Dublin 1-12 Kerry 1-11
By Martin Breheny
Monday September 19 2011
EMOTION dripping from his voice, Bryan Cullen spoke for the whole of Dublin when he said they had been "to hell and back over the last few years." But as he stood on the presentation area on the Hogan Stand, clutching the Sam Maguire Cup, he was looking out on a scene which, in the space of 10 whirling minutes, had become blue heaven. Banked all around Croke Park on stand and terrace, thousands of Dublin supporters were inhaling deeply from a sweet-scented air which hadn't wafted across the capital for all of 16 years, when they last won the All-Ireland football title. Dublin have new heroes, men whose names will be revered for a very long time, thanks to their exploits in an All-Ireland final which appeared all wrapped up in Kerry colours when Colm Cooper casually clipped over a point to put them four clear in the 63rd minute.
Kerry had outscored Dublin by 0-8 to 0-3 in the second half and were cruising at a speed which looked certain to carry them safely to the finish line. Indeed, there was every reason to suspect that Kerry would increase their advantage as Dublin had scored only one point in the previous 22 minutes. Dublin needed a goal to revive them, but where was it to come from?
Enter sub Kevin McManamon, the man who did so much to unpick the Donegal locks in the semi-final. This time, he made an even greater contribution, popping up to take a pass from Alan Brogan and burrowing his way in on the Kerry goal before driving the ball to the net. Kevin Nolan brought the sides level in the 65th minute and three minutes later Bernard Brogan put them ahead. Kieran Donaghy levelled it up in the 70th minute but just when it looked as if the first drawn final since 2000 was about to unfold, McManamon made another crucial intervention, winning a free 38 metres from the Kerry goal. Stephen Cluxton pointed it, crowning Dublin All-Ireland champions for the 23rd time. It was the goalkeeper's 12th point of the championship campaign, making him Dublin's fourth-highest scorer.
As the Kerry squad watched in silent misery as Cullen was presented with the cup, their minds were already on rewind as they tried to rationalise why they had been unable to close out the game from such an advantageous position. The answer, partially at least, rests not with them but with a Dublin team whose self-belief never wavered. They had lost only one game (to Cork in the league final) all year and while the odds were stacked against them when Kerry moved four points clear, they never lost faith in their own ability to plot a recovery course. It's most unusual for any Kerry team to be outscored by 1-3 to 0-1 in the final seven minutes, which is why this success will go down as one of the sweetest in Dublin history.
After all, it's only two years since they were humiliated by Kerry in the All-Ireland quarter-final and, even since then, they had to endure some very disappointing defeats, including in last year's semi-final and this year's NFL final. Significantly, though, they beat Kerry in the league in both 2010 and 2011, wins which may not have looked all that important at the time but which may have played their part in constructing a mental toughness that stood to them yesterday. The first clear evidence that it was underpinning Dublin's approach came after Cooper had slipped through the narrowest of gaps to score a goal in the 19th minute. It put Kerry two points clear, a small margin in an overall context, but enough perhaps to raise doubt if Dublin were feeling insecure in any way.
Dublin's response was so positive that Kerry didn't score for 15 minutes, a period in which they conceded four points. Indeed, it would have been worse for Kerry except for a fine save from Brendan Kealy to deny Alan Brogan. Also, Jack O'Connor deemed it necessary to begin repair work during that period, sending Paul Galvin in for Kieran O'Leary. It was a signal that Kerry were unhappy with the amount of breaking ball which was being snapped up by Dublin in the middle third, thanks mainly to the alertness and hard work of Paul Flynn, Barry Cahill, Cullen, Michael Darragh Macauley, Ger Brennan and Nolan.
Dublin led by 0-6 to 1-2 at half-time and when Bernard Brogan (free) and Denis Bastick scored points in the opening five minutes of the second half, Kerry were facing a real challenge. Typically, they rose to it and began to impose their will on proceedings in a number of areas. Tomas O Se found room to go forward from the half-back line, Bryan Sheehan handled a lot of ball around midfield, while Darran and Declan O'Sullivan, Kieran Donaghy and Cooper increased the menace factor. Dublin's discipline, which had been excellent in the first half, broke down somewhat under the intense pressure, allowing Sheehan and Cooper to punish them from frees.
At 1-10 to 0-9 in the 63rd minute, Kerry must have felt that their 37th title was on its way -- indeed it might have been the case against the Dublin team of last year. The crucial difference this time was that Dublin used the experience gained in the interim in a constructive manner. They stayed with the task, even when it looked as if it might be beyond them, and were rewarded with the match-turning break provided by McManamon's goal. Even then, they still had a lot of work to do, but they went about it calmly and systematically.
Kerry, in contrast, grew edgy in the closing minutes, losing possession on a few occasions before finally committing the foul on McManamon which gave Cluxton the chance to kick the winner. He held his nerve and steered the ball safely between the posts. Kerry won possession from the kick-out but couldn't move the ball quickly enough to get into the danger area before referee Joe McQuillan blew the final whistle. Not that Kerry could have any complaints. They gave themselves every opportunity to win the game but were hustled into submission by opponents who refused to take no for an answer.
Scorers -- Dublin: B Brogan 0-6 (4f), K McManamon 1-0, A Brogan, S Cluxton (2f) 0-2 each, D Bastick, K Nolan 0-1.
Kerry: C Cooper 1-3 (0-2f), B Sheehan 0-4 (2f, 1 '45'), K Donaghy 0-2, Declan O'Sullivan, P Galvin 0-1 each.
Dublin -- S Cluxton; C O'Sullivan, R O'Carroll, M Fitzsimons; J McCarthy, G Brennan, K Nolan; D Bastick, MD Macauley; P Flynn, B Cahill, B Cullen; A Brogan, D Connolly, B Brogan. Subs: P McMahon for McCarthy (46), K McManamon for Flynn (51), E O'Gara for Cahill (57), E Fennell for Bastick (63).
Kerry -- B Kealy; M O Se, T O'Sullivan, K Young; T O Se, E Brosnan, A O'Mahony; A Maher, B Sheehan; D Walsh, Darran O'Sullivan; K Donaghy, C Cooper, Declan O'Sullivan, K O'Leary. Subs: P Galvin for O'Leary (24), BJ Keane for Walsh (51), D Bohan for Brosnan (63).
Ref -- J McQuillan (Cavan)
Cluxton kick the signal for Dublin party
All-Ireland SFC final: Dublin 1-12 Kerry 1-11
John Fogarty, Croke Park
Monday, September 19, 2011
IN a most remarkable gesture of sportsmanship, Tomás Ó Sé handed Stephen Cluxton the match-winning ball following yesterday's final whistle. The Dublin goalkeeper shook his fallen opponent's hand but subsequently booted the ball away as he made his way to the dressing room away from his team's wildest of celebrations. If Cluxton was going to be sentimental about a crowning achievement for 10 years' worth of service to the cause, it was going to be in private. To score the winning point to end 16 years without an All-Ireland title is one thing but as a goalkeeper it created an almost perfect dichotomy with the fate that befell his predecessor Paddy Cullen against Kerry 33 years ago. It was fitting too that nobody in a Dublin jersey yesterday had lost to Kerry in the championship more than the Parnells man (2001, 04, 07, 09).
Two minutes into injury-time and several seconds after Kevin McManamon had been fouled by Barry John Keane to win the free, Cluxton stepped up and took aim. Watching the kick sail over for what was his second point of the day, he briefly acknowledged its success before rushing back to his unattended goal-line. With it, unbridled and joyful delirium washed over the Dublin-dominated Hill 16 as they knew Joe McQuillan's last blast was to soon follow. And it did, confirming a first defeat for Kerry against Dublin in 34 years.
Jack O'Connor's men will be left wondering just where it all went wrong for them. Colm Cooper's third point of the day in the 63rd minute had them four points to the good (1-10 to 0-9) and, with Dublin showing little in the way of retaliation, seemingly almost home and hosed. One point down at the break (0-6 to 1-2), Kerry bossed the majority of the second half with Bryan Sheehan, Darran O'Sullivan and Cooper doing the lion's share of the damage. The quality of their football at such a critical juncture was ominous. Darran O'Sullivan won three frees in a row, only one of which wasn't converted, as the ghosts of Dublin's demise against Cork last year threatened to haunt them again. But then came the lifeline. Intercepting a Declan O'Sullivan pass, namesake Cian found Alan Brogan clear on the right with his team-mate McManamon for company.
The substitute made light work of O'Sullivan's attempt to redeem himself to fire the ball past Brendan Kealy and send Dublin supporters into raptures. In the after-glow and driven on by the massive home presence in the 82,300 capacity crowd, the Dublin forwards then forced Tom O'Sullivan into an errant pass. Diarmuid Connolly quickly found Kevin Nolan and he shot confidently to tie up the game. Now gaining little purchase in the centre, Kerry found themselves trailing when Bernard Brogan received a Michael Darragh Macauley pass to split the posts. A towering Kieran Donaghy point in the final minute levelled matters for the sixth time in the game but the parity was short-lived as the menacing McManamon drew the foul from Keane.
A deserving triumph? There is no such thing in sport just as Kerry discovered there is no sure thing. For the first 40 minutes, they were second best as Dublin hounded them, refusing them the opportunity to impose themselves on the game. Kieran Donaghy's switch to midfield had taken Dublin by surprise and it wasn't until the 11th minute that they won their first kick-out. Kerry were winning in midfield but it wasn't identifiable on the scoreboard in the opening 15 minutes. Two excellent Alan Brogan points in retort to Declan O'Sullivan's opener was a justified reflection on the flow of play. The discipline of the Dublin defence was superb throughout, even if they couldn't get a paw on Darran O'Sullivan when he sliced through to set up Cooper for Kerry's 19th-minute goal. It was a fantastic move, indicative of the excellent championship O'Sullivan had, but most importantly it was a score that wasn't followed up on.
Rather, Dublin responded four minutes later through a Bernard Brogan free when Aidan O'Mahony upended Barry Cahill. Dublin also had a goal chance in the 25th minute but Kealy was equal to Alan Brogan's point-blank shot after his brother palmed down a ball to him. Paul Galvin had entered the fray for Kieran O'Leary just seconds later, although his opening minutes weren't remotely auspicious. After Donaghy had beaten Rory O'Carroll in the air only to have his goal-bound shot blocked by O'Sullivan, Cluxton and Brogan fired over frees after Galvin fouled Paul Flynn and Connolly respectively. He repaired some of the damage with the last score of the half, taking a Cooper pass to point, but was counting his blessings a minute later when Brogan kicked wide after he had been deemed to illegitimately tackle Ger Brennan.
Dublin, who were more than good for their one-point lead, carried on in the second half where hey left off in the first with Brogan punishing Sheehan for holding back Macauley and Bastick kicking successfully following an exchange with Bernard Brogan. That put Dublin 0-8 to 1-2 up but for the next 20 minutes Dublin were outscored 0-1 to 0-8. Aside from Bernard Brogan and McManamon half-chances and the former's free for handling on the ground by Eoin Brosnan, it was all Kerry. Four of their eight scores came from placed balls, one from Cooper and three from Sheehan, one of them a 45 after Cooper cleverly kicked a ball against Michael Fitzsimons' feet in the 54th minute.
That put Kerry ahead for the first time in the second half and two more frees followed, courtesy of indiscretions on Darran O'Sullivan. Cooper's point, the end product of a move instigated by Anthony Maher beating Macauley for a Cluxton kick-out, appeared to spell doom for Dublin. A good thing for them they couldn't read it.
Scorers for Dublin: B Brogan 0-6 (5f); K McManamon 1-0; A Brogan, S Cluxton (2f) 0-2 each; D Bastick, K Nolan 0-1 each.
Scorers for Kerry: C Cooper 1-3 (2f); B Sheehan 0-4 (2f, 1 45); K Donaghy 0-2; Declan O'Sullivan, P Galvin 0-1.
Subs for Dublin: P McMahon for McCarthy (46); K McManamon for Flynn (51); E O'Gara for Cahill (57); E Fennell for Bastick (63).
Subs for Kerry: P Galvin for O'Leary (24); BJ Keane for Walsh (51); D Bohan for Brosnan (63).
Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan).
