Limerick effort drops short

Munster SFC Final/ Kerry 1-10; Limerick 1-10: Lo and behold! The Munster football title is not yet won. No one is quite good enough. Yesterday Limerick and Kerry tried to win it and then lose it and in the end deserved to do neither. The title is worthy of more, and this was a game that demands the right to start over.

For Limerick it seems too much of nothing was too much to bear. They've gone 108 years without winning this title but they've never had as good a chance as yesterday.

They outplayed and outclassed Kerry for most of the first half and never let get them ahead in the second.

Still they lacked something when it came to closing the deal.

How Kerry got themselves back into it provided some of the few moments worthy of the occasion.

Eoin Brosnan and Darragh Ó Sé exploded with vigour towards the end and that more than anything was what kept them alive. The immediate feeling is that they have the greater room for improvement.

So it's back they go to Kerry's home turf next Sunday for the rematch.

A Saturday replay was ruled out because Limerick officials are tied up with the hurling qualifier at the Gaelic Grounds and the traffic in Killarney is not quite as bad on the Saturday.

But don't cancel any prior engagements.

Including the extra-time added in both halves, there was a little over 82 minutes played. Rarely can you pour so much mediocre football into that amount of time. The 23,214 that showed up at the Gaelic Grounds - a poor crowd considering the occasion - won't be bragging about being there.

But the referring of Gerry Kinneavy clearly didn't help. He played the whistle with almost ridiculous abandon, allowing the game to flow like rush-hour traffic.

Needless to say it didn't make for pretty viewing. It wasn't a particularly hard-hitting game but in a way the referee provoked the restless nature.

And like a bad movie that soon has you cringing with the performances, it was sometimes hard to watch.

The only thing that kept the interest going until the end was the absolute uncertainty of the outcome, a whimsical desire to see the final scene, as anti-climatic as it was likely to be.

Fittingly enough the stop-start finish defined that climax. With the second half clicked past the 35-minute mark the sides were stuck at 1-10 apiece.

We were told five minutes would be added and even though eight were played, neither team scored again.

Outlining what happened in injury-time would require the rest of this report, so suffice to say frees were awarded dubiously, frees went wide, and it ended with boos and jeers.

So to the things that did matter. Playing into the small breeze, Limerick thundered into the opening passages of play, with John Galvin soon moving to full forward, and Stephen Kelly and Muiris Gavin soon at full throttle. They'd taken 0-2 after eight minutes and at midfield John Quane had taken command. Mark O'Riordan looked the ideal match for Colm Cooper, while Connor Mullane and Stephen

Lavin were moving sweetly on the wings. Eoin Keating was looking able too with the placed ball.

Then they effectively handed Kerry 1-1. A slip-up by Stephen Lucey gave the ball to Liam Hassett and Cooper's fine pass to Mike Frank Russell ended with a Kerry goal. Moments later Russell added his first of four frees and Kerry were ahead.

Still Limerick's dominance would continue. Darragh Ó Sé hadn't turned up yet at midfield, and Paul Galvin was about their only forward matching Limerick's aggression.

Four points without replay, including a gem from Conor Fitzgerald, had Limerick sailing clear again 0-6 to 1-1.

On 25 minutes they got their goal, Galvin setting up Lavin with the finish as cool as ice under pressure from the Kerry defence.

This was the period when Limerick were completely on top, the defence controlling anything thrown at them - even though it was mostly high ball when the Kerry forwards clearly prefer it low.

Eventually, 23 minutes after their last score, Russell sent over his second free. With that started a short burst that saw Kerry close out the half with two more frees - and thus go for the isotonic drinks just three points in arrears, 1-7 to 1-4.

Some of the general run of play went from bad to worse in the second half. For an occasion that was touching such an historic void it lacked any real atmosphere. But at least they kept it interesting.

Unfortunately for the home supporters, it was Kerry who delivered the bigger moments of the second half. Darragh Ó Sé started playing deeper and finally caught some decent ball at midfield, and 13 minutes into the half Brosnan hit the point of the match, running from inside his own half, and closed the gap to two.

Gavin had to retire with an ankle injury and the Limerick forwards were a little more scattered.

Kelly's bursting runs were too few and far between and that he ended up scoreless was significant. Had he got even one in the last 20 minutes Limerick might have found the impetus they so craved.

With Johnny Crowley called in for Dara Ó Cinneide, who had a mixed afternoon, Kerry were looking increasingly dangerous. Russell's third free brought them level on the hour - and one last exchange of scores between Jason Stokes and Russell ended the count for the day.

On three occasions, though, Keating could have edged Limerick back in front, only for Darragh Ó Sé to jump and catch right on the goal-line each time.

Each time you could feel Limerick hearts sink.

KERRY: 1 D Murphy; 3 M McCarthy, 2 T O'Sullivan, 4 A O'Mahony; 5 T Ó Sé, 6 E Fitzmaurice, 7 M Ó Sé; 8 D Ó Sé, 9 W Kirby; 10 L Hassett, 11 E Brosnan (0-1), 12 P Galvin; 13 C Cooper (0-2), 14 D Ó Cinneide (0-3, all frees), 15 MF Russell (1-4, four frees). Subs: 17 J Crowley for Ó Cinneide (58 mins); 19 T Griffin for Kirby (48 mins); 24 J Sheehan for Fitzmaurice (71 mins).

LIMERICK: 1 S O'Donnell; 4 T Stack, 3 J McCarthy, 2 M O'Riordan; 5 C Mullane (0-1), 6 S Lucey, 7 S Lavin (1-0); 8 J Quane, 9 J Galvin; 14 E Keating (0-2, two frees), 11 M Gavin (0-4, all frees), 12 J Stokes (0-1); 13 C Fitzgerald (0-2), 10 S Kelly, 15 M O'Brien. Subs:18 J Murphy for Gavin (55 mins, inj); 17 D Reidy for Lavin (55 mins).

Referee: G Kinneavy (Roscommon)