Paudie Clifford conducts Kerry orchestra but tune misses beats for Jack O'Connor
CONDUCTOR: Paudie Clifford had possession of the ball more than 40 times against Mayo. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
"There’s too much discipline and control,” Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh once insisted. “I don’t believe a good player should be told going out on a field how he should play. The good player gauges the situation and generally does the right thing."
How appropriate that the instinctive and creative ways of Paudie Clifford were fundamental to Kerry winning the inaugural trophy for the Division 1 competition named after the late, legendary Gaelic games commentator.
Clifford came with a cut to this game and it was played to his tune. Over 40 times, the ball was in his hands. Three points he kicked, at least another 1-3 he laid off. Kerry at times missed the beat but the man leading the orchestra couldn’t be faulted.
“He's got a great engine, Paudie has,” said Jack O’Connor afterwards. “Even late on there, he came back, won a kick-out when we were under a bit of pressure.”
The operative words are “a bit”. Kerry had a wobble midway through the second half when, eight points up, they were hit by a goal-two point free combination but they recomposed themselves to finish with five of the last seven scores.
Maybe Mayo had one eye on a Connacht championship that has been out of their reach these last three seasons but Kerry’s workmanlike display was more than enough to complete the first half of a double with which O’Connor has become synonymous.
He rightly insisted it was a display he wouldn’t be “shouting from the rooftops” about but what they delivered was plenty for the county’s 24th National League crown. “Any day you come up here and get silverware, it’s good,” said the manager. “Nice that it’s the Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh trophy as well. We didn’t do a lot of talking about it but looking at it now, it’s nice that we won the inaugural one.
“Now, I wouldn’t be giving us too much kudos. I thought we were average at times but we managed to raise our game then when we needed to. But for today it was good enough.”
Early in the second half, it appeared this win could be coming just as easy as it did against Mayo in the 2022 final. The half-time margin – 1-9 to 0-7 – was one point fewer than it was in that game but had stretched to eight by the 47th minute.
Paudie Clifford was playing for fun and his team didn’t appear to be ruing Micheál Burns’s goal attempt, which was saved by Colm Reape five minutes earlier. The volatility of the new rules exposed themselves when Mayo sliced five points off that gain within a matter of seconds. Eoghan McLaughlin stole in for a well-placed goal. A 50-metre infringement from Kerry in the ensuing kick-out and Ryan O’Donoghue punted over a two-point free having earlier missed another.
From almost disappearing out of Kerry’s rearview mirror, Mayo were on the tails and David Clifford was looking close to spent. Clifford’s dregs are better than most and he was still able to fist over his seventh score after a fine curved effort by substitute Tony Brosnan.
Clifford did rack up wides – he finished with five, four in the second half – but Mayo seemed gassed themselves. By the end, Clifford had found his scoring boots for an eighth point although he also had a shot kept out by replacement goalkeeper Adrian Phillips.
The opening 10 minutes belonged to Mayo who kicked four points to Kerry’s two. The early move to push Stephen Coen up to tag Gavin White was working while Aidan O’Shea was picked off a couple of points.
Kerry returned five of the next six scores including Paul Geaney’s 12th minute goal. David Clifford had only sent over a free when he upset a Reape restart, Paudie Clifford retrieved it in a flash and shifted the ball right for Geaney to palm to the vacated net.
After David Clifford and O’Donoghue exchanged frees, Clifford punished a second foul by David McBrien on him and Barry Dan O’Sullivan followed it with a point from play to put Kerry four up.
McBrien was fortunate not to be booked for a second foul on Clifford, which was Reape’s fate after he shoved the Kerry corner-forward as he attempted to take a quick kick-out.
Another goal chance came Kerry’s way in the 25th minute. Like a quarterback, Mike Breen took a couple of steps back before lobbing the ball over the Mayo cover for the on-running Graham O’Sullivan but his kick was wide of the mark.
O’Shea sent over his third point to bring Mayo within a score but Kerry’s finish to the half was solid as they continued to inflict pain on their opponents aerially where Paudie Clifford was picking up oodles of breaking ball.
Off his weaker right foot, the older Clifford brother restored Kerry’s four-point advantage, which grew to six with scores from his sibling, one from play after Conor Reid’s pass was capitalised on by a Kerry break and a free after Micheál Burns was grappled by Eoghan McLaughlin.
The interval margin read five, Paudie Clifford at that stage having also kicked the first of two 45s and set up another 1-1. It was damage limitation and Kevin McStay knew it. “I think Enda Hession did a great job on Paudie. Enda's marked him twice or three times now. He's busy, he's very, very busy and he's a top player as well, he's really grown into it the last few seasons. He's a national standard player, for sure.” Or “a handy man” as Micheál might have described him.
D. Clifford (0-8, 4 frees); P. Geaney (1-2, 0-1 free); P. Clifford (0-3, 2 45s); J. O’Connor (0-2); B.D. O’Sullivan, T. Brosnan, C. Geaney (0-1 each).
R. O’Donoghue (0-5, 1 tpf, 2 frees); A. O’Shea (0-3); E. McLaughlin (1-0); F. Irwin, J. Carney, J. Flynn, P. Towey (0-1 each).
S. Ryan; P. Murphy, D. Casey, J. Foley; B. Ó Beaglaoich, M. Breen, G. White (c); J. O’Connor, B.D. O’Sullivan; G. O’Sullivan, P. Clifford, M. Burns; D. Clifford, P. Geaney, D. Geaney.
T. Brosnan for D. Geaney (46); S. O’Brien for B.D. O’Sullivan (47); T. O’Sullivan for B. Ó Beaglaoich, C. Geaney for M. Burns (both 54); K. Spillane for G. O’Sullivan (66); R. Murphy for P. Geaney (temp 70-ft).
C. Reape; S. Callinan, J. Coyne, D. McHugh; J. Flynn, D. McBrien, E. Hession; J. Carney, M. Ruane; S. Coen (c), E. McLaughlin, C. Reid; A. O’Shea,. F. Irwin, R. O’Donoghue.
D. McHale for C. Reid (33); P. Towey for F. Irwin (42); D. Neary for J. Flynn (45); A. Phillips for C. Reape (54); D. O’Connor for S. Coen (63).
D. Coldrick (Meath).
