Seán O'Shea, Kerry, and Sean Lowry, Dublin, in Allianz Football League Division One action at Austin Stack Park. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Allianz Football League Division One
Dublin 0-19 (0-4-11) Kerry 1-15 (1-3-12)
By Paul Brennan at Austin Stack Park
Two late two-pointers from Lorcan O’Dell and a one-man battalion charge from Sean Bugler in the second half helped Dublin overturn an 11-point half-time deficit to snatch a win from under Kerry’s noses in Tralee on Saturday evening.
With just three wins from 22 previous League visits to the Kingdom, Dublin had to wait 12 years since their most recent in 2013, and the manner of this one will surely feel more satisfactory than that 1-11 to 0-4 win in Killarney.
Kerry played with a strong wind in the first half, and were on the scoreboard early through Micheal 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, so to speak, 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 with Burns and Paul Geaney following up with white flags, as Kerry coasted into a 0-9 to 0-1 lead.
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, but two minutes later – on the half hour mark – the goal arrived. Brian Ó Beaglaoich put up a high ball that 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.
Ciaran 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, and 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.
Scorers for Dublin: S Bugler 0-4 (1f), L O’Dell 0-4 (2 2pt), Lee Gannon 0-2 (1 2pt), L Breathnach 0-2, G McEneaney 0-2, E O’Donnell 0-1, C Kilkenny 0-3 (1 2pt), T Lahiff 0-1.
Scorers for Kerry: P Geaney 1-1 (0-1m), S O’Shea 0-7 (2 2pt, 2f), M Burns 0-2, B O Beaglaoich 0-2 (1 2pt), G O’Sullivan 0-1, C Geaney 0-1, P Clifford 0-1.
Dublin: Evan Comerford, David Byrne, Theo Clancy, Sean McMahon, Brian Howard, Cian Murphy, Greg McEneaney, Tom Lahiff, Alex Gavin, Kevin Lahiff, Sean Bugler, Ciaran Kilkenny, Niall Scully, Eoghan O’Donnell, Sean Lowry.
Subs: Lee Gannon for G McEneaney (HT), Luke Breathnach for S Lowry (45), Lorcan O’Dell for K Lahiff (54), Niall O’Callaghan for E O’Donnell (58), Davy Keogh for Gannon (63)
Kerry: Shane Ryan, Damien Bourke, Jason Foley, Tom O’Sullivan, Graham O’Sullivan, Mike Breen, Brian O Beaglaioch, Diarmuid O’Connor, Joe O’Connor, Paudie Clifford, Seán O’Shea, Darragh Lyne, Conor Geaney, Paul Geaney, Micheal Burns.
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)
Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo).
