More than 10,000 people turned out at Downing Stadium, Randall's Island, on Saturday to watch All-Ireland champions Kerry defeat Cavan in their Church & General national league meeting, staged in New York to commemorate the 1947 All-Ireland final between the counties, played in the now demolished Polo Grounds. The match may have been the central event of the week's golden jubilee celebrations, but it was a low-key affair, more in keeping with the usual post-championship hangover of early league fixtures than the historic nature of the commemoration.
Nonetheless, it was enthusiastically received by the attendance who at least had the opportunity to watch Maurice Fitzgerald produce another virtuoso performance, three weeks after his extraordinary display in the All-Ireland final. His tally of 1-10 was only two points short of Kerry's total.
It was a familiar scenario as Fitzgerald was yet again the difference between the teams; his accuracy from the placed ball defined a stark contrast with Ronan Carolan's, who relived the unproductive frustrations of last August's All-Ireland semi-final between the teams. Although he ended with an identical score - 04 including two frees and one 45 - the Cavan free-taker missed four good chances in succession either side of half-time.
Both sides showed changes from the line-outs of two months ago, and despite the absence of Cavan's highly-regarded midfielder, Dermot McCabe, who was at a family wedding, it was Kerry who were particularly affected.
Three of their best performers from the All-Ireland semi-final were absent with injuries: William Kirby, Dara O Cinneide and Billy O'Shea, who broke his leg in last month's All-Ireland final and didn't travel to New York.
These are tricky times for the Ulster champions, who have yet to replace outgoing manager Martin McHugh and in whose absence selectors Michael Reilly and Donal Donoghue took charge. Not surprisingly, Cavan's tactics were fairly chaotic.
Team changes saw Stephen King start at full forward with Bernard Morris coming to midfield and Damien O'Reilly cast in yet another role from his vast repertoire, this time at centre back.
Cavan won a good supply around the middle; Charlie Clarke got on the ball frequently in the early stages and Morris exploited his central role with its enhanced opportunity to move forward. The attack undid this useful platform by largely under-performing and getting in each other's way as vain attempts were made to engage Jason Reilly's pace by isolating him on the inside and bringing King out deep.
O'Reilly was the team's most visible influence in the early stages and repeatedly gave Liam Hassett the slip to charge out of defence and make an impression up the field. Unfortunately for him, the listless humour of his forwards meant that, despite a good quantity of possession, they failed to put up the scores.
Kerry, conversely, were able to keep pace comfortably thanks to Fitzgerald's accurate free-taking which pushed them ahead and quickly tied up the match after an uncharacteristic burst of scoring - three points in as many minutes - had nudged Cavan ahead.
In general, Cavan's scores were hard-earned with a lot of ball and some intricate approach play, as opposed to Fitzgerald's routine dispatch of frees. By half-time, Kerry were a point ahead, 0-6 to 0-5, because of two stunning scores from play by Fitzgerald. The first came from a typically effortless-looking drift across three defenders and a languid, curling kick, and the second after an exchange with Mike Russell in the corner followed by an acutely angled point.
Cavan launched a spirited surge after the interval and moved ahead as Carolan found his kicking rhythm to land a free and a 45, but the Ulster champions failed to make further impact on the scoreboard. Eight minutes later, Eamonn Breen broke Fitzgerald's monopoly on Kerry scoring to equalise.
By the end of the third quarter, Cavan were finished. Needless to say, Fitzgerald was at the heart of this decisive break. In the 42nd minute, he floated in from the left and cracked the ball off the crossbar. Having recovered the rebound, he followed up by forcing an outstanding save from Paul O'Dowd in the Cavan goal. Fitzgerald retrieved something from the attack by putting the consequent 45 over.
A minute later, Denis Dwyer carved his way through the defence and slipped the ball to Russell who drew a penalty from O'Dowd - who vehemently denied the foul after the match. Up stepped Fitzgerald to drill the penalty into the same left corner that O'Dowd had so brilliantly defended just previously.
In the remaining time, Kerry outscored their opponents by 0-4 to 0-1, with substitute Brian Clarke joining Breen as a minority shareholder on the winners' scoreboard.
Fitzgerald signed off with an injury-time point. The display was hardly needed as corroboration of his prowess after the recent All-Ireland, but it did confirm that he's currently in the form of his life - and also lent a welcome touch of greatness to an historic weekend.
