skip to main content

Lorcan O'Dell delivers as Dublin bridge 40-year Tralee drought

Updated / Saturday, 15 Feb 2025 22:18
Lorcan O'Dell celebrates his late score
Lorcan O'Dell celebrates his late score

Dublin overturned an 11-point half-time deficit to snatch victory from Kerry in another memorable battle between these great rivals at Austin Stack Park in Tralee.

Two late two-pointers from substitute Lorcan O'Dell - coupled with a tour de force performance from Sean Bugler in the second half - helped deliver only Dublin's fourth ever league win in the Kingdom.

Kerry played with a strong wind in the first half and were on the scoreboard early through Micheál Burns, back in the Kerry team for the first time in a year, and Graham O’Sullivan doubled the home side’s lead two minutes later.

Dublin were laboured in their attacks, trying and failing to get into scoring range, while Kerry made hay as the wind blew.

By the 26th minute the Kingdom were 0-11 to 0-3 ahead, with Sean O’Shea nailing two two-pointers, and Brian Ó Beaglaoich raising a third orange flag, Burns and Paul Geaney following up with white flags.

Bugler had converted a 13-metre free to get Dublin on the scoreboard in the 10th minute and Eoghan O’Donnell and then Greg McEneaney added two more from play by the 25th minute, but there was an inevitability that a Kerry goal was coming as the Kingdom exploited the wind at the their backs and a hesitant Dublin defence in front of them.

Debutant Darragh Lyne was played through by Paul Geaney, but hit the post under pressure. Two minutes later – on the half hour mark – the goal arrived.

Ó Beaglaoich put up a high ball that goalkeeper Evan Comerford only half cleared under pressure from Burns and Paul Geaney gratefully swept up the ball and finished to the empty goal.

McEneaney hit a late point for the Dubs but Kerry took a 1-12 to 0-4 lead to the interval.

It was always going to be a case of trying to mind what they had, but Kerry will rue the fact they could only score three points in the second period. And not even the arrival of David Clifford for his first minutes of the season could offset a rampant Dublin after the break.

Ciarán Kilkenny and Tom Lahiff scored early points for the visitors as the travelling support in the 11,500 capacity crowd began to find their voice, and it was game on by the 46th minute after Lee Gannon followed up a Bugler point with a two-pointer to make it 1-13 to 0-9.

There were 17 minutes between a pair of Sean O’Shea scores, by which stage a Kilkenny two-pointer helped make it 1-14 to 0-13.

With the bit between their teeth, O’Dell nailed a pair of two-pointers sandwiched between a brace of scores from another sub, Luke Breathnach, to complete the comeback for Dublin.

KEY: tp - two-point score; tpf - two-point free; tpm - two-point mark

Kerry: Shane Ryan, Damien Bourke, Jason Foley, Tom O’Sullivan, Graham O’Sullivan 0-01, Mike Breen, Brian O Beaglaioch 0-02 (1 0-2pt), Diarmuid O’Connor, Joe O’Connor, Paudie Clifford 0-01, Seán O’Shea 0-07 (2 0-2pt, 0-2f), Darragh Lyne, Conor Geaney 0-01, Paul Geaney 1-01 (0-1m), Micheal Burns 0-02.

Subs: Dylan Casey for T O’Sullivan (9), Cathal Ó Beaglaoich for D Lyne (46), Armin Heinrich for B O Beaglaoich (temp, 48-ft), David Clifford for C Geaney (51), Keith Evans for M Burns (60), Sean O’Brien for J O’Connor (65)

Dublin: Evan Comerford, David Byrne, Theo Clancy, Sean McMahon, Brian Howard, Cian Murphy, Greg McEneaney 0-02, Tom Lahiff 0-01, Alex Gavin, Kevin Lahiff, Sean Bugler 0-04 (0-1f), Ciaran Kilkenny 0-03 (1 0-2pt), Niall Scully, Eoghan O’Donnell 0-01, Sean Lowry.

Subs: Lee Gannon 0-02 (1 0-2pt) for G McEneaney (ht), Luke Breathnach 0-02 for S Lowry (45), Lorcan O’Dell 0-04 (2 0-2pt) for K Lahiff (54), Niall O’Callaghan for E O’Donnell (58), Davy Keogh for Gannon (63)

Referee: Liam Devenney

Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

More stories on

Read Next