Mayo boys fall narrowly short to Kingdom
Ben Joyce of Mayo in action against Marcus Clifford of Kerry during the Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship semi-final match between Kerry and Mayo at Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg in Ennis, Clare. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Mayo gave Kerry a major scare before the boys from the Kingdom eventually booked a first All-Ireland minor final appearance since 2020, with four two-point scores in the second-half crucial to them overcoming the Connacht runners-up in Sunday’s thrilling semi-final in Ennis.
The Green and Red had led by one point at half-time but with the wind at their backs from thereon, Kerry wasted no time in pulling clear after half-time, with early scores from outside the arc by Ben Kelliher and Kevin Griffin, twice.
But now five points ahead, Kerry went from the 43rd to the 57th minutes without raising a flag as Mayo substitute Oran Murphy helped turn the game on its head, scoring a brilliant goal and helping to set up two points for Conor Hession, with further singles by Dara Flanagan and Ben Holmes seeing the underdogs take a 3-10 to 1-15 advantage by the first of five minutes of second-half stoppage time.
Kerry, however, showed great composure down the stretch as Gearóid White’s third point levelled the game before sub Nick Lacey and the excellent Ben Kelliher, from a two point free, kicked their side into a final showdown with Tyrone.
Kelliher had shot the opening two points of the game but a twelfth minute Cian May goal had Mayo’s noses in front until John Curtin raised green at the other end in the 22nd minute, off the back of a superb delivery by centre-back David Sargent. However, a penalty converted by Dara Flanagan, which saw Kerry lose goalkeeper Ruairí Kennedy to a black card, restored Mayo’s lead and by half-time they were 2-5 to 1-7 in front.
But Mayo’s failure to raise any orange flag over the hour, allied with Kerry’s storming start to the second-half, was pivotal in the latter ending a run that had seen them lose three All-Ireland semi-finals in succession.
Scorers – Kerry: Ben Kelliher 0-2-4 (1tpf), Kevin Griffin 0-2-1 (1tpf), John Curtin 1-0-1, Gearóid White 0-0-3 (1f), David Sargent and Nick Lacey 0-0-1 each.
Mayo: Dara Flanagan 1-0-3 (1-0pen), Cian May and Oran Murphy 1-0-0 each, Ben Holmes and Conor Hession (1f) 0-0-3 each, Tony Carey 0-0-1.
Mayo: Thomas Williams; Conor Coghill, Barry Langan, Cahair Tighe; Ryan O’Donnell, Declan Duffy, Eoghan Dever; Adam Kelly, Cian May; Rhys Neary, Dara Flanagan, Conor Jordan; Ben Holmes, Conor Hession, Tony Carey. Subs: Peter Quinn (for Coghill 20-22, blood), Oran Murphy and Ben Joyce (for Carey and Neary 43), Oisín McCann (for Jordan 48), Fionn Ó Cinnseala (for Hession 60).
Kerry: Ruairí Kennedy; Ronan Sheridan, Eoghan Joy, Tadhg Ó Slatara; Danny Murphy, David Sargent, Marcus Clifford; Maidhc Ó Sé, John Curtin; Mark O’Carroll, Gearóid White, Alex Tuohy; Ben Kelliher, Kevin Griffin, Tadhg O’Connell. Subs: Nick Lacey (for T O’Connell 27-29, blood), Seán Sargent (for Kennedy 29), David McCarthy (for Joy 49), Liam O’Brien (for T O’Connell 51), Lacey (for M O’Carroll 56).
REF: Conor Dourneen (Cavan)
