Kerry 1-17 Clare 1-13 Kerry booked their place in the Munster Final against Cork after eventully wearing down a lively Clare outfit before an attendance of 5,938 at Cusack Park this afternoon. It was far from a vintage display by the men in green and gold but with five starting debutantes on their side it is only natural that there would be a settling in period. Clare led by 2 points to 1 when good work by Stephen O’Brien along the endline set up the roving Paul Murphy for a goal in the 8th minute. The Kerry defence then had a let off when Brian Kelly saved well and then the ball was cleared off the Kerry line by a despairing defender. Paul Geaney pointed his first but then Clare took over in the middle with Shane McGrath very dangerous and the Banner scored 1-3 without reply in a six minute spell – the goal from McGrath after being put through by Podge Collins in the 18th minute. The introduction of Aidan O’Mahony, and points from Declan O’Sullivan, Paul Geaney and Anthony Maher stopped the rot however and the sides were level, 1-5 each after 22 minutes. Sean Collins for the homeside and Stephen O’Brien exchanged points as did Paul Geaney and David Tubridy, before Tubridy added a free in the 31st minute to give the Banner the lead at the break, 1-8 to 1-7. Donnchadh Walsh replaced the injured Darran O’Sullivan for the second half and Kerry upped the tempo considerably on the restart. O’Brien, Paul Geaney and a great effort from Bryan Sheehan put Kerry two clear and after Coughlan reduced the lead to the minimum once more, Kerry went three clear with a point from Michael Geaney and another great score from Sheehan who was ruling the roost at this stage. Donnelly and Paul Geaney swapped points but David Tubridy left just two between the sides again at the 54th minute. Bryan Sheehan with another fine effort and Declan O’Sullivan added to Kerrys tally but then Anthony Maher needlessly picked up a second yellow and Kerry were down to 14 in the 59th minute. Paul Geaney eased the nerves with a point to put Kerry 5 clear but the visitors had a let off sonn after when the ball broke off a number of defenders. Barry John Keane had Kerry’s last score in the 67th minute and Kerry had to withstand repeated Clare onslaughts in the final minutes as they poured forward in search of goals but had to settle for 2 points as Kerry closed out the deal. So its Páirc Uí Chaoimh on July 6th at 2 pm preceded by the Minor Final between Cork and Kerry at noon. Scorers; Kerry: Paul Geaney 0-6, Bryan Sheehan 0-4 (1fr), Paul Murphy 1-0, Stephen O’Brien and Declan O’Sullivan (1fr) 0-2 each, Michael Geaney and Anthony Maher 0-1 each. Subs: Aidan O’Mahony for Moran, Donnchadh Walsh for Darran O’Sullivan, Jonathan Lyne for Ml Geaney, Kieran Donaghy for P. Geaney, Barry John Keane for O’Brien and Pa Kilkenny for Fitzgerald.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 21:50:57 +0000