Kerry 1-14 Dublin 1-13: Late Sean O'Shea free sends Kingdom into All-Ireland final after epic contest
Kerry will meet Galway in the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final; The Kingdom held off a late fightback from Dublin, as a 50-metre free from Seán O'Shea at the death sealed their first championship win over the capital side since 2009.
By Brian Barry at Croke Park
Last Updated: 11/07/22 9:43am
A Seán O'Shea free deep into injury-time sealed a stunning 1-14 to 1-13 win for Kerry against Dublin in an enthralling All-Ireland semi-final.
The Kingdom led by six points in the second-half, but Dublin came storming back into the contest to level it as the game entered injury-time.
In the 76th minute, Kenmare sharp-shooter O'Shea held his nerve from a long-range free to split the posts at the Hill 16 end, and send Kerry into the All-Ireland final where they will meet Galway.
Kerry struck early in the contest. David Moran sent a long ball in, which was gathered by O'Shea, who was allowed to run in from the left, after Eoin Murchan momentarily stepped out of position, and he stuck it in the net.
Tasting blood, Kerry looked to build on their early lead.
David Clifford proved a handful for the Dubs defenders, as the Sky Blues struggled to deal with the Kerry attack.
Dublin were badly missing the presence of Con O'Callaghan on the edge of the square. They had little penetration through the Kerry blanket, and didn't have viable options to play direct ball into.
The Kingdom built a deserved 1-7 to 0-6 lead, with Clifford and O'Shea leading the scoring.
In the 29th minute, Clifford's right-footed effort came off the post, and fell into the hands of Gavin White. The Dr Crokes man was brought down by Lorcan O'Dell, and Paddy Neilan awarded a penalty.
However, Evan Comerford was equal to Seán O'Shea's effort from the spot, and the Ballymun goalkeeper sustained an injury in the process of saving O'Shea's follow-up attempt. That led to a melee, with players from both sides joining in as tempers boiled over.
Undeterred, the Munster champions kicked on and brought a 1-8 to 0-6 lead into half-time.
Dublin looked dead and buried, and out of ideas. But Dessie Farrell changed things up at the break. They played more direct balls into their inside forwards, with Ciarán Kilkenny sitting at full-forward on occasions. In defence, Michael Fitzsimons operated as a free man.
In the 46th minute, they worked a life-line. Forcing a turnover, they broke forward with speed. The move culminated in Cormac Costello finding the far bottom corner.
Kilkenny fisted over shortly afterwards to close the gap to a single point, as Dublin registered 1-2 without reply.
The Castleknock club man continued to pull the strings, and his third of the second-half levelled the contest as it entered injury time.
O'Shea and Rock traded frees, as the contest looked destined for extra-time.
But when Kerry were awarded a last-minute free, O'Shea stepped up. After a brief argument with his goalkeeper Shane Ryan, the Kenmare man stepped up to take it.
And he justified that decision in spades, sending Kerry into their first All-Ireland final since 2019, as they bid to end an eight-year wait for the Sam Maguire Cup.
Referee: Paddy Neilan (Roscommon)
Attendance: 73,609
Scorers
Kerry: Seán O'Shea (1-4, 0-2f), David Clifford (0-6, 0-1f, 0-1m), Paudie Clifford (0-2), Tom O'Sullivan (0-1), Dara Moynihan (0-1).
Dublin: Ciarán Kilkenny (0-3), Cormac Costello (1-0), Dean Rock (0-3, 0-3f), Lee Gannon (0-1), John Small (0-1), Seán Bugler (0-1), Brian Fenton (0-1), Brian Howard (0-1), Paddy Small (0-1), James McCarthy (0-1).
Teams
Kerry
1. Shane Ryan
2. Graham O'Sullivan
3. Jason Foley
4. Tom O'Sullivan
7. Gavin White
6. Tadhg Morley
5. Brian Ó Beaglaíoch
8. David Moran
25. Jack Barry
9. Diarmuid O'Connor
11. Seán O'Shea
12. Stephen O'Brien
13. Paudie Clifford
14. David Clifford
15. Paul Geaney
Subs
Dara Moynihan for Stephen O'Brien (42)
Killian Spillane for Paul Geaney (42)
Adrian Spillane for David Moran (51)
Paul Murphy for Graham O'Sullivan (62)
Joe O'Connor for Gavin White (66)
Dublin
1. Evan Comerford
2. Eoin Murchan
3. Michael Fitzsimons
4. Lee Gannon
6. Jonny Cooper
5. John Small
21. James McCarthy
8. Brian Fenton
9. Tom Lahiff
11. Brian Howard
12. Ciarán Kilkenny
7. Seán Bugler
13. Cormac Costello
14. Dean Rock
25. Lorcan O'Dell
Subs
Paddy Small for Lorcan O'Dell (39)
David Byrne for Jonny Cooper (42)
Sean McMahon for Eoin Murchan (57)
Niall Scully for Brian Howard (61)
Cian Murphy for Michael Fitzsimons (71)
