Allianz FL D1: Kerry triumph following dramatic encounter

Allianz Football League Division One

Kerry 2-18 Roscommon 1-20

By Paul Brennan at Fitzgerald Stadium

Teenager Tomás Kennedy was the hero of the hour for Kerry after scoring a buzzer-beating winner for the reigning League champions in their great escape victory over Roscommon in Killarney.

Having blown a six-point lead in the first half, and seven-point advantage in the second, Kerry needed some heroics from their 19-year-old to punch the winner as the hooter sounded in a less than convincing performance from the Division One champions.

There were five seconds left when Sean O’Shea pumped a Hail Mary ball into the Roscommon square, where Kennedy leaped, fetched and fisted over the bar for a Kingdom side that would, at that stage, have greedily accepted a draw.

David Clifford scored 1-8 for the Kingdom, including a second half penalty, but for once he was overshadowed by a team mate, in this instance Kennedy, whose contribution of 1-3 somehow felt more important.

Clifford took just 10 seconds to open his and Kerry’s account, and by the sixth minutes it was 0-2 apiece in a lively opening. Then Kerry took over with six unanswered points from Clifford (2), Kennedy (2), Micheal Burns and Tadhg Morley, as Roscommon – missing their entire St Brigids contingent – struggled to settle into their rhythm.

And then just like that they did. Daire Cregg and Eoin Colleran mined important scores before Diarmuid Murtagh bundled the ball over the goal line in the 27th minute, and then Cregg’s point had it all square, 1-5 to 0-8, after 31 minutes.

Kerry had gone 16 minutes without a score but the drought ended with Kennedy pulling down Tony Brosnan’s under-hit two-point effort to slash in a goal from a tight angle, and the home side were somewhat fortunate to take a 1-9 to 1-6 lead into the interval.

It was still a three-point game, 1-12 to 1-9, after 47 minutes when Brosnan was fouled for a penalty and Clifford converted from the spot. Sean O’Shea’s converted mark put Kerry seven ahead.

Roscommon were not for lying down though. Cregg came up with six points, Murtagh converted a free, and sub Jack Duggan scored two excellent points as Roscommon regained the lead, 1-18 to 2-14.

Clifford and Murtagh traded two-point scores, but just as the draw looked inevitable, Kerry and Kennedy had one last play, with the latter’s score on the hooter greeted with as much dismay by Roscommon as it was by relief in the Kingdom.

Scorers for Kerry: D Clifford 1-8 (1-0 pen, 1 tp, 1f, 1m), T Kennedy 1-3 (1m), M Burns 0-2, T Morley 0-1, A Heinrich 0-1, J O’Connor 0-1, S O’Shea 0-1 (m), T Brosnan 0-1

Roscommon: D Murtagh 1-6 (1 tp, 1 tpf, 1f), D Cregg 0-9 (1 tp, 3fs), J Duggan 0-2, K Doyle 0-1, E Smith 0-1, E Colleran 0-1

Kerry: Shane Murphy; Evan Looney, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Armin Heinrich, Mike Breen, Tadhg Morley; Seán O'Brien, Liam Smith, Joe O'Connor, Seán O'Shea, Micheál Burns, David Clifford, Tomás Kennedy, Tony Brosnan

Subs: David Roche for T Morley (temp, 21-23), Cillian Trant for L Smith (49), Killian Spillane for T Brosnan (57), Ruairí Murphy for M Burns (61), Donagh O’Sullivan for S O’Brien (67), Eddie Healy for T Morley (69)

Roscommon: Aaron Brady, Patrick Gavin, Caelim Keogh, Eoin McCormack, Eoin Ward, Ronan Daly, Senan Lambe, Keith Doyle, Conor Ryan, Dylan Ruane, Enda Smith, Darragh Heneghan, Diarmuid Murtagh, Daire Cregg, Eoin Colleran.

Subs: Jack Tumulty for E Colleran (47), Paul Carey for D Ruane (55), Jack Duggan for K Doyle (57), Ciaran Lennon for Smith (61), Richard Hughes for D Heneghan (64).

Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).