Kerry get their game flowing

Kerry 1-20 Mayo 1-11:LIKE A skimming stone, Mayo spun through the Kerry tide – above the surface, below the surface, above and below – until the laws of nature kicked in and some time in the third quarter they were submerged for the last time and sank.

Jack O’Connor has lost just two matches in the All-Ireland series during his six years in charge of Kerry and yesterday, despite the underdogs’ commitment and effort, that list of setbacks wasn’t about to expand. Guided by another luminous Croke Park display from the hitherto subdued Colm Cooper, the Munster champions flowed into next month’s final. The former Footballer of the Year came deep to pick up ball, picked his passes and finished lethally for 1-7 and no wides.

It will be Kerry’s seventh All-Ireland final in eight years and potentially a fifth title during that period.

The match was well contested in the first half with both sides probably a little regretful that they hadn’t more to show for it but, under the stress of keeping Kerry at bay, Mayo began to fray around the edges and once the decision was taken to abandon the sweeper system and chase scores, they were wide open and paid the price.

Opinions before the match placed much emphasis on the quality differential between the teams’ attacking potential. And despite a quiet day for both Declan and Darran O’Sullivan, previously going very well, Cooper’s proven ability at the sharp end of the championship to shrug off what, by his standards, counts as indifferent form to torment the opposition constituted much of the gap between the sides.

The match began in helter-skelter fashion, Kerry cutting through for good chances and not taking them – Robert Hennelly saving to prevent a first-minute goal by Darran O’Sullivan.

At the other end Mayo found it similarly difficult to convert early chances – Alan Freeman, occupying one of the two spaces in the full forwards, was unsuccessful with opportunities in the opening minutes.

Gradually Mayo settled in. Their defensive graft and alertness was impressively restricting Kerry at first, blocking Cooper in the right corner in early exchanges. Ger Cafferkey was also coping well with the long balls into Kieran Donaghy and Donal Vaughan, faced with the peripatetic threat of Declan O’Sullivan, turned the wanderings to his own benefit and ended up as Mayo’s joint-top scorer from play with three points.

The problems set in farther afield. The O’Shea brothers at centrefield didn’t reap the harvest they had managed against All-Ireland champions Cork and,in fact, Kerry’s combination of Anthony Maher and Bryan Sheehan won the possession stakes.

Yet again Andy Moran gave a terrific performance when moved into the full-forward line, winning the vast majority of the ball that came his way despite the close attentions of Marc Ó Sé.

He nearly had a goal in the 14th minute having fielded Kevin McLoughlin’s well directed pass but was blocked by Brendan Kealy.

He would get another couple of chances, the first culminating in Cillian O’Connor’s goal and the second effort hitting the post.

But Moran lacked the support he had received against Cork. O’Connor took his goal well and kicked his frees but Kerry didn’t commit enough fouls for dead-ball finishing to have made a big impact.

Alan Freeman snatched at his shots and will be disappointed not to have got on the scoreboard when he had the opportunity on the inside line.

While Mayo struggled to exert maximum pressure on the scoreboard, Kerry shook off the earlier inaccuracies and began to take their scores. Cooper from play and then a free after Hennelly lost the ball to Donaghy and fouled him and another free, converted by Sheehan opened up a lead. Moran’s point before half-time cut the margin to two, 0-6 to 0-8.

Kieran O’Leary, playing well as a replacement for Paul Galvin – who eventually made an appearance in the second half and looked well capable of returning for the final – fisted the first point of the second half and Sheehan added a free.

Although Mayo responded with two of their own, the scores were beginning to run against the Connacht champions. Cooper was at the heart of a three-point sequence, which stretched the lead to five and by the start of the final quarter it was double scores, 0-16 to 0-8.

Mayo had to drop the idea of using Kevin McLaughlin as an extra defender and chase the match with an orthodox formation. Their reward came with a 53rd-minute goal when O’Connor reacted more quickly to Kealy’s save from Moran’s shot. In what was another slightly worrying incident of defensive carelessness Kerry allowed the young corner forward to gather the ball and make his way back along the end-line before planting a shot firmly into the Hill goal.

It made no difference to the balance sheet, as within a minute Cooper capitalised on confusion in the Mayo defence to capture the ball going away from the goal, turn and race back in to crash his shot high into the net.

The margin never dipped below six from then on and Mayo were overwhelmed trying to penetrate a fashionably packed defence at one end and contain rampant forwards breaking into oceans of space at the other.

Mayo are in a better position than last season and will chalk yesterday, painful and all as it was, down to hopefully instructive experience. Kerry for their part are where they generally are at this time of the year.

KERRY: 1 B Kealy; 2 K Young, 3 M Ó Sé, 4 T O’Sullivan; 5 T Ó Sé (0-1), 7 A O’Mahony, 6 E Brosnan (0-1); 9 B Sheehan (0-3, all frees), 8 A Maher; 10 Darran O’Sullivan (0-1), 11 Declan O’Sullivan, 12 D Walsh; 13 C Cooper (1-7, four frees), 14 K Donaghy (0-2), 15 K O’Leary (0-2). Subs: 18 P Galvin (0-2) for Walsh (43 mins), 20 J Donoghue for Darran O’Sullivan (62 mins), 19 D Bohan for T Ó Sé (64 mins), 21 S Scanlon (0-1) for Sheehan (68 mins), 22 BJ Keane for Declan O’Sullivan (71 mins).

MAYO: 1 R Hennelly; 5 R Feeney, 3 G Cafferkey, 4 T Cunniffe; 7 T Mortimer, 6 D Vaughan (0-3), 2 K Higgins; 9 S O’Shea, 8 A O’Shea; 10 K McLoughlin, 11 A Dillon, 12 A Moran (0-2); 13 E Varley (0-2, one free), 14 A Freeman, 15 C O’Connor (1-3, 0-3 frees). Subs: 22 R McGarrity for A O’Shea (48 mins), 20 L Keegan (0-1) for Feeney (48 mins), 24 A Campbell for Freeman (54 mins), 25 J Doherty for Varley (58 mins). Yellow cards: Mortimer (36 mins), Feeney (38 mins), A O’Shea (71 mins).

Referee: D Coldrick (Meath).

Key moments

1st minute: Quicksilver Kerry move places Darran O'Sullivan clear on goal but his shot is kept out by Robert Hennelly at the expense of a 45, which Kerry miss and Mayo avoid a nightmare start. 0-0/0-0

8th minute: Mayo's sweeper has left room for the Kerry half backs and Tomás Ó Sé exploits it for his team's first point. 0-1/0-1

29th minute: Cillian O'Connor makes a fine catch but drops his shot short and Mayo's last opportunity to regain the lead is lost. 0-5/0-5

42nd minute: Andy Moran twists and turns Marc Ó Sé to point and get the margin back to two, as close as Mayo will get. 0-10/0-8

47th minute: Colm Cooper completes a decisive four minutes' activity by kicking his second point of that period to go with his assist for sub Paul Galvin's score and the Kerry lead has jumped to five. 0-13/0-8

53rd minute: Moran gets goalside of Marc Ó Sé and goes for goal but Brendan Kealy saves and pushes the ball to the left where O'Connor takes it, solos back in and shoots emphatically to the net. 0-16/1-8.

54th minute: Mayo fumble a dropping ball under pressure from Cooper, who follows the ball out before turning and slipping past Tom Cunniffe to rifle the ball high into the net and extinguish any realistic prospect of a comeback. 1-16/1-8