By Ronan O'Brien
Kerry 3-15 Roscommon 0-14
A devastating six-minutes spell from Kerry in the first-half sent them on the way to their first Division 1 league final since 2009 and to a 3-15 to 0-14 win over Roscommon at Croke Park.
With ten minutes gone Roscommon would have been happy to have settled well in this semi-final with a 0-02 to 0-01 lead to their name, but the 19-time winners hit a blistering 1-05 in six minutes to stunt the Rossies' hopes.
Points from Diarmuid and Ciaran Murtagh did settle Roscommon a little after that, but Donnchadh Walsh’s goal six minutes from the break, and another from Darran O’Sullivan three minutes into added time ensured a relaxed second half for Kerry.
It was a very different game from when the sides met earlier in the league, an occasion that saw Fergie O’Donnell’s and Kevin McStay’s side leave Killarney with a 0-14 to 1-10 win.
Similar to when they hosted Mayo in the round robin game at Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon were second best in most match-ups – especially at midfield where David Moran in particular was dominant.
But in comparison to Mayo that day, Kerry were totally ruthless in front of goal, and once Colm Cooper hit the net in the 14th minute after a powerful run through the heart of the Roscommon defence from Stephen O’Brien, the lead was five points.
A lovely dummy solo and point off the outside of his boot from Marc Ó Sé was the highlight of the first-half, but at the other end Roscommon didn’t help themselves much either.
An uncharacteristic missed free from Fintan Cregg and a couple of long range kicks from goalkeeper Geoffrey Claffey went astray as their attack tried to survive on scraps of possession.
Throughout the game Kerry put huge pressure on Roscommon’s kickouts and as a result clean ball was a premium for the Connacht side, so a couple of points from the Murtagh brothers were some relief to make it 1-06 to 0-04 after 26 minutes.
But after Kerry had picked their way through Roscommon with some accurate, short passing, it was the direct route to goal that proved successful in the second quarter.
A long ball into the square from Moran picked out Walsh in a one-on-one match-up with Sean McDermott in the 29th minute, and after a few too many turns, he shook off his marker and hooked the ball to the net.
It was a carbon copy for Kerry’s third goal three minutes into added-time: this time Bryan Sheehan – who came on for the injured Johnny Buckley – picked out O’Sullivan with the long pass from the right wing, and despite being hauled down by Claffey, he carried on and finished easily to the net.
Kerry were full value for their 3-08 to 0-05 half-time lead, and that advantage was soon stretched to 14 points when Cooper chipped over his fourth free in the 36th minute and O’Sullivan added a good point a minute later.
While everything went smoothly for Kerry in attack, Eamon Fitzmaurice will be delighted with his side’s performance at the back, as the disciplined tackling of Shane Enright and Mark Griffin was added to by backtracking from the likes of Kieran Donaghy, who did well to snuff out a goal chance for Senan Kilbride after 44 minutes.
The concession of a few soft frees allowed Roscommon close the gap to 11 points as substitute Donie Shine and Ciaran Murtagh [twice] kicked placed balls by the 50th minute, while Diramuid Murtagh also got in on the act with a well-worked point from play.
With substitutes raining in every few minutes Kerry clearly eased off with the game in the bag, but with Cooper unerring from frees and Barry John Keane eager to make an impression, there was no chance of a stunning comeback, despite two points in a minute from full-back Neil Collins and another from Sean McDermott.
It was easy for Kerry who will meet the winners of the second semi-final between Donegal and Dublin in the league final in two weeks’ time.
Kerry: B Kelly; M Ó Sé (0-01), M Griffin, S Enright; P Crowley, A O’Mahony (c), F Fitzgerald; K Donaghy, D Moran; J Buckley (0-01), P Murphy (0-02), D Walsh (1-00); D O’Sullivan (1-04), C Cooper (1-05, 0-05f), S O’Brien.
Subs: B Sheehan for Buckley (19 mins), K Young for F Fitzgerald (47), A Fitzgerald for O’Brien (48), BJ Keane (0-01) for Walsh (54), B O’Sullivan (0-01) for Moran (58), P O’Connor for Crowley (62).
Roscommon: G Claffey (0-01, 0-01’45); S McDermott (0-01), N Collins (0-02), N McInerney; D Murray, S Purcell, S Mullooly; N Daly, C Shine; F Cregg, C Murtagh (c) (0-04, 0-03f), C Devaney (0-01); D Murtagh (0-04, 0-03f), S Kilbride, C Cregg.
Subs: D Shine (0-01, 0-01’45) for C Shine (h-t), R Stack for Purcell (h-t), D Keenan for Mullooly (47), R Daly for Devaney (56), N Kilroy for C Cregg (56), J McDermott for N Daly (66).
Referee: P Hughes (Armagh).
