For the third time this year Donegal have beaten Kerry, but this one feels much more significant that the first two, even the Allianz Football League final in Croke Park two months ago.
That was a 13-point win for Donegal, but Saturday's 10-point margin of victory in Killarney would appear to be more damning of a Kingdom team whose All-Ireland SFC title defence will come under microscopic scrutiny now.
For context, Kerry had to play the entire second half with 14 men after Micheal Burns was singled out of an all-in melee after the first-half hooter. After what had been a lively and spiky first half, after which Donegal led by five at the break, 1-11 to 0-09, the numerical disadvantage turned the second half into a procession.
Quite what the result means in terms of the bigger picture remains to be seen, but how – if – Kerry recover from this will be a test of all their mental and physical fortitude.
For Donegal, the performance put to bed any lingering doubts that their Ulster quarter-final shock defeat to Down might be anything more than a one-off blip. The League champions certainly took up where they left off in how they stripped Kerry of that title back in March.
Even before a ball a thrown in in Killarney, there was a residual crankiness in the air: Michael Murphy getting a hefty welcome from a few Kerry players who hadn’t forgotten his heavy dig at Dylan Casey the last time the sides met.
Donegal’s response was for Ciaran Moore to put the ball in the Kerry net inside 90 seconds, with Oisin Gallen and Ryan McHugh firing over two-pointers to put Donegal 1-4 to 0-01 ahead after seven minutes.
Kerry, playing against a stiff wind, composed themselves and fired back with points from the Clifford brothers and Graham O’Sullivan, before Dylan Geaney hit back to back scores to make it 1-6 to 0-8 after 20 minutes.
Langan raised Donegal’s third orange flag, Max Campbell then made it 1-09 to 0-08, before Gallen and Langan pushed the visitors into that five-point lead at the interval.
That might have been a manageable deficit for Kerry to bridge had they all their resources on the field, but Burns’s dismissal was a game-changer.
Gallen and Langan were on target early in the second half to extend Donegal’s lead and thereafter it was a masterclass in game management from Jim McGuinness’s side and Kerry were ran ragged.
Tony Brosnan tried to ignite an unlikely comeback with a two-pointer on 50 minutes to make it 1-14 to 0-11, but Murphy silenced the boos from the Kerry section in the 21,738 crowd with a point to make it 1-16 to 0-11, and substitute Shea Malone iced the victory with a goal four minutes from the end.
Kerry: Shane Murphy; Evan Looney, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Tadhg Morley 0-01, Mike Breen, Graham O’Sullivan 0-01; Mark O’Shea, Sean O’Brien, Diarmuid O’Connor; Micheal Burns 0-01, Keith Evans, Paudie Clifford 0-01, David Clifford 0-04 (tp, 0-01f), Dylan Geaney 0-03.
Subs: Eddie Healy for T Morley (ht), Tony Brosnan 0-04 (tp) for P Clifford (45), Brian Ó Beaglaoich for G O’Sullivan (temp, 45-ft), Joe O’Connor for K Evans (47), Killian Spillane for D Geaney (56), Cillian Trant 0-01 for S O’Brien (59)
Donegal: Gavin Mulreany, Max Campbell 0-01, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan 0-02, Ryan McHugh 0-02 (tp), Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Finnbarr Roarty, Caolan McGonagle, Hugh McFadden, Jason McGee 0-01, Michael Langan 0-05 (tp), Ciaran Moore 1-01, Oisin Gallen 0-05 (tp), Conor O’Donnell, Michael Murphy 0-01.
Subs: Shane O’Donnell 0-01 for R McHugh (inj, ht), Shea Malone 1-01 for O Gallen (56), Ryan McHugh for F Roarty (59), Daire Ó Baoill for M Murphy (60), Turlough Carr for H McFadden (63), Sean Martin for M Campbell (64)
Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone)
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