Kerry regained the Allianz NFL Division 1 title from Derry with an assured performance before 20,545 spectators at GAA Headquarters.
Don’t be fooled by the winning margin. Jack O’Connor's side were always in control and you got the sense they could up it a few gears if required. A worrying observation for those counties who would like to see the Kingdom out of the championship equation before the third Sunday in September!
In a first half, where the level of intensity was only a distant cousin to what you would expect in the heat of summer fare, Kerry held a one point advantage going in at the break – 1-07 to 0-09.
The crucial score, and a match winning one at that, came from Donnacha Walsh, who found the net following a free flowing Kingdom move after eight minutes.
Indeed, 1-06 of Kerry's first-half total came from play, yet the Derry defence, and Kevin McCloy, in particular, performed well as a unit. It wasn’t until Jack O’Connor put Tommy Walsh in a more forward position that McCloy’s dominance started to wane.
The loss of Paddy Bradley to injury following an accidental clash with his brother Eoin on 23 minutes was a blow for the Oak Leaf county. However, their heads didn’t drop with James Kielt, Paul Murphy and Eoin Bradley kicking over fine points from play and placed balls.
It was Kerry who started the second half the better with points from Cooper and Tomás O'Sé. The introduction of Darragh O’Sé and Tadhg Kennelly drew the biggest cheers of the day from those in situ on Jones’ Road with well over 20 minutes to go.
Even with the re-introduction of Paddy Bradley, Damien Cassidy’s side could never reel Kerry in, despite the best efforts of Enda Lynn and Mark Lynch.
Tommy Walsh was always a menace on the left hand side for the Kingdom, and with Derry’s indiscipline resulting in a few easy tap-over frees for Bryan Sheehan, the winners exerted a level of control that was impenetrable.
Kerry's strength in depth was very much in view throughout the field, and while Damien Cassidy will be pleased with Derry's League campaign, he is acutely aware that his side require greater potency up front if they are to shed the underachievers tag that has dogged them in the championship for much of this decade.
