Kerry seize this tame affair

Kerry...1-15 Dublin...1-8: Once it gets to the All-Ireland series, winning is the bottom line. But even within those stark parameters of success and failure there were some gloomy tales told among a crowd of 69,012 in Saturday's Bank of Ireland All-Ireland football quarter-final at Croke Park.

Munster champions Kerry progress to take on Derry at the end of the month but this was an at times alarming performance for the county. By the end of 70 minutes some concerns had been addressed but against less blighted opposition the matter could have been out of their hands by half-time.

For Dublin this was a tame and unhappy conclusion to their championship season. Having accessed the last eight through a sequence of fortuitous draws, this time they found luck's shutters firmly nailed down and like every team low on confidence, they seemed unable to cope with their early successes and doubly incapable when adversity came calling.

Kerry had the self-assurance to ride their luck and the quality to keep a reasonable rhythm of competence throughout the field. In the first half they conceded too much space in their own half but in response got fine performances from their full-back line.

Overrun at centrefield by the initially dynamic impact of Darren Homan's best football in a while, Kerry stabilised and although Darragh Ó Sé was playing a bit deep, they resumed command of the controls after Dublin's early fury had blown out. Functioning on only two cylinders up front for quite a while, they gradually augmented the menace of Colm Cooper and Declan O'Sullivan - denied an 18th-minute goal by an outstanding save from Stephen Cluxton - with Dara Ó Cinnéide holding his nerve for the match's critical score and the team benefiting from an extensive refit in attack during the second half.

Dublin's display was curiously unexpected. Their form to date has been that of a team with some penetration up front, little staying power in the middle and a host of vulnerabilities in defence.

That's not how it played on Saturday. The defence was much tighter than in the Roscommon match. Shane Ryan came in for Coman Goggins, leaving Paul Griffin to resume duties in the corner. It was one of the many frustrations of the afternoon that the Kilmacud player gave a really committed and skilful performance on Cooper.

Kerry may have assisted in the process by giving their corner forward a poor supply of ball but he saw enough to pose a serious threat and Griffin held his own in the exchanges. it wasn't enough on the day and cooper shot off three points, but had everyone else performed as well as griffin, his would have been a notable exercise in damage limitation.

Paddy Christie and Barry Cahill also played well, particularly in the first half when Dublin were in control, but Michael Russell had a quiet match whereas Ó Cinnéide lay deep for periods, taking the immediate heat off Christie.

Centrefield started really well. Kerry newcomer Paddy Kelly found it hard to impose his hard running style at this level while Homan recalled his performance against Darragh Ó Sé three years ago with an energetic and productive opening half, which made him the team's top scorer from play with two points hoisted over while he was winning good ball.

The attack was, however, where it all collapsed. Mike McCarthy snuffed out the threat from Ian Robertson, who was pulled back to help out when centrefield began to stall, and on either side both Tom O'Sullivan and especially Marc Ó Sé snapped at Alan Brogan and Jason Sherlock.

The most striking aspect of the match's shortcomings was the incoherent use of the ball. Kerry improved but Dublin when on top squandered a succession of good positions by kicking away possession with wildly inaccurate distribution.

Kerry, however, also enjoyed good luck. Brogan had a nightmare 70 minutes. His radar shut down leading to staggering wides - five in all - and he was then further cursed with abundant possession to showcase his difficulties. Brogan never hides when things are going wrong and he relentlessly hunted and showed for the ball but never got a break.

In the 43rd minute, with a point in the match, he deftly pulled the ball back across the face of the goal but no-one was there and it inevitably went wide.

in the first half, Dublin's woes centred on missed goal opportunities. In the 27th minute Ryan threaded a great ball through to Sherlock, who turned in on goal only to stumble. There appeared a case for a penalty for pushing but further viewing suggests McCarthy might have got in a legitimate challenge.

Seven minutes later Ciarán Whelan, for the most part lost in a no man's land between centre forward and centrefield, made the most of space created by the crowded middle to power through the heart of the Kerry defence. It was a replay of the goal he scored against Armagh two years ago - except that the smoking shot crashed off the crossbar and came to nothing.

Instead of being five or six points clear at the break, Dublin were just level after 35 minutes dominating possession. This was an impossible position. Kerry needed only a coherent interlude to make good their escape and that was triggered by another illustration of the fates' discrimination. An attack started by a Dublin turnover ended up with Declan O'Sullivan hitting Cooper on the left. Griffin tracked him determinedly and might have disrupted the shot to the extent that it hit the post but the ball fell right for Ó Cinnéide, who put it away. The 47th minute and that was that. As Dublin disintegrated, Kerry became businesslike. Jack O'Connor made switches, William Kirby and Liam Hassett scoring as soon as they came on.

Eoin Brosnan was more comfortable at centre forward and the attack stepped up a gear. Their margin of victory was trimmed in the last minute when Sherlock got free and swept a precise shot into the corner of the net.

So Kerry move on to the last four while Dublin face a period of reflection and uncertainty.

KERRY: 1. D Murphy; 2. T O'Sullivan, 3. M McCarthy, 7. M Ó Se; 4. A O'Mahony, 6. E Fitzmaurice, 5. T Ó Sé; 8. D Ó Sé, 9. P Kelly; 10. E Brosnan, 11. D O'Sullivan (0-1), 12. P Galvin (0-1); 15. MF Russell, 16. D Ó Cinnéide (1-5, three points from frees), 13. C Cooper (0-5, two frees). Subs: 17. L Hassett (0-1) for Russell (48 mins), 18. W Kirby (0-2) for Kelly (52 mins), 19. J Crowley for D O'Sullivan (63 mins), 20. J Sheahan for T Ó Sé (69 mins), 21. S O'Sullivan for O'Mahony (73 mins).

DUBLIN: 1. S Cluxton; 2. B Cahill, 3. P Christie, 4. P Griffin; 7. S Ryan, 6. B Cullen, 5. P Casey; 8. D Homan (0-2), 9. D Magee; 10. C Keaney (0-1, free), 11. C Whelan (capt), 12. S Connell (0-5, frees); 13. A Brogan, 14. I Robertson, 15. J Sherlock (1-0). Subs: 24. T Quinn for Keaney (54 mins), 23. R Cosgrove for Robertson (58 mins), 21. J Magee for Cullen (60 mins), 22.. D O'Mahony for Homan (63 mins).

Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan)