14 August 2022 – On the final day of Northeast GAA football, in front of hundreds of spectators, Kerry Boston GFC and the Shannon Blues Boston took the pitch in the decisive match of the Intermediate Championship. Kerry were looking to show why they hadn’t lost a match all season, while the Blues sought to prove that the narrow loss in the previous matchup wasn’t a fluke.
After winning the opening throw in, the Kingdom marched down the field looking for an early score. The Blues defense turned away the first probing attack, but Kerry would keep the pressure on and forward Rian O’Sullivan would split the uprights for the first point of the Final. Eager to remain on the offensive, the green and gold forwards swarmed the Blues kickout and O’Sullivan successfully converted another chance from play on the back of the turnover.
Settling down a bit, the Blues pressed on and held possession patiently, probing the Kerry defense for any holes to burst through. Working the ball around the field for several minutes, the Blues would find their first score when some clever play resulted in a pocket of open space to put a point over the bar.
Kerry would also find their rhythm, beginning to control the tempo of the match and taking advantage of the speed of the forward lines of Gearoid Dillane, Jack Farrell, and Connor Stark by playing the ball into space and making runs off the shoulder to create scoring chances. After vice captain Tommy Farrell converted a couple points, the Kingdom would attempt to pull away after some quick and clever passes opened up a lane for Farrell to push through onto goal and beat the Blues keeper for Kerry’s lone goal of the Final.
Rather than concede defeat early, the Blues responded with several ferocious attacks and scored a goal of their own with a well-placed shot just finding the side netting past an outstretched Kevin Flynn. Just minutes later a poor challenge from the Kerry defense resulted in a black card and a penalty, which the Blues converted for the second goal of the day.
Shifting players around to counter the 10-minute man advantage for the Blues, Kerry continued to use the length and width of the pitch to create space for the forwards to work in. Midfielders Declan O’Sullivan and Jack Hussey battled for every kickout, and center back James Farrell slowed down the pace of play to settle his side and run the clock down on the black card. The Kingdom were not idle, however, and continued to split the uprights often to counter the effect of the quick goal concessions earlier.
Shortly before the break, a hard challenge on wingback Shane O’Connor earned the Blues a black card of their own, an advantage the Kingdom would look to capitalize on in the second half. As the first 30 minutes of action concluded, Kerry maintained a lead with 1-13 (16 points) to 2-4 (10 points).
As the two teams reconvened with thoughts of hoisting the Cup weighing heavily, Kerry would push its man advantage to score several points early into the half. Shane O’Connor and captain Noel Kennedy added their names to the scoresheet, while Rian O’Sullivan and Gearoid Dillane continued to display their shooting prowess from areas all across the pitch.
The Blues found their footing after a few minutes and slowed the scoring, but had difficulty finding space of their own to operate in as the Kerry defense of O’Connor, Farrel, Kennedy, Noel Hattan, and Aaron Moore swarmed and prevented the Blues attack from getting many clean opportunities.
With about 15 minutes left in the half, Kerry brought on fresh legs to keep up the pace and close out the Final. Midfielder Andy Quigley made his presence known early, winning several balls from opponents and scoring on a counter. The Blues also made some changes and mustered another strong attack, punctuated by a third goal that was driven into the side netting from a sharp angle.
Kerry would see another goal-scoring opportunity late in the match, with a powerful shot from Dillane pushed just over the bar by a great effort from the Blues keeper. In the end, the Kingdom would not need the goal as they saved their best performance of the season for the biggest stage. When the referee’s whistle announced full time the scoreline read 1-30 (33 points) for Kerry to 3-7 (16 points) for the Shannon Blues, and the Kingdom claimed its first Boston GAA Championship since 2007.
Players, managers, selectors, and sponsors celebrated in Canton, as Kerry put a bow on a unblemished record for the 2022 season (7-0, including the Final). Championships in Boston are not easily won, and as such the effort put forth for the entire year should not go unnoticed. Special thanks are extended to manager Evan McDonagh and Selectors Cathal (Moe) Moriarty, Ian Whelan, Timmy O’Neill, Chairman Jim O’Sullivan, and Sponsors Sean Somers (Somers Pubs), Chris McGillycuddy (McGillycuddy Construction) and O’Neill Construction.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a 2022 season recap, along with the full video of the Final!
Man of the Match: Rian O’Sullivan
Kerry Scoring
- Rian O’Sullivan (0-12, 12 points)
- Gearoid Dillane (0-7, 7 points)
- Tommy Farrell (1-2, 5 points)
- Jack Farrell (0-4, 4 points)
- Jack Hussey (0-2, 2 points)
- Shane O’Connor (0-1, 1 point)
- Noel Kennedy (0-1, 1 point)
- Andy Quigley (0-1, 1 point)
Kerry Teamsheet
Starters
- Kevin Flynn
- Noel Hatton
- Aaron Moore
- Noel Kennedy (C)
- James Farrell
- Shane O’Connor
- Declan O’Sullivan
- Jack Hussey
- Connor Stark
- Tommy Farrell
- Jack Farrell
- Gearoid Dillane
- Rian O’Sullivan
Substitutes
- Tom Hamill
- Aaron Molloy
- Andy Quigley
- Padraig Doyle
- Alex Clark
- Darragh Kelly
- John Doherty
- Jack Kelly
- Liam Doherty
- James O’Neill
- Ciaran Needam
- Callan Scully
- Killian O’Brien
Kerry Boston GFC 