebounded shots gave Doherty and Conleth Gilligan goals in two minutes either side of half-time and in retrospect it's surprising Derry took as long as they did to put away the contest.
Kerry played Eoin Brosnan deep in the second half to try to stem the tide but their attack looked blunter than had appeared possible in the first quarter. Colm Cooper returned for his second appearance after a lengthy break but he picked up two yellow cards for getting involved with Kevin McGuckin and what looked like dissent after a late attack had been penalised for fouling the ball.
Derry had moved unalterably in front by that stage, their fluent running attacks opening up scores for half backs Michael McIvor and Ger O'Kane. Bradley signed off with a flamboyant dead-ball point from the right-hand sideline.
As usual for Ulster winners, Derry's focus shifts immediately and they have five weeks to forget their sixth league title and prepare for Donegal in the championship.
DERRY: B Gillis; K McGuckin, N McCusker (0-1), F McEldowney; L Hinphey, G O'Kane (0-1), M McIvor (0-1); J Diver, F Doherty (1-0); C Gilligan (1-1, point a free), M Lynch, B McGoldrick; E Bradley (0-2), P Bradley (0-6, two frees, one line ball), E Muldoon. Subs: SM Lockhart for McEldowney (34 mins), P Murphy (0-1) for E Bradley (43 mins), K McCloy for Hinphey (59 mins), J Keenan for McIvor (67 mins), C Mullan for Gilligan (69 mins).
KERRY: D Murphy; P Reidy, M Ó Sé, T O'Sullivan; T Ó Sé capt (0-1), A O'Mahony (0-1), R Ó Flatharta; D Ó Sé, S Scanlon; Declan O'Sullivan, D Walsh (1-0), E Brosnan (0-1); Darren O'Sullivan (1-2), K Donaghy, MF Russell (0-4, all frees). Subs: C Cooper for Declan O'Sullivan (47 mins), D Bohane for Ó Flatharta (62 mins), M Quirke for Scanlon (62 mins), A Maher for Russell (67 mins).
Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois).
