Division 1 final: Kerry 2-10 Donegal 3-20 (report)
Division 2 final: Meath 1-22 Cork 2-17 (report)
Well, that’s all from me and that’s all for the National Football Leagues for another year.
Carlow, Down, Meath and Donegal climbed to the top of their respective divisions and clinched the first silverware of the year.
[ Meath boss Robbie Brennan: ‘This is not our stopping point at all here today’Opens in new window ]
Donegal’s display today has put down a marker to every other team in the country, demolishing the All-Ireland champions. But, as is always the case with the leagues, that could all be forgotten by the end of championship.
Thanks for joining us today. Seán Moran’s report on that Division 1 final is still to come, and there’ll be plenty of coverage online in the week to come. Goodnight!
[ Donegal beat Kerry at their own game in dominating the kick-out battleOpens in new window ]
Paul Keane was at Croke Park for the Division 2 final, where Meath ran out champions of the second tier.
[Meath ride purple patch all the way to the finish to pip Cork for Division Two title]
Here’s Seán Moran’s final update of the day until his report comes in:
“Donegal purged the memory of last year’s All-Ireland with a 13-point win over Kerry at Croke Park to lift the Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh trophy and win a first league title since 2007.
Jim McGuinness’s team were overwhelmingly superior to the All-Ireland champions for whom it was a hugely disappointing performance. Trailing by eight at half-time, 1-2 to 0-13, Kerry briefly revived on the resumption but were buried by three Donegal goals in as many minutes from Conor O’Donnell, Michael Murphy and Caolan McGonagle between the 42nd and 45th.
They led 3-13 to 1-4. They showed good discipline in continuing to press the matter and at one point led by 3-19 to 1-4. Kerry will now have plenty to reflect on as they prepare to defend their championship titles – their league crown is now gone.
A late flourish of scores reduced the margin on a day when 13 points represented respectability of sorts."
Here’s the pick of the goals today, Conor O’Donnell’s effort that started the rout for Donegal.
Jarlath Burns presents the Micheal Ó Muircheartaigh Cup to Shane O’Donnell and Michael Langan as co-captains of Donegal.
Full-time: Kerry 2-10 Donegal 3-20
Donegal are Division 1 champions. They were brilliant today, but Kerry were very poor it has to be said.
69 Mins: Donegal are just keeping the ball, playing it through the hands, until Conor O’Donnell has a go. That should be that. Kerry 2-10 Donegal 3-20
66 Mins: Armin Heinrich adds another to his and Kerry’s tallies. Kerry 2-10 Donegal 3-20
65 Mins: GOAL for Kerry! David Clifford sends Mulreany the wrong way one-on-one. Then Mulreany makes a brilliant save to deny Kennedy a minute later! A late flash of life from the Kingdom. Kerry 2-9 Donegal 3-20
62 Mins: Great score by Finnbarr Roarty, who is off the bench, doing a lot of work and then chipping it over. Tom O’Sullivan gets one back for the Kingdom, and then Tomás Kennedy fists one over too. Kerry 1-9 Donegal 3-20
60 Mins: Paul Geaney cracks over a lovely two-pointer. Donegal are still all over them, but mostly keeping the ball. Kerry 1-7 Donegal 3-19
56 Mins: Armin Henirich chps over a lovely score for Kerry. Kerry 1-5 Donegal 3-19
54 Mins: Peadar Mogan punches the hole this time, finds Max Campbell, and the late replacement decides to fist it over rather than take on the one-on-one. Ryan McHugh adds a point right after. This is some showing. Paul Geaney is on for Dylan Geaney, while Michael Murphy is roared off for Finnbarr Roarty. How different Murphy’s exit from the pitch could have been today. Kerry 1-4 Donegal 3-19
52 Mins: A strange crossfield pass from Ryan McHugh finds Caolan McColgan in his own half, and he comes under pressure from Seán O’Shea. It’s representative of today though that he skips past and then dusts the centre-forward and is fouled just inside Murphy’s range. Another two-pointer. Kerry 1-4 Donegal 3-17
50 Mins: Michael Langan turns Mark O’Shea inside-out and sticks a point over. Kerry 1-4 Donegal 3-15
46 Mins: Murphy points a free off the deck to build on the scoreline. Kerry 1-4 Donegal 3-14
45 Mins: GOAL for Donegal! A handpass across the Kerry 45 to Jason Foley was cut out by Murphy who powered through and finished brilliantly into the far bottom corner.
GOAL for Donegal! What is going on? Max Campbell absolutely burns his man, feeds McGonagle and although it looks like he was going for a point, it crept under the bar. Three goals in a row! Kerry 1-4 Donegal 3-13
42 Mins: Donegal look pretty happy to keep hold of the ball so far this half, not really threatening the Kerry goal.
GOAL for Donegal! Well, that’s one way to prove me wrong! Langan breaks the line, slips it to Conor O’Donnell, whose run was made with serious intent. He blasted the ball beyond Murphy with his left, a great finish. Kerry 1-4 Donegal 1-13
38 Mins: Keith Evans gets a bit of space, and taps a point over off his right. Kerry look up for it so far. Kerry 1-4 Donegal 0-13
36 Mins: Dylan Casey strikes the first score of the second half. Langan comes up the other end and snatches at his chance a little. A lovely long pass finds Clifford, who feeds O’Shea for a two-pointer, but it’s wide. Kerry 1-3 Donegal 0-13
As the second half throw in, Seán Moran gives a half-time update from Croker:
“The first half ended with the dominant team kicking for a two-pointer. The difference this time was that unlike the All-Ireland final last July, the kick went wide and the side with the big lead was not Kerry.
Neither did the All-Ireland champions get the same start but they did take the lead when after a long phase of possession play, David Clifford made his move to clip the first point in the fifth minute. They also had the encouragement of a goal, scored by Keith Evans, finished smartly after Joe O’Connor’s fisted pass sent him in behind the defence.
That 13th minute goal came between two two-pointers, rifled over by Michael Langan to establish and restore Donegal’s lead. Kerry went 20 minutes without scoring before adding a second point in the 33rd minute.
In that time, in a further contrast with the All-Ireland, Donegal took over on the kick-outs and maintained a high-tempo running game, punctuated by well-taken scores, including a brace from Max Campbell, who was introduced at the start instead of 2025 Young Footballer of the Year Finbarr Roarty.
Jack O’Connor made two changes to his starting team , bringing in Liam Smith for Seán O’Brien and Tadhg Morley for Brian Ó Beaglaoich."
The TG4 panel are all in agreement, Michael Murphy should have seen red for the Dylan Casey incident.
Here’s Keith Evans’ goal, the bright spark for Kerry in the first half.
Half-time: Kerry 1-2 Donegal 0-13
An abject Kerry performance so far, with the only saving grace being that the Canal End seems the tougher end to kick into today.
33 Mins: Seán O’Shea finally registers Kerry’s third score of the game, 22 minutes after their second. Kerry 1-2 Donegal 0-13
32 Mins: Tomás Kennedy is on for Liam Smith for Kerry. Clifford lets off a poor shot under pressure, but he has an advantage. The free is miles out, and he puts it wide. Kerry 1-1 Donegal 0-13
30 Mins: Great save from Mulreany, as Joe O’Connor went through on goal thanks to a lovely Keith Evans pass. Kerry 1-1 Donegal 0-13
28 Mins: Max Campbell gets another score for Donegal. It’s a hard job to step in to replace Finnbarr Roarty, but he’s playing very well so far. Kerry 1-1 Donegal 0-13
25 Mins: Conor O’Donnell is the latest scorer for Donegal, after Peadar Mogan did the business moments before. Kerry can’t get much of a foothold, and a shocking Seán O’Shea effort doesn’t help things. Kerry 1-1 Donegal 0-12
23 Mins: Two points in a row for Ryan McHugh, but the second could really have been a goal. A superb save from Shane Murphy sees it deflect over the bar. Kerry 1-1 Donegal 0-10
21 Mins: The fairly sparse and quiet crowd are making some pretty confusing noise, with whistles being blown and hooters sounding. Thankfully, it’s not distracting the players, as Max Campbell chips a great score over on his left foot. Kerry 1-1 Donegal 0-8
17 Mins: The ball is moved in for Donegal in the play directly after that incident, and it’s Murphy who gets a two-pointer from the advanced free. Kerry 1-1 Donegal 0-7
15 Mins: Michael Langan continues his superb start with another two-pointer. This time he shakes off Graham O’Sullivan and pops it over.
Michael Murphy should be sent off for a punch to the face of Dylan Casey! He used the closed fist to dig Casey in the ribs while tackling, but the follow-up was worse, a punch to the jaw of the Kerry corner-back when the ball was well gone. Gough only gives him a yellow, obviously not having a perfect view of it Kerry 1-1 Donegal 0-5
13 Mins: GOAL for Kerry! Keith Evans made a run like a train off the wing and Joe O’Connor fed him. It was a lovely finish by the young corner-forward too, smashing it beyond Mulreany. Kerry 1-1 Donegal 0-3
12 Mins: Michael Langan gets the game’s first two-pointer, making it look easy. Kerry 0-1 Donegal 0-3
10 Mins: Michael Langan gets Donegal’s first score, a lovely clip-over from inside the arc. Kerry 0-1 Donegal 0-1
8 Mins: Michael Langan turns over Joe O’Connor, but Donegal can’t get out of their backline. Caolan McColgan is forced out over the endline by Mark O’Shea, but that’s a mercy, because he presented the ball directly to Clifford after it crossed the line. Then Mulreany gives Clifford a little shove in the goalmouth and he flops down like a fish into the net. O’Shea misses the 45′ anyway. Kerry 0-1 Donegal 0-0
6 Mins: Eoghan Bán Gallagher puts a shot wide inside the ‘D’ and Jim McGuinness looks an unhappy man. Kerry 0-1 Donegal 0-0
4 Mins: A poor miss by Michael Murphy allows Kerry to register the first score of the game through David Clifford a minute later. This is so much like the All-Ireland final so far. Kerry 0-1 Donegal 0-0
2 Mins: A small bit delayed, but we’re underway in Croke Park for the Division 1 final. Kerry are playing into the Canal End, and both sides are wearing their home strips. Kerry keep the ball patiently, before Clifford gets on it and has a go for a two-pointer. It’s a bit of a Garryowen, but it drops for Graham O’Sullivan, who’s goalbound shot is cleared off the line by Mogan. Kerry 0-0 Donegal 0-0
Kerry: Shane Murphy; Tadgh Morley, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Tom O’Sullivan, Mike Breen, Armin Heinrich; Mark O’Shea, Liam Smith; Joe O’Connor, Seán O’Shea, Graham O’Sullivan; Dylan Geaney, David Clifford, Keith Evans.
Donegal: Gavin Mulreany; Caolan McColgan, Brendan McCole, Eoghan Bán Gallagher; Ryan McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Max Campbell; Jason McGee, Hugh McFadden; Shane O’Donnell, Michael Langan, Peadar Mogan; Conor O’Donnell, Michael Murphy, Shane O’Donnell.
Attention turns now to the Division 1 final. Kerry and Donegal didn’t serve up a classic final last year, but things could be different eight months on. Still, the question remains for Donegal - how can you stop David Clifford? The big man had a field day in the All-Ireland final in July despite the attentions of Brendan McCole.
Here’s the absolute cracker that rattled the net for Meath in the second half. Jack O’Connor, take a bow.
Ruairí Kinsella is named the man of the match, with a tally of five points. Jack O’Connor helped himself to 1-2, and crucially James Conlon kicked 0-4 off the bench when Meath needed a lift.
GAA President Jarlath Burns highlights the quality of the goals from Jack O’Connor and Chris Óg Jones in his speech before the trophy lift. Spare a thought for poor Brian Hurley, whose goal must not have met those lofty standards.
69 Mins: Meath try to bring up Brennan to waste some more time, but the ref is wise to it. Cork have 15 seconds to score. Never going to happen, because Meath can just foul away the time now. Conlon picks up a black card, but he did his job.
Full-time: Meath 1-22 Cork 2-17. Meath are Division 2 champions!
The end of that was terrible, but otherwise it was a fantastic game.
68 Mins: Cork get a half-chance to go at the goal, but Brian O’Driscoll is held up and turned over by the Meath backs. Now Meath just need to hold it for a minute and a half. Meath 1-22 Cork 2-17
67 Mins: Sherlock nearly gives away the ball needlessly, but it’s rescued back to spare his blushes. Cork are doing this craic of slowing it down and looking for the perfect time for the perfect shot. The minutes are counting down. Meath 1-22 Cork 2-17
65 Mins: GOAL for Cork! Brian Hurley gets on the scoresheet, slotting it coolly beyond Brennan and leaving two in it. Meath 1-22 Cork 2-17
63 Mins: Meath win a long kickout, work it to Conlon, and he adds another. He is some super sub. Meath 1-22 Cork 1-17
61 Mins: Ciarán Caulfield gets a fantastic score for Meath, and Sherlock hits back for Cork with a tapover. Meath 1-21 Cork 1-17
59 Mins: Cork somehow get away with messing around with the ball inside their own 21′ for a seeming eternity. Working it up quickly, that attack comes to nothing when Hurley’s first two-point attempt drops just short. Meath win a nice handy free, and Frayne pops that one. They look much the stronger with 10 to go. Meath 1-20 Cork 1-16
57 Mins: A Frayne free looks to be heading a half-mile wide, but comes around somehow and puts a goal between the sides. Meath 1-19 Cork 1-16
55 Mins: Cork try to work a chance for ages, but Luke Fahy gets too eager and is blocked down when he shoots. Meath race up and it looks like the Rebels have dealt with that danger, but Sherlock of all people fumbles the ball and Conlon gets in for a score. He gets another right after that too. Meath 1-18 Cork 1-16
52 Mins: A gorgeous score from James Conlon puts one between the teams, and then Cork get the short kickout wrong again, taking it inside the arc and giving Frayne a chance at a free. He takes it and we’re level. Meath 1-16 Cork 1-16
51 Mins: Some great tackling by Meath gives them a chance on goal, as Caulfield hands it off to Conlon who’s just come on. The corner-forward decides to just pop it over, so Robbie Brennan and Meath decide they want their chance back for a two-point-free for an advantage played in the move. Conlon’s score is scratched off and up comes Sean Brennan. Obviously unaware of sod’s law, they emerge from that gamble with zero points. Meath 1-14 Cork 1-16
50 Mins: There’s a little bit of needle coming into the game now, with a few lads getting heavy knocks. Shanley is one, and there’s a small bit of blood so he’s replace for now by Kevin O’Donovan. Meath 1-14 Cork 1-16
47 Mins: Good score for Meath, nice and simple play, Ruairí Kinsella with the finish. Meath 1-14 Cork 1-16
46 Mins: Another beauty from Steven Sherlock. What a showcase game from the Finbarr’s man. Meath 1-13 Cork 1-16
45 Mins: Steven Sherlock rounds his man and gets a score. Down the other end, another Cork kickout fails to reach the 21′, but they just let this one roll out for a sideline. Meath 1-13 Cork 1-15
43 Mins: Mark Cronin gets a cracker of a score to get him off the mark. Brian Hurley is on for Dara Sheedy. Meath 1-13 Cork 1-14
42 Mins: WHAT A GOAL for Meath! Jack O’Connor drives at the Crok backline and hammers a strike to the roof of the net. Level again now. Meath 1-13 Cork 1-13
40 Mins: Mark Cronin plays an absolute hospital pass trying to recycle it, and Jack Flynn gets a paw on it before he’s cleaned out. Meath can’t get a quick attack going though and have to bring it around the houses. Eventually, Frayne has a go from outside the arc, but it drops short and is nearly poked into the net. It’s a brilliant stop from Patrick Doyle to deny Caulfield. Brennan scores the 45′. Meath 0-13 Cork 1-13
38 Mins: Colm O’Callaghan had a quiet enough first half, but he starts this one really well with a superb score. Meath 0-12 Cork 1-12
37 Mins: Maybe I was wrong about that wind, as Jack O’Connor smashes a two-pointer over for the Royals.
GOAL for Cork! Chris Óg Jones does it at the third time of asking, escaping the tackle of Seamus Lavin, rounding Brennan in the goal, and slotting it home. Meath 0-12 Cork 1-12
35 Mins: Here we go for the second half. Nothing quite like hearing ‘Let’s Dance’ ring around Croker on a sunny day. Meath 0-10 Cork 0-12
Based on the first half, it’s hard to imagine there’s any wind for either side to exploit majorly in the second half, bar the usual Croke Park swirl up at the Hill. It should be another even, high-quality half of football.
Steven Sherlock makes the game look easy.
35 Mins: Jack O’Connor does really well to break a line and race out of defence for Meath. They feed it to Jordan Morris racing through, but he’s going too fast for his own good, entering a bit of speed wobble, and then firing it well wide.
Half-time: Meath 0-10 Cork 0-12
32 Mins: There was a great sequence of scrapping for the ball in the Cork full-back line there. There’s been moments of great intensity, and moments of absolute magic, like Morris jinking right, then left and firing a superb score over here. Meath 0-10 Cork 0-12
30 Mins: Another goal chance goes begging for Jones! This time he puts it wide on the near post after Ian Maguire did well to fetch a speculative high ball and feed the corner-forward. Meath 0-9 Cork 0-12
29 Mins: Paul Walsh gets a lovely score, beating his man and popping it over off the left. Meath 0-9 Cork 0-12
26 Mins: Mark Cronin hits a very speculative two-point effort that goes wide. The kickout contest between the giants on both sides is fascinating. Meath get a hold of the ball, and Morris takes off, feeding his other corner-forward Aaron Lynch, who fires a good score over. Meath look a bit more up for it again, winning the ball back at the next kickout too. Meath 0-9 Cork 0-11
24 Mins: Chris Óg Jones drives in behind the defence and pops a hand pass over. Then at the other end, McBride is bundled over and Meath get a handy-looking free, but Frayne puts it wide. Back up to the Hill, and Sherlock runs a perfect loop, and kicks another score. He’s really firing. Meath 0-8 Cork 0-11
21 Mins: Seán Rafferty fails to hand the ball back for a sideline, and is punished with a handy free in for Cork. In the next play, Cork work it to Sherlock, this time outside the arc, and he obliges. Cork lead. Meath 0-8 Cork 0-9
19 Mins: Sean Brennan trots up from goal and buries a two-point-free. At the other end, Sherlock gets a beaut of a score on the ‘wrong side’ for a right-footer, drawing it back in and over the bar. Meath 0-8 Cork 0-6
16 Mins: Two-point misses at both ends, with Sherlock and Kinsella both registering wides. McDonnell and Jones link up again for Cork, and Jones does really well to score a point over his shoulder, scurrying away from goal and a rake of Meath defenders. Morris gets free then at the other end and pops one over. Meath 0-6 Cork 0-5
12 Mins: Huge miss for Cork, Chris Óg Jones’ effort rolling just past the post! A great ball from Paul Walsh found Seán McDonnell, and the big half-forward ran right at goal. It looked like the Royals’ had stopped him, but somehow picked out Jones, the perfect man for the chance, but he couldn’t hit the target. Meath 0-5 Cork 0-4
10 Mins: Some great defensive work to turn O’Callaghan over, but a really shoddy hand pass sees Meath lose possession again. Cork attack quickly, and this time Sherlock is not totally tied up, and fires his first score of the game. Meath 0-5 Cork 0-4
8 Mins: Fryane is back on sporting a huge bandage. Cork’s kickout doesn’t reach the 21, giving Jordan Morris a free just inside the corner of the arc. He curls it over with the left absolutely beautifully. Meath 0-5 Cork 0-3
6 Mins: A good score from Chris Óg Jones. His marker sat off him and was duly punished, as the corner-forward clipped over the score. Colm O’Callaghan adds another for the Rebels after Sean Brennan’s kickout went awry. Meath 0-4 Cork 0-3
4 Mins: Meath hit back with a two-pointer from Ruairí Kinsella, a cracker off the outside of the boot. Then he’s left on his own again during the next play and repeats the feat stylishly. Keith Curtis is on for Eoghan Frayne who seems to be bleeding from his ear. Meath 0-4 Cork 0-1
2 Mins: The first score of the game comes for the Rebels through Paul Walsh. A great bit of interplay beforehand, with Sherlock running on the loop, and doing really well to fend off two Meath tacklers. Meath 0-0 Cork 0-1
1 Mins: We’re off and running in the Division 2 final at Croke Park. Bryan Menton has the first shot of the game, skews it waywardly and is then bashed from behind for his troubles. Meath 0-0 Cork 0-0
The lineups named for Meath-Cork are as follows:
Meath: Sean Brennan; Seamus Lavin, Seán Rafferty, Brian O’Halloran; Donal Keogan, Seán Coffey, Ciarán Caulfield; Jack Flynn, Bryan Menton; Jack O’Connor, Ruairí Kinsella, Cian McBride; Jordan Morris, Eoghan Frayne, Aaron Lynch.
Cork: Patrick Doyle; Maurice Shanley, Daniel O’Mahony, Seán Meehan; Brian O’Driscoll, Tommy Walsh, Luke Fahy; Colm O’Callaghan, Ian Maguire; Paul Walsh, Mark Cronin, Seán McDonnell; Chris Óg Jones, Dara Sheedy, Steven Sherlock.
Throw-in is around 10 minutes out (1.45pm). Meath have confirmed their lineup is as selected. Updates will be made if Cork make any late changes!
TG4 just played a superb, if fairly violent, montage of Cork-Meath games down the years. That should get the juices flowing for those watching at home.
Patrick McBrearty may be retired now, but the pain of last year’s All-Ireland final loss has stayed with him. Paul Keane chatted to him ahead of the league finals about why he stepped away and how his former team mates will be approaching the rematch with Kerry.
[‘I’ve thought about it a lot’: All-Ireland pain still raw for Patrick McBrearty]
It was with great sadness that we learned of Michael Lyster’s passing last week. Vincent Hogan remember’s the broadcasting great, providing a personal insight into the iconic Sunday Game host.
[My friend Michael Lyster met life on his own terms]
Former Armagh dynamo Stefan ‘Soupy’ Campbell tells Paul Keane that his former coach, and new Kerry mentor Kieran Donaghy, will be making improvements on the Kingdom’s attacking threat. As if things weren’t bad enough for everyone else already.
[Kieran Donaghy will make a big impact with Kerry’s attack, says Campbell]
Cork’s Steven Sherlock has followed up a wonderful club campaign with St Finbarr’s with a superb return to the intercounty scene. Always easy to spot on the pitch, thanks to the long, pulled-up socks, he’s been at the peak of his powers, and credits the new rules with helping him bring back his best form.
[‘You can express yourself’: Cork enjoying the best of Steven Sherlock now the fear has gone]
Today’s Division 1 final is of course a rematch of last year’s All-Ireland final. Kerry romped home in style in that one, with Joe O’Connor getting a last-minute goal to seal a big win and capture Sam Maguire.
Malachy Clerkin opines about the incredible career of Seán O’Shea on the eve of the league finals. At just 27, the Kenmare man has posted an incredible scoring tally of 12-479 in league and championship for the Kingdom, putting him fourth in the county’s all-time standings. Thanks partly to the exploits of David Clifford, O’Shea is probably still a touch undervalued.
[Seán O’Shea shows how hard it is to be a great Kerry footballer in a David Clifford world]
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the National Football League finals. After Down and Carlow’s wins last night, it’s time for the Division 1 and 2 showpieces at Croke Park. The Division 2 final promises to be a very exciting game for the purists, with Cork taking on Meath (throw-in 1.45pm). The Rebels took the two points earlier in the campaign in a close affair.
Then it’s a rematch of last year’s All-Ireland final in the Division 1 final, as Kerry look to maintain their superiority over Donegal at Croke Park (4pm). The Ulster side ran out four-point winners in the second round of the leagues in February, so both sides have reasons to put down a marker. We’ll have updates all through the day’s action, so stay with us.
