Defiant Kerry take time to excel

Munster SF Final Replay Kerry 3-10 Limerick 2-9 For half-an-hour they were riders on the storm, in danger of drowning under the weight of their great tradition. Then the Kerry footballers came up for air, realised they could still save themselves, and simply powered their way home. This is how they brought another Munster title to the Kingdom.

Yet as the home crowd spread back around the Macgillycuddy Reeks after yesterday's replay they must surely have spared a thought for Limerick. Just like last Sunday's draw, Limerick were once again touching the void of provincial football titles, then realised the hard way that there are no rights in sport. And so their quest for a first football title in 108 years stretches on for another year.

Kerry press towards the ultimate prize with their 69th Munster title in the bag and still with the knowledge there is room for improvement. They were left in their starting blocks here, overwhelmed by Limerick's initial surge, and cut seven points adrift after that opening half hour.

By then everyone in the 29,379 crowd was drawn straight into the occasion, the level of excitement rising steadily and holding out until the closing moments. As the sequel to last Sunday's tiresome draw at the Gaelic Grounds this was more of a blockbuster, the football action-packed, the performances far more convincing. And cleanly played too.

Limerick though were stealing the early scenes. There were a goal up after 15 seconds, John Quane collecting the throw-in and setting up Stephen Kelly's thundering shot into the roof of the net - his room partly cleared by the collision of Kerry defenders Tom O'Sullivan and Mike McCarthy.

And that score set off an explosion of Limerick attacks. Quane was a gear up on Darragh Ó Sé and Eoin Brosnan, while Muiris Gavin, John Galvin and Conor Fitzgerald took every chance they got. Limerick were simply flying, any hangover from last Sunday's late surrender long since cleared.

It was 10 minutes before Kerry got any attack going, and that ended with a Dara Ó Cinnéide free. Little did we realise it was a sign of things to come. The Kerry captain ended with 1-7, all from the placed ball and including a coolly struck penalty.

And Ó Cinnéide was crucial in that regard, with the twin scoring engines of Mike Frank Russell and Colm Cooper collecting just 0-1 between them. But that's not to say their influence on general play wasn't as telling, with Cooper in particular inflicting real fear into the Limerick defenders in the latter stages.

Yet Kerry were so dishevelled in that opening 30 minutes that manager Jack O'Connor was swiftly redeploying his men. Tommy Griffin was called in after 26 minutes to salvage midfield, and John Crowley was called ashore.

Griffin wasn't solely responsible for Kerry finally finding some direction in their game. Tomás Ó Sé was making his presence felt with real authority, and it was one of his bursting runs on 29 minutes that first signalled the extreme change in fortunes.

At that stage Limerick were up 1-6 to 0-2, Quane intelligently fisting the sixth point after Kelly had made one of his trademark sprints away from the Kerry defence. Kerry needed to land some punches soon and it was Tomás Ó Sé who started to throw the shapes.

He was followed by the big hits. On 30 minutes, Darragh Ó Sé caught a clean ball at midfield and passed off to Cooper, who then set Brosnan off like a freight train. Séamus O'Donnell saw him coming, but not his shot. Goal number one.

Paul Galvin was moving about more freely too and collected Kerry's first point from play - closing the gap to three. And then the big surprise of the half. Tomás Ó Sé floated another high ball and as Cooper went to chase, Tommy Stack dragged him back.

Referee Mick Curley called a penalty - bravely - and Ó Cinnéide made no mistake from the spot.

So after threading so nervously along for the first 30 minutes Kerry were suddenly level. They probably found it hard to believe, but not nearly as hard as Limerick. But going the last 17 minutes of the half without a score would ultimately prove fatal. If Limerick are ever going to beat Kerry they'll need to deliver the complete 70 minutes.

Limerick found themselves enduring as equally a distraught five minutes on the other side of half-time. Eoin Keating briefly settled some nerves by floating over a long-range free but Kerry had caught their breath, had rode the storm, and were now intent on getting to safety.

Ó Cinnéide hit his third free and like of flash of light Kerry were suddenly on dry land. In the most creative move of the match, the Kerry captain harboured possession just long enough to pass off to Russell. He slipped the ball to Liam Hassett, and from there it went to Tomás Ó Sé, who charged forward thinking only of a goal. And he got it - pushing Kerry three points clear.

Kerry were now walking on water, while Limerick started sinking fast. Another free from Ó Cinnéide and powerful point from Brosnan meant a goal and three points without reply. With their margin of five points Kerry looked like certain winners, even with a good 15 minutes left.

The truth is Limerick were starting to fall apart. Quane had run himself into the ground and came off exhausted after 54 minutes. John Galvin had lost his footing too despite moving back to midfield and they were losing ground all over. As a result Kelly wasn't getting the ball he needed, Keating was deprived of chances from a placed ball, and Limerick were short of a leading light.

They were given a glimmer of hope when awarded a penalty on 57 minutes, the result of Diarmuid Murphy's foot block on Keating's shot. The soccer specialist took the shot himself and closed the gap to two, 3-7 to 2-8, and a Gavin point then made that one. Yet three sweetly struck frees from Ó Cinnéide were enough to send Kerry sailing home.

KERRY: 1 D Murphy; 3 M McCarthy, 2 T O'Sullivan, 7 M Ó Sé; 5 T Ó Sé (1-0), 6 E Fitzmaurice, 4 A O'Mahony; 8 D Ó Sé, 11 E Brosnan (1-1); 10 L Hassett, 14 D Ó Cinnéide (1-7, seven frees, a penalty), 12 P Galvin (0-1); 13 C Cooper, 17 J Crowley, 15 M F Russell (0-1). Subs: 19 T Griffin for Crowley (26 mins), 9 W Kirby for Hassett (61 mins), 27 S O'Sullivan for Galvin (66 mins).

LIMERICK: 1 S O'Donnell; 2 M O'Riordan, 3 J McCarthy, 4 T Stack; 5 C Mullane, 6 S Lucey, 7 S Lavin; 8 J Quane (0-1), 12 J Stokes; 15 M O'Brien, 11 M Gavin (0-5, three frees), 14 E Keating (1-1, a free, a penalty); 10 S Kelly (1-0), 9 J Galvin (0-1), 13 C Fitzgerald (0-1). Subs: 17 D Reidy for O'Brien (48 mins), 18 J Murphy for Quane (54 mins).

Referee: M Curley (Galway).