Here was a tale of the unexpected. Laune Rangers saw the three-in-a-row snatched from beneath their noses by a divisional side who haven't tasted the good times since 1970. East Kerry took a while coming to grips with this replayed county final, but when opportunity came their way late in the game they seized it surely.
Your heart could break for Mike Hassett. Deprived through injury and subsequent struggles with form of the chance to captain Kerry to the All-Ireland this year he found himself through on the East Kerry goal late on yesterday. Just the goalkeeper to beat and every Killorglin fist already punching the air. He blasted wide and buried his head in his hands.
Had he scored, Hassett would have given his side a one-point lead with seven minutes left on the clock. A goal at that stage of this tight contest would have swung the momentum decisively in Laune's favour. As it was, after the let off, East Kerry banged home 1-2 before the game finished.
The good taste left by the drawn game, the recently-annexed AllIreland, and the trip to New York has sharpened appetites in a county already ravenous for football. Yesterday, with a savoury starter on offer (seeing the All-Ireland champions beat Wexford in the NFL), they came early to Tralee in large numbers - almost 13,000 in all.
If Laune were a little surprised by the coherence and vigour of the East Kerry play three weeks ago, they could have no such fall back yesterday. They trimmed their sails accordingly, moving the inform Timmy Fleming to midfield, shifting Liam Hassett to centre forward, and sticking erstwhile midfielder Pierce Prendiville into full forward.
Some benefit was derived early. Mike Frank Russell looked more convincing buzzing around big Prendiville's quick feeds. The youngster scored the first point of the game and went on to make a significant contribution.
Not enough. The resurgence of Russell may have compensated for the absence of Billy O'Shea, but Laune's problems were by no means solved. Their top scorer, Pa O'Sullivan, was muted, and in a lively first quarter East Kerry cut through their defence several times. On 15 minutes, when Jerry Murphy levelled the scores at two points apiece, he might just as easily have had a goal.
Those problems persisted through the half. Laune trailed by two points at the break, but more perplexing was the seven wides which East Kerry had run in. Con O'Connor was getting the best of a combustible tussle with Conor Kearney at midfield for East Kerry and his ball to the inside line was proving effective.
For the second half Laune shuffled their deck again. Pa O'Sullivan moved into full forward and Tommy Byrne shifted to midfield. They levelled the score through two frees and took the lead not long afterwards. Russell's input through this spell was conspicuous, but in all areas Laune had increased their workrate.
With Laune fully functioning and East Kerry bristling, the second half was a rip-roaring affair. Laune broke free. East Kerry hauled them back again. The temperature of individual tussles rose as the minutes elapsed.
In the helter skelter, several players prospered. Jerry Murphy cranked out a string of points. Seamus Moynihan, at centre half back, did enough to ensure his ranking amongst the greatest players in the country and in the forwards, the movement and inventiveness was sufficient to keep Laune worried throughout.
The teams were level midway through the second half and one suspected the old dogs would master this hard road. Not so. East Kerry's Michael D Cahill popped over a point just before Mike Hassett's miss and then Paud O'Donoghue copperfastened the lead with another point from a free.
The goal that followed was a distillation of all the things that Laune least enjoyed about playing East Kerry. They had problems with midfielders running at them. For the goal, Donal Daly ran some 30 yards into the heart of their defence, the tackles washing off him as he progressed to within shooting distance. When he had drawn the anxious attention of the entire full back line, he flicked the ball wisely to Paud O'Donoghue who finished emphatically to the net. Suddenly East Kerry had stretched their lead to six points and the game was dead.
Johnny Crowley lifted the cup and the best team in club football over the past few years went off to lick their wounds.
Laune look tired. Yesterday they were vying for their fourth title in five years, a uniquely consistent record in such a competitive county. Next week (East Kerry being a divisional side), they start out on the road to the Munster championship again. Some tonic will be needed between times.
