Galway 2-19

Kerry 3-24

By Pádraic Ó Ciardha in Pearse Stadium

KERRY’S took Galway’s place in this weekend’s Division 1 league final after a sparkling attacking display saw the men from the Kingdom leave Salthill with an eight-point victory.

For the second year running, Galway’s league campaign ended with consecutive defeats to Dublin and Kerry respectively and having been unbeaten after the first five rounds, Galway stumbled towards the finish line and suddenly find themselves with a bit of dirt to wipe away as they face into the championship.

While far from disastrous, the defeats in Croke Park and Pearse Stadium were comprehensive enough that the Tribesmen mightn’t be as confident should they meet either Dublin or Kerry further down the road. Galway do at least have memories of last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final victory over Dublin to soothe any sore points from that particular loss but Kerry looked a cut above on Sunday as they dismantled Galway, particularly in the first half.

Johnny McGrath did very well to limit David Clifford to just a couple of points from play but his brother Paudie and Dylan Geaney pulled the strings for Jack O’Connor’s side in that opening 35 minutes and Galway, despite a good start, were lucky to trail by just four points at half-time.

A purple patch in the second half, during which Matthew Tierney crashed home a great goal, did see Galway reduce the deficit to just two points with 20 minutes to go but Kerry always seemed to have an answer and the ability to get off a string of scores in quick succession.

Damien Bourke’s goal on 60 minutes – part of the 1-7 Kerry got off their bench – killed the game off as a contest and set up a remarkable Division 1 final between Kerry and Mayo, two teams who spent part of Sunday in the relegation zone before the dust settled.

Having made splendid use of the kickpass to launch attacks in their win over Armagh the weekend previous, Kerry moved away from that completely against Galway and carried the ball to great effect. While there was a decent breeze blowing in Salthill, it was unusually blowing almost directly out to sea and was of negligible benefit to either side.

The absence of the prevailing wind and the absence of Shane Walsh certainly saw a drop in the number of two-pointers scored with Galway registering just three, one each for Kieran Molloy, Matthew Tierney (free) and Paul Conroy, down from the seven they scored against Donegal in their last game in Salthill. Remarkably, not a single one of Kerry’s 24 points came from outside the 40m arc.

While it wasn’t the wind, there was some force pushing Kerry up from the Áras end and Galway were cut open twice in the first ten minutes with Gavin White and Geaney getting in on the right-hand side of the Galway defence to grab early goals. The home side were blessed they didn’t concede another major before the break with Paul and Dylan Geaney both coming close – Connor Gleeson denying the latter his second goal with a good stop – and Brian Ó Beaglaoich could easily have gone for glory instead of fisting over midway through the half.

Having won more than their share in the early exchanges, Galway also then struggled to get a foothold in midfield as the half wore on, only adding to Kerry’s supremacy. The home side’s cause wasn’t helped when John Maher, who was as busy as always in the opening half hour, was forced off after taking a knee to the hip.

Pictured: Galway’s Cillian McDaid comes under pressure from Kerry’s Paul Greaney (right) and Brian Ó Beaglaoich during Sunday’s Division 1 league tie at Pearse Stadium. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.