12 May 2021 – Coming off a humbling loss in the opening round of the Pat O’Brien Cup, Kerry Boston GFC came into Wednesday’s Cup match against Galway looking to prove that they could build upon their strong second half performance.
Kerry opened up the scoring this time, with half forward Oisin McCormack putting a point over the bar early and helping to set the tone for the squad as they settled into the match much earlier than against the combined Christophers/Tones. Galway countered well and often, however, and worked efficiently down the wings to earn some points of their own.
Kerry found it tough early on to match the physicality of the Galway side, but used their speed to take advantage of space as it became available. A determined attempt by forward Padraig Doyle resulted in Kerry being awarded a penalty, with full forward Declan O’Sullivan cooly converting from the spot with a solid strike to the bottom right side of the net.
The two sides traded points back and forth for the remainder of the opening half and the score reflected the competitive atmosphere as the teams entered the break separated by a mere two points, with Kerry holding the narrow advantage at 1-4 (7 points) to 0-5 (5 points).
Similar to in their previous match, Kerry turned up the heat in the second half as they found their rhythm on both sides of the ball. Stalwart defensive performances from fullback Mikey Lohan and halfback Aaron Moore allowed Kerry to quickly transition to offense, with Moore proving to be a force on both ends after sliding the ball past the Galway keeper for Kerry’s second goal.
In the later stages of the game, both sides stepped up the physicality and eventually the chippiness resulted in a Galway red card. With the man advantage, Kerry continued to press and midfielder James Farrell fired off a cracker of a shot for the third goal of the match. Galway responded with a goal of their own after working the ball down the right side and remaining composed in front of net.
At the end of full-time, Kerry were on top by a score of 3-10 (19 points) to 1-8 (11 points). Manager Evan McDonagh was pleased with the teams performance, but still sees some areas to work on.
“We’re thrilled with the result, especially against a side as skilled as Galway, but we also put a number of chances wide. As the Championship gets underway we’ll need to tighten up the finishing to have a real shot at winning.”
Kerry next play against Donegal on Saturday, May 15 at 2:30pm.
Man of the Match: Aaron Moore
Kerry Scoring
- James Farrell (1-2, 5 points)
- Declan O’Sullivan (1-1, 4 points)
- Aaron Moore (1-1, 4 points)
- Oisin McCormack (0-4, 4 points)
- Connor Stark (0-1, 1 point)
- Conor Sweeney (0-1, 1 point)
Kerry Boston GFC 