All-Ireland SFC: Classy Kerry advance

All-Ireland SFC Quarter-Final

Kerry 0-32 (0-5-22) Armagh 1-21 (1-4-13)

By Paul Brennan at Croke Park

Kerry dethroned champions Armagh with an assured second half performance in the last of the All-Ireland quarter-finals at Croke Park to set up an equally tantalising semi-final against the Kingdom’s old nemesis, Tyrone.

Fourteen unanswered points midway through the second half flipped a five-point Armagh lead into a nine-point one for Kerry.

When Rian O’Neill’s two-pointer on 40 minutes put the champions 1-16 to 0-14 ahead, many of a green-and-gold hue in the 70,530 attendance must have feared for Kerry. The players must have swallowed hard themselves, and thought ‘here we go again’ after Armagh’s two-point semi-final win a year ago capsized their quest for Sam.

Then Kerry flicked a switch. A Joe O’Connor point was followed by a two-point from the brilliant Sean O’Shea. Paudie Clifford raised a white flag. David Clifford an orange. Within five minutes Kerry were ahead, 0-20 to 1-6.

That wasn’t enough. They wanted to squeeze the juice out of the men in orange and they did. Seven more points followed – 14 unanswered scores in all – to go 0-26 to 1-16 ahead before Rian O’Neill scored Armagh’s first point in 18 minutes, but it was too little too late. The champions were on their way out of the championship.

It was shock and awe from a Kerry team that limped into the last eight with a spate of injuries and confidence low in the Kingdom, though clearly the sense of pessimism didn’t seep through to the players.

Sean O’Shea’s two early white and orange flags settled Kerry into an early lead and they were 0-4 to 0-2 ahead when Tiernan Kelly broke through the Kerry defence and drew a fine save from Shane Ryan. The Armagh man got a point for his effort, but it really should have been a goal.

Sean O’Shea was leading the Kerry charge with all his defiance and brilliance, well supported by David Clifford and Gavin White, but Armagh were calm and deliberate and lurking.

Kerry lost All Star defender Tom O’Sullivan to injury after 25 minutes but were still 0-9 to 0-6 ahead, when Armagh again showed what they are capable of. Oisin Conaty and Joe McElroy each pointed, and then Kelly robbed a Kerry kick-out to set up Rory Grugan for the game’s only goal, giving Armagh a 1-8 to 0-9 lead just on the half-hour mark.

Sean O’Shea added another single and two-pointer, and Dylan Geaney kicked a score to swing the lead back Kerry’s way, 0-13 to 1-8, but Armagh goalkeeper Ethan Rafferty landed a two-point free and McElroy converted after the hooter to send the champions to the interval 1-11 to 0-13 in front.

Armagh won the first five minutes of the second half, five points to one, to take what seemed a significant lead, 1-16 to 0-14, and one wondered what the Munster champions could respond with. Turns out they did keep the best until last, kicking those 14 points to wipe out an Armagh team that could neither find a response, nor was allowed to muster one.

The champions down and out, the Kingdom winning their 19th All-Ireland quarter-final.

Scorers for Kerry: S O’Shea 0-13 (3 tp, 3fs), D Clifford 0-7 (2 tp), B O Beaglaoich 0-2, G White 0-2, J O'Connor 0-2, G O’Sullivan 0-2, P Clifford 0-2, M Burns 0-2, D Geaney 0-1

Scorers for Armagh: O Conaty 0-6 (1 tp), R O’Neill 0-6 (1 tp, ‘45’), R Grugan 1-0, J McElroy 0-2, E Rafferty 0-2 (tpf), J Og Burns 0-2 (tp), T Kelly 0-1, D McMullan 0-1, C McConville 0-1

Kerry: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Gavin White, Tom O'Sullivan; Joe O'Connor, Sean O'Brien; Micheal Burns, Sean O'Shea, Graham O'Sullivan; David Clifford, Conor Geaney, Dylan Geaney.

Subs: Evan Looney for T O’Sullivan (inj, 24), Paudie Clifford for C Geaney (ht), Micheal Burns for M O’Shea (50), Dara Moynihan for M Burns (temp, 56-57), Killian Spillane for D Geaney (63), Tomas Kennedy for G O’Sullivan (69), Tom Leo O’Sullivan for D Casey (temp, 69-ft).

Armagh: Ethan Rafferty, Paddy Burns, Barry McCambridge, Peter McGrane, Ross McQuillan, Tiernan Kelly, Jarly Óg Burns, Niall Grimley, Ben Crealy, Darragh McMullan, Rory Grugan, Joe McElroy, Oisin Conaty, Andrew Murnin, Rian ONeill.

Subs: Jason Duffy for J Og Burns (temp, 37-47), Jason Duffy for N Grimley (50), Conor Turbitt for R McQuillan (50), Aidan Forker for T Kelly (54), Cian McConville for B Creally (56), Shane McPartlan for R Grugan (66), Callum O’Neill for A Murnin (temp, 66-ft).

Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).