Donaghy injury adds to Kerry concerns

Kerry 1-12 Longford 0-11KIERAN DONAGHY bent his shoulders into the teeming rain, his pathway to the team bus encumbered by not alone well wishers but the fact he had to make the short journey on crutches. The Kerry full forward had enjoyed a pivotal influence on the All-Ireland football championship second-round qualifier for the 44 minutes he was on the pitch before falling awkwardly and catching a boot on the foot that had kept him sidelined since sustaining the injury in the National League final against Derry.

On the evidence of Saturday evening at Pearse Park, Kerry supporters will offer a novena that this morning’s X-ray won’t reveal anything more debilitating than bruising because the team can ill afford to be without him next weekend. He was the focal point for Kerry’s first-half dominance, his deft touches and clever appreciation of team-mates’ running lines the catalyst for a half a dozen scores. Colm Cooper was the primary beneficiary, operating within touching distance of the big full forward and helping himself to five points, three from play.

When Donaghy limped off, Cooper cut a forlorn figure, shunted to the periphery of a match that was unravelling horribly for the visitors, albeit further down the pitch. Kerry manager Jack O’Connor was non-committal when it came to offering a medical prognosis on his full forward. “Somebody stamped on Donaghy’s foot. It’s a bit of a worry; we’ll see if it will clear up in a week. He has to have it X-rayed. Is it the same foot? I wouldn’t have a clue.”

The last statement is probably not strictly true but O’Connor’s appetite for post-match questioning can best be summed up with his opening remark: “Make it quick, lads.”

It was easy to understand the sentiment. His whistle-stop summation of the game was that he was reasonably happy with the first half, not content at all with what transpired after the interval and more or less relieved to have secured a place in the next round. He also suggested Tadhg Kenneally, who missed the game, could be available next weekend.

O’Connor will also hope Declan O’Sullivan recovers from the bang to the knee that forced him to retire within a couple of minutes of Donaghy’s departure. O’Sullivan brought a direction and accuracy to Kerry’s first-half play in terms of his long-ball distribution that few of his colleagues managed to replicate post-interval as they floundered because of a surfeit of lateral passing.

It had facilitated Donaghy, the excellent Tommy Walsh and Cooper in edging their personal duels, the by-product of which was a 1-10 tally in those opening 35 minutes. Walsh grabbed the game’s only goal on nine minutes after Killian Young’s partially blocked shot had fortuitously found its way to him on the edge of the square.

The teams had been level at a point apiece but Kerry scored nine of the next 10 points before Longford rallied with a brace before the interval. Defensively, the home side seemed to fall between a desire to mark tightly and, given the slippery underfoot conditions, offer a more measured form of defending: neither option was particularly effective.

Kerry dominated midfield for large tranches of the first half and even when Longford managed to get forward, the overuse of lateral, short passing saw them drift aimlessly into the cluttered corridors of Kerry defenders. The home side were too narrow in going forward, too laboured in possession and failed to use the width of the pitch to stretch Kerry. They appeared to be a little bit cowed mentally.

There were exceptions, notably outstanding half-forward Pádraig Berry and the Barden brothers, Paul and David, the latter a first-half replacement for Brian Kavanagh. The Bardens contributed seven points, six from play, and Paul could have goaled on 33 minutes when clean through after a Tommy Griffin slip, but Diarmuid Murphy produced a great double save. Griffin had anxious moments at full back, a malaise that would spread through the backs after the break.

By the time Donaghy and Declan O’Sullivan were helped to the sideline, Kerry led 1-12 to 0-7 – Walsh kicked two points from play that prove to be his team’s only scores of the second half – but over the next 10 minutes the momentum shifted to Longford.

They flooded midfield, where a tiring Séamus Scanlon and Darragh Ó Sé no longer dictated play – Michéal Quirke’s arrival with 20 minutes to go had a positive impact for Kerry – and the Longford backs were suddenly getting out in front of their men, especially the excellent Declan Reilly, Dermot Brady and Enda Williams.

Infused with belief, the home side tore forward but even though they tagged on four more points to close the gap to four at the final whistle, they were guilty of some panicked shooting, primarily from long range that contributed to a second-half tally of 11 wides. Their full-forward line drifted way out the pitch and though wind-assisted it placed a massive premium on accuracy in difficult conditions.

Longford manager Glenn Ryan admitted: “They only started realising late in the game they are capable of living with them. If we had the belief at the start of the game that we had at the end then we might have done it. I suppose with the possession we had in the second half we are disappointed we didn’t test them more.

“In the second half we had plenty of opportunities and most of those weren’t speculative things. When you are coming up against Kerry you need to be taking half the chances you get and we didn’t in that second half. We outscored them seven to two and it could have been even more. We snuffed them out and turned them over a lot of times. (It is) one that got away.

“We didn’t look for moral victories. Our performance in the first half didn’t warrant a win but our performance in the second did.”

Longford will reflect on what might have been but for Kerry there is the more primary focus on addressing Saturday’s shortcomings in a very short timeframe.

LONGFORD: D Sheridan; N Farrell, B Gilleran, D Reilly; D Masterson, E Williams, D Brady; G Dennigan, K Smith (0-2, two frees); P Berry, F McGee (0-1, one free), S Mulligan; P Barden, (capt, 0-4, one free), C Mimnagh (0-1), B Kavanagh. Subs: D Barden (0-3) for Kavanagh (23 mins), P Dowd for Dennigan (32 mins), P Foy for Farrell (44 mins), K Mulligan for Mimnagh (64 mins), P Reynolds for Smith (71 mins). Yellow cards: D Masterson (23 mins), N Farrell (28 mins).

KERRY: D Murphy; K Young, T Griffin, T O’Sullivan; T Ó Sé (0-1), M Ó Sé, A O’Shea; D Ó Sé, S Scanlon; D Walsh (capt, 0-1), D O’Sullivan (0-1), S O’Sullivan (0-2, two frees); C Cooper (0-5, two frees), K Donaghy, T Walsh (1-2). Subs: Darren O’Sullivan for Declan O’Sullivan (44 mins), BJ Walsh for Donaghy (46 mins), M Quirke for Scanlon (59 mins), D Moran for S O’Sullivan (59 mins), B Sheehan for D Ó Sé (64 mins). Yellow card: A O’Shea 68 mins.

Referee: G Kinneavy (Galway).