The one that

Eamonn Fitzgerald reflects on Kerry’s devastating two-point defeat to Dublin

On Sunday last Kerry came up agonisingly short of retaining the Sam Maguire. Instead of David Clifford mounting those hallowed steps of the Hogan Stand, it was James McCarthy writing himself, Mick Fitzsimons and Stephen Cluxton into the record books as the only players to win nine Celtic Crosses. That will stick in the crá of Kerry players and supporters who relished for many years the fact that some of O’Dwyer’s stars from the Golden Years won eight.

How did Kerry lose this one? Why did they lose it at the death? After all, they were all square with the Dubs in the final straight but late points by Mannion and Rock edged Kerry out in that frantic six minutes of time added on.

The ‘why’ is always more difficult to pin down, even with the proverbial wisdom garnered in hindsight. The hurler on the ditch goes for the simplistic answers. If only this was done, if only the selectors made better decisions in the cauldron of an All-Ireland final, with over 82,000 supporters, mostly partisan, watching live and millions tuned in worldwide via GAAGO, RTÉ and, for the first time, BBC. We see what we want to see and usually blame the ref, selectors and certain players. Those Kerry boys are hurting and that hurt will linger long in their minds. They do not deserve to be lambasted.

Impressed

I was hugely impressed by the Kerry defence overall who did their job so well. Referee Gough was intent in letting the game flow, allowing tough tackling. For the most part Kerry flew on one wing at

JACKEEN: Jack McCaffrey of Dublin is tracked by Adrian Spillane and Micheál Burns of Kerry. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/ midfield and the belief that Jack Barry always nullified the influence of Dublin star Brian Fenton will be re-assessed after Sunday’s result. Not that Fenton dominated but he did glide through unhindered for two valuable points. Wearers of geansaís 10 to 15 remind us of the curate’s egg, good in patches but also wasteful. People watching the game on TV may not have realised that weather conditions were factors in wasteful shooting. Anyone who has ever played in Croke Park remembers that the Davin, Hogan and Cusack stands block the flight of the wind and the open Hill becomes a funnel, if the wind come from that direction.

That does not fully explain why the best footballer I have seen became central to Kerry’s woes. No one has done more for Fossa, East Kerry and Kerry to win titles at the highest levels than David Clifford. On Sunday last he shot three points and several wides, the most crucial and painful of all were the three late attempts. Some of those were well within his capability and some were shots that no other player in Ireland would even try. His misses were painful for Kerry supporters. They were excruciating for himself. On any other day he would have scored those, even the impossible ones like he did in last year’s All-Ireland final. In the preview of the game in last week’s column, I wrote that the heart said Kerry to win but the head said Dublin would win. Getting that correct gave no joy. St David, patron of the Welsh, didn’t always control the destiny of his people and we are reliably informed that Homer nodded. King David wasn’t at his best on Sunday last. I felt that Kerry were too dependent on their captain to shoot anything from six to nine points, paving the way for victory.

Goals

Kerry scored their only goal at the most appropriate time just before half time in the 37th minute. David Clifford had nowhere to go, blocked off by two defenders close to the end line under the Hill.

He threaded a sublime foot pass directly across to Paul Geaney. Geaney then fumbled it but to his credit he regained composure and beat Cluxton for the first time in so many championship years. Geaney’s goal put Kerry ahead at halftime. Kerry were in a good position, but I knew that Dublin would come strong and it was only a case of when Dessie would