Meath 2-14 Kerry 0-5
Meath are through to the All-Ireland football final against Galway after a tediously one sided but hugely impressive victory over a dire Kerry outfit in the semi-final at Croke Park this afternoon.
The game had been billed as a would be clash of the Titans but the distressing sight of forlorn Kerry supporters leaving the stadium with 20 minutes to play painted an entirely different picture.
Meath humiliated the reigning All-Ireland champions. It was as simple as that. Meath played effective, no-nonsense football, while Kerry found elementary ball skills and fluency difficult to master under the incessant Royal pressure.
Meath started the first half well and outshone their opponents for the entire half. Defensively Meath were excellent while their potent full forward line time and again outwitted Kerry’s sluggish defence.
Ollie Murphy’s second point in the 17th minute lifted Meath to a slender 0-3 to 0-2 lead but it was from this point onwards that Sean Boylan’s men would take the game to the reigning All-Ireland champions.
Graham Geraghty, marked out of the game by Seamus Moynihan during the first quarter, shook off the Kerry full back with a fine shoulder charge cutting a short path to goal in the process. But Geraghty’s goal attempt was saved well by the feet of onrushing Kerry ‘keeper Declan O’Keeffe.
With Mark O’Reilly keeping Johnny Crowley under wraps, Kerry rested their hopes on Mike Frank Russell in the forward line. But with John McDermott and Nigel Crawford dominating for Meath in midfield, Russell was left to feed off scraps.
Evan Kelly fisted Meath into a four point lead moments before half-time. But there was still time for Meath to turn the screw as referee Brian White signalled four minutes of added time as a result of Tom O’Sullivan’s injury after a collision of heads with a team-mate.
With Meath in full flow, Ollie Murphy collected a ball 40 yards from goal. Looking up, Murphy spotted Geraghty inside who duly collected and surged forward before flicking into the path on the unmarked John McDermott. The big midfielder side footed a beautiful ball to the bottom left corner of O’Keefe’s goal to establish a seven point lead.
Kerry did restore some confidence through the ranks with late points from Crowley and Eoin Brosnan, taking to the break five points behind the Leinster champions on a scoreline of 1-6 to 0-4.
Meath were quickly into their stride in the second half and notched up two quick scores courtesy of a Ray Magee free and a well executed Evan Kelly point.
Meath, already playing for fun by this stage, could have added insult to injury ten minutes into the half when Geraghty found Murphy in space to palm to the back of the net. However, Murphy was adjudged to have been in the square.
While Kerry struggled to string consecutive passes together, Meath maintained their momentum in front of the posts. Geraghty and Giles added further points.
Maurice Fitzgerald, introduced by Paidi O’Se late in the first half, made little impact but played a part in Kerry’s only notable play in the second period.
Fitzgerald was cleverly involved in the build up to Mike Frank Russell’s fierce goal effort which unfortunately cannoned back off the post. Moments later, substitute Declan Quill scored Kerry’s first, and only, point of the half. It was Kerry’s first score in 29 minutes.
Late in the game, Meath manager Sean Boylan - enjoying his first championship victory over Kerry - introduced numerous subs. One of them, John Cullinan, made an immediate impact with his first touch of the game.
A long ball was once again pumped deep into the Kerry area. Evan Kelly out-fielded Noel Kennelly and the ball scrambled lose. Cullinan closed in, gathered and rifled past the helpless O’Keefe.