Dynamic Dubs clip Kerry to lift All-Ireland
By Robert Mulhern
Last Updated: 21/09/15 12:59pm
Dublin are worthy All-Ireland winners after a rain-soaked 0-12 to 0-9 victory over Kerry at Croke Park.
The Dubs posted nine different scorers in an error-strewn contest that was nothing but compelling.
And they took their first victory steps from the opening play with Brian Fenton cutting through the middle to strike a sweet score in ugly conditions.
The rain spilled throughout but for a change this season the conditions had more of a bearing on the contest than officiation.
David Coldrick had a solid game marked by slips and squirts but not too many stoppages.
And the greasy conditions played into Dublin's hands with their tackling enhanced by Kerry's inability to maintain a grip on the ball for long enough to matter.
The Kingdom enjoyed their best period in the second quarter with Colm Copper collecting and threading passes to O'Donoghue and their high-press on Stephen Cluxton's kick-out yielded some success.
But significantly, the possession this cultivated paid too little. Kerry hit a damning succession of wides through this period and Dublin gave a display of accurate execution as the half came to a close.
Jack McCaffrey dropped down a gear to chip a ball off the turf and score, Paddy Andrews wriggled free of two defenders to sweep over another from under the Cusack Stand and then Philly McMahon popped up with an inspirational effort from the opposite side of the pitch.
On a day when the weather and defence threatened to dampen their attack, Dublin demonstrated a level of dynamism that Kerry needed to go in search of at the break.
When they reemerged, trailing by 0-8 to 0-4, their attack was bolstered by Darran O'Sullivan and the Glenbeigh man made an instant impact as Kerry reduced the gap to two points.
But McCaffrey didn't have a monopoly on that extra gear for Dublin and they surged again as Kerry's performance level fell for a time.
The Kingdom were ridiculously casual in defence on occasion and they gifted Dublin a goal chance that went awry. Then Brian Fenton was the width of a post away from sealing the contest.
Kerry were hanging on and they knew it as Eamonn Fitzmaurice sent for Kieran Donaghy.
The man they call Star, shone for a time. He created a goal chance in the last quarter but it was fumbled by Killian Young as Dublin's defence threatened to swallow him like a wave.
By then Kerry were relying on luck and a splash of good fortune.
Dublin never looked like needing either.
Dublin: S Cluxton (0-1,1f); J Cooper, R O'Carroll, P McMahon (0-1); J McCarthy, C O'Sullivan, J McCaffrey (0-1); B Fenton (0-1), D Bastick; P Flynn (0-2), D Connolly, C Kilkenny; B Brogan (0-2,1f), D Rock (0-2, 2f), P Andrews (0-1).
Subs: K McManamon for Rock, Michael Darragh Macauley for Bastick, J Cooper for Fitzsimons, J Small for McCaffrey, D Daly for O'Sullivan, A Brogan (0-1) for Fenton.
Kerry: B Kealy; F Fitzgerald, A O'Mahony, S Enright; J Lyne (0-1), P Crowley, K Young; A Maher, D Moran; S O'Brien, J Buckley, D Walsh; C Cooper, P Geaney (0-2), J O'Donoghue (0-3).
Subs: D O'Sullivan (0-2) for O'Brien, B Sheehan (0-1,1f) for Buckley, K Donaghy for Geaney, P Galvin for Moran, P Murphy for O'Mahony (black card), BJ Keane for O'Donoghue.
Ref: D Coldrick (Meath).
