Kerry Fall Short Against Donegal

June 18 2021 – In a potential postseason preview, Kerry Boston GFC and Donegal Boston GFC squared off during a scorching summer afternoon in Canton, MA.

Donegal were the first on the board, working efficiently through the middle of the field and adding a couple of points to their side of the tally. Kerry soon answered with some well-worked one-twos to open up the Donegal defense and bring the score level.

With the two sides trading points early on, Kerry were dealt an unfortunate blow with Liam Doherty going down with an injury just a few minutes into the opening half. The green and gold remained resilient, however, and points from forwards Padraig Doyle, Conor Sweeney, and midfielder Connor Stark saw Kerry take a narrow lead (0-6, 6 points to 0-3, 3 points) into the first half water break.

After the quick pause, Donegal were the side putting the pressure on and converted a few more points to close the gap. The turning point in the half came when a backwards pass to Kerry keeper Kevin Flynn took an unfortunate bounce and a Donegal forward pounced immediately, put the ball into the net, and swung the score back in favor of Donegal.

As the first half came to a close, Kerry were awarded a free from 35 yards out and Stark converted to bring the margin to a single point, Donegal maintaining the advantage with 1-6 (9 points) to Kerry’s 0-8 (8 points).

When the two sides reconvened, Kerry came out swinging and kept play in their offensive third (in large part due to fierce play from halfback James O’Neill), retaking a slim lead due to points by forwards Doyle and Declan O’Sullivan. The attack culminated in a point-blank shot on goal by forward Jack Kelly that resulted in a penalty due to a foot block, giving Kerry a potential chance to pull away early in the half. The attempt was sent just wide of the right post, and play began to shift in favor of Donegal.

Taking advantage of some fatigue on the Kerry end, Donegal brought on fresh legs and began holding possession, letting play develop and making the most of their scoring chances. A second goal just before the second water break put Donegal back on top, their 2-8 (14 points) edging out Kerry’s 0-12 (12 points) heading into the final 15 minutes.

Kerry managed to push forward a few more times and even fired off two shots on goal, but neither attempt was placed well enough to cause much trouble for the Donegal keeper. A counter on the other end nearly saw Donegal pick up a third goal and break the game wide open, but halfback Aaron Moore raced back and made a stellar goal-line save to keep his side in the match.

In the end Donegal would add three more points to the board against Kerry’s one, bringing the score at the final whistle to Donegal 2-11 (17 points) over Kerry’s 0-13 (13 points).

Asked what the headline for his side should be, manager Evan McDonagh showed no hesitation.

“Missed opportunities. We played well enough to win today, but put too many chances wide of the bar. Some of that was tired legs, but we’ll certainly take the lessons from today and look to bounce back in a few weeks.”

Kerry have two weeks off, then face Christophers Boston GAA on Sunday, July 11 at 1pm.

Man of the Match: Aaron Moore

Kerry Scoring