NFL Division 1: Kerry 2-29 Mayo 0-19
Kerry took a step towards booking their place in the Division 1 final with a ruthless dispatching of Mayo on Saturday.
The visitors arrived to Tralee as the highest scorers in the top flight and were to add six more two-pointers to their campaign, yet Mayo could hardly have been further off the pace. Kerry, meanwhile, were at their awesome best and full value for their 16-point victory.
Two goals and three points from Dingle’s Dylan Geaney and 11 points from Seánie O’Shea, including a two-pointer off the ground from play, made David Clifford’s eight points seem a modest contribution. But the Fossa man still walked away with the man-of-the-match award on an evening when Kerry kicked just one wide to Mayo’s 14.
With no more than two points to separate the sides in any of their previous four meetings at Austin Stack Park, a similarly close game had been anticipated. Mayo chose the occasion to hand 18-year-old Kobe McDonald his first senior start, but the writing was on the wall at half-time when the hosts were three points up despite playing into the breeze.
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The game had actually began promisingly for Mayo. By the 18th minute they had already fired over a trio of two-pointers from play through Jordan Flynn, Jack Carney and Ryan O’Donoghue. They could have been well ahead had Darragh Beirne not dragged a goal chance wide. It wasn’t their only time to threaten Kerry’s goal either; McDonald had two bites of the cherry in the 29th minute but was foiled both times by goalkeeper Shane Murphy.
McDonald’s missed moment came during a run of eight consecutive Kerry points. By half-time Jack O’Connor’s side lead 0-13 to 0-10 despite Mayo having the wind at their backs. And the All-Ireland champions were only getting started.
Geaney had a shot deflected past Mayo goalkeeper Rob Hennelly for the game’s opening goal five minutes after the restart, separating two-pointers from Clifford and O’Shea. By the 43rd minute Kerry were 10 points in front.
It would take Andy Moran’s side until the 63rd minute to score from play in the second-half, by which time a second Geaney goal and a barrage of two-pointers from O’Shea and Clifford had seen Kerry extend their advantage to 19 points before Fergal Boland and Ryan O’Donoghue pared back a score apiece from outside the arc.
The win means Kerry will secure a place in the Division 1 decider if they avoid defeat away to Armagh next weekend while Mayo host Roscommon in Castlebar.
KERRY: S Murphy; P Murphy, J Foley, D Casey; T O’Sullivan (0-0-1), T Morley, A Heinrich; C Trant, S O’Brien (0-0-1); J O’Connor (0-0-1), S O’Shea (0-4-3, 2tpf), G O’Sullivan (0-0-1); D Geaney (2-0-3), D Clifford (0-2-4), K Evans (0-0-2). Subs: M Burns for G O’Sullivan (46 mins), M Breen (0-0-1) for T O’Sullivan (51), T Kennedy for Geaney (55), L Smith for O’Brien (58), TL O’Sullivan for P Murphy (59), E Healy for Casey (64).
MAYO: R Hennelly (0-1-0, tpf); J Coyne, R Brickenden, D McHugh; S Callinan (0-0-1), D O’Connor, C Dawson; B Tuohy, D McBrien; J Carney (0-1-0), R O’Donoghue (0-2-4f), J Flynn (0-1-0); D Beirne, K McDonald (0-0-1), F Boland (0-1-1). Subs: S Morahan for Dawson (27 mins), D Duffy for McHugh (h-t), S Coen for O’Connor (41), A O’Shea for Beirne (41), C O’Connor for Tuohy (55).
Referee: M McNally (Monaghan).
