Kingdom come
Kerry captain Declan O'Sullivan shoots past Dublin's Paul Casey to score the only goal during the All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Park yesterday.
Dunne didn’t survive the first round in the Point on Saturday night, but Paul Caffrey’s crew twice recovered to go the distance before losing narrowly on points to Kerry in yesterday’s football semi-final.
Dublin were left dazed at the start of the first half when they conceded three points, and again early in the second period when they leaked 1-3, as a Kerry team, inspired by captain Declan O’Sullivan racked up 1-15 to finish two points clear and book a place in the All-Ireland final for the fourth successive year.
History will be made in the final on September 16 as Kerry will face Cork in their first ever All-Ireland final clash.
Kerry had to call on all their most persuasive skills to wear down a Dublin team that put themselves in a good position to complete a second-half recovery when they trailed by a only point twice in the final five minutes.
However, Kerry held their nerve and are now in with an excellent chance of becoming the first team since Cork in 1990 to retain the All-Ireland title.
Stability
They looked under pressure after Dublin recovered from that early setback to lead by a point after 20 minutes, just as Kerry midfielder and talisman Darragh Ó Sé was leaving the action suffering from a hip injury.
However, in a manner reminiscent of Peter Canavan with Tyrone in 2005, he returned to duty just before the hour mark and helped restore stability to Kerry as they held out under a fierce Dublin onslaught.
Ó Sé is expected to be fit for the final, which will be a repeat of the Munster final that Kerry won by two points.
- Martin Breheny
