One – support act needed
The final saw two of the great forward performances in an All-Ireland. Shane Walsh’s drifting style caused endless problems for Tom O’Sullivan, as the Galway sharpshooter picked up possession and shot some lovely points, especially the 17th minute score from the left just after Paul Geaney had shot wide to create a real sense of momentum.
David Clifford ploughed a lone furrow for much of the first half, making himself available for ball and scoring under pressure given the flow of the match.
Walsh’s was the outstanding performance but Galway suffered because he hadn’t adequate support. Damien Comer found it difficult to get away from Jason Foley and Graham O’Sullivan did a fine job on Rob Finnerty, leaving the previously high-yield Connacht champions’ full-forward line short of scores on the day.
Only one other Galway forward scored – Johnny Heaney with a point. Six Kerry forwards contributed as well as Clifford.
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Two – damage limitation
Kerry had a largely disastrous first half. Their attacks were laboured and unable to create openings in the Galway rearguard. Forwards, with the exception of David Clifford, looked jittery and they registered seven first-half wides. Defence was in trouble with Walsh running riot and John Daly finding openings, such as the eighth-minute ball into Johnny Heaney, which could easily have ended up in one of the Galway man’s trademark goals.
But Kerry worked their way through the difficulties, minimising damage.
In the third minute, for instance, having missed a straightforward free, Seán O’Shea was still working hard and paying attention so that when his marker Liam Silke motored through onto a ball and headed for the Kerry goal, it was O’Shea who brought off the block at the cost of a 45, which Walsh converted . It proved crucial for Kerry to keep out any goals where they were under early pressure.
Three – experience
Not only were the Galway players less experienced than their Kerry opponents when it came to All-Ireland finals but their management, with the exception of Cian O’Neill, had not taken teams on the big day.
With the Kerry players’ hanging in until half-time, having seasoned management to call the changes also helped.
Jack O’Connor removed David Moran and Paul Geaney at half-time. Both were among the most experienced players on the field but neither had been in their best form during the first half with Moran’s clearance kick from defence into attack shooting over the Cusack sideline in the last play before half-time and Geaney’s two wides suggesting his radar was off.
After an initial wide, Killian Spillane went on to shoot two points and get fouled for a third. Adrian Spillane added some fresh legs around centrefield and Kerry finished noticeably stronger.
Four – controversy kept at bay
There was a moment in the 60th minute when Tom O’Sullivan, bothered and bewildered by Shane Walsh all afternoon, managed to break up the field for one of his trademark points.
It got called back by Hawk-Eye and was disallowed. When RTÉ’s coverage re-ran the shot, a sense of dread enveloped the press box. It wasn’t going to contradict the score detection system again, as in the Galway-Derry semi-final – was it? No camera footage showed it was plainly wide.
Similarly when John Daly was penalised for pushing when in possession, it seemed a harsh call given that Galway might have had a relieving free earlier in the sequence.
Galway goalkeeper Connor Gleeson might well have been sin-binned in the 49th minute for pulling down Killian Spillane but referee Seán Hurson contented himself with a free.
Ultimately though, the winning margin removed the likelihood of any potentially sulphurous post-match controversies.
Five – hitting the 20
It was Andy Moran who said that to beat Dublin in their pomp, a team needed to score 20 points. That formulation would appear to extend to all teams in All-Ireland football finals.
Kerry’s 0-20 this time is remarkably in line with a consistent trend in recent finals. It was the third year running and the fourth time in six years that the champions had scored this total after Tyrone and Dublin scored 2-14 in the last two finals and the latter hit 1-17 five years ago.
There was also minimal deviation in 2019 when Dublin scored 1-18 and in 2018 the winning total was slightly elevated in the Dublin-Tyrone final at 1-20.
Galway’s 0-16 wouldn’t have won any final back to 2015 when Dublin beat Kerry 0-12 to 0-9 on a hideous, wet day. It would have won the finals of 2014, 2011 and 2003.
Read all the news, analysis and comment on Kerry’s win, here
