David Clifford stamps his class with 3-7 as Kerry ease into All-Ireland quarter final
All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final: Kerry 3-20 Cavan 1-17
IN THE midst of all the David Clifford artillery fire and the gloomy sight of stricken Kerry players, a moment in Killarney's first half.
Cavan were working possession clear of their back yard short of 10 minutes, oblivious to the thundering hooves of Sean O'Shea coming hard for a steal. Across he came from the blind side to deflect the ball in the direction of Joe O'Connor. The Stacks man was in for the chance from the stand side of Fitzgerald Stadium but left the kill to Gavin White at the back stick. This circle doesn't close. White hit the outside of the post when he should have goaled, but the point remains – Kerry, with Sean O'Shea running their offence, are a different beast.
Indeed, they're a different proposition all over the pitch for O'Shea places the same demands on those around him that Declan O'Sullivan once did from the forty. One is left to wonder what the Kenmare man muttered under his breath watching the efforts – a loose term in this context – of his team-mates in Tullamore a week ago.
This was a different, though still far from flawless Kerry. Not that they needed their Saturday finest for long periods. It is troubling that a Cavan spurt midway through the second period that yielded 1-6 in eight minutes made it a four point game at 2-16 to 1-15 with twelve minutes of time remaining. It took a third goal, this time a tap in, from David Clifford to put everyone's temperature back to normal in the ground.
Clifford finished with 3-7 and kept the Cavan defence and the scoreboard operator busy for the greater part of the 70-odd minutes while his Kingdom brethren worked on sharpening their approach for loftier peaks.
They scrapped harder and kicked better for the first 45 minutes but then appeared to lose their compass once more. Jack O'Connor brought Paudie Clifford in to rep-establish order and dampen Cavan's fervour.
The loss in the opening jump ball of Diarmuid O'Connor with another shoulder injury could easily, and understandably, have taken the wind from their sails, but David Clifford ensured that Kerry stayed on message. He kicked 2-5 with a sort of perfect hat-trick – two goals, two two-pointers and a pointed free. Not that he declared on that. Clifford fisted the opening point after the break to extend Kerry's interval advantage of 2-12 to 0-8 and really should have had his conventional hat-trick after dancing inside the Cavan cover only to shoot straight at Liam Brady in the Cavan goals.
That eventually, and inevitably, arrived on the hour, Clifford teed up for the simple finish by Killian Spillane after Joe O'Connor's initial goal chance was saved by Cavan's excellent shot-stopper Brady. Clifford had 3-7. Enough.
Paddy Lynch added another two point free to reduce it to five points but that was as close as Cavan got in the closing stages though it didn't prevent things from getting a little feisty. Cavan and David Clifford had a running dispute and when Killian Spillane was turned over with seven minutes remaining, a Kerry colleague ploughed in to plant a Cavan man in the back. Just a marker from Sean O'Shea, really.
Scorers for Kerry: D Clifford (3-7, 2 2p, 1f), S O'Shea (0-4, 1 2p), S Ryan (0-3, 1 2pf), D Geaney (0-2), G O'Sullivan, C Geaney, K Spillane, T Kennedy (0-1 each)
Scorers for Cavan: P Lynch (0-12, 2 2pfs, 2 2ps), E Crowe (1-0) J McLoughlin (0-3, 1 2p), P Faulkner, R O'Neill (0-1 each)
KERRY: S Ryan; P Murphy, J Foley, T O'Sullivan; B O'Beaglaoich, T Morley, G White; D O'Connor, S O'Brien; J O'Connor, S O'Shea, G O'Sullivan; D Clifford, C Geaney, D Geaney.
Subs: M O'Shea for D O'Connor (1), D Casey for Morley (44), P Clifford for C Geaney, K Spillane for D Geaney (both 56), E Looney for O'Sullivan (blood sub, 61), T Kennedy for O'Beaglaoich (65)
CAVAN: L Brady; N Carolan, C Reilly, B O'Connell, C Brady, P Faulkner, O Kiernan; J McLoughlin, E Crowe; G Smith, D McVeety, O Brady; C O'Reilly, P Lynch, S McEvoy.
Subs: L Fortune for C Reilly (7), C Madden for McEvoy (44), R O'Neill for O Brady (56), R Donohue for McLoughlin (60), K Brady for O'Connell (63, blood sub).
Referee: J Henry (Mayo)
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