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Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
A statement win, a masterclass of defiance from Kerry
All-Ireland SFC quarter-final: Kerry 0-32 (0-5-27) Armagh 1-21 (1-4-16) WHAT a show of strength from the Kerry boys' brigade as they cast aside all their injury woes to deliver a masterclass of defiance to send the All-Ireland champions out of the competition. When Tom O'Sullivan in the first half became the latest of their All Stars to go lame, Kerry's options seemed threadbare. Indeed, when Armagh went five points up early in the second half and went hunting for more, there were fears. But then came the surge. Under these new rules, there will be power plays, passages where teams feel almost invincible and for 15 minutes here, between the 41st and 56th minutes, Kerry were untouchable. Fourteen points scored without response, they transformed a five-point deficit into a nine-point lead. Everyone was in on the act, from the Cliffords, the one who started and the playmaker who came on at half-time, to Brian Ó Beaglaoich to captain Gavin White. With 12 points, Seán O'Shea was undoubtedly the man of the match but in that deep purple period in which he landed his third two-pointer the Kerry collective was the winner, obliterating Ethan Rafferty's kick-outs and sending over point after point. Cian McConville had a couple of goal openings in the 59th minute but save for an Oisín Conaty three-pointer four minutes later Armagh were drowning and it was appropriate that O'Shea kicked the final score of the game four minutes from time in front of this 70,350 Croke Park crowd. Like the Meath victory in the curtain-raiser, few had seen it coming. Mark O'Shea's introduction for Micheál Burns before the throw-in allowed Joe O'Connor to move to right half-forward but for a lot of the half O'Connor, Kerry's second best player on form, was quiet. The one standout Kerry half-forward in the opening 35 minutes was O'Shea who kicked eight points including a couple of two-pointers from play. He had three points by the time the clock struck three minutes. Conaty struck back with a brace of points prior to Conor Geaney threatening the Armagh goal after David Clifford laid off the ball but his seventh minute shot was tame and easily dealt with by Rafferty. Armagh had more reason to curse the opposing goalkeeper in the 10th minute when Shane Ryan parried over a powerful Tiernan Kelly effort as Kerry fluffed their attempt to clear their lines. Kerry's reaction to that let-off was strong. White pointed, Clifford followed it with another two minutes later and then Graham O'Sullivan was key to them adding a second from the follow-up kick-out, a free converted by O'Shea. Armagh bounced back with three points including a Jarlath Óg Burns's two-pointer and the likes of Jason Foley were keeping them from stringing further scores. At the other end, O'Shea and O'Sullivan were finding their range again and Kerry led by three in the 25th minute. For the remaining 10 minutes of the half, they were outscored by four though. Conaty added a third, Joe McElroy backed it up and then in the 29th minute came the game's first goal. Dylan Casey was lax in retrieving a short Ryan kick-out, Kelly stole in on his inside, fed Rory Grugan and he struck high to the net. Kerry wasted little time in recommencing play and may have been fortunate to win a free from Ryan's longer kick. However, it paved the way for a much-needed O'Shea point and within a minute he was contributing another two-pointer to restore Kerry's edge. Dylan Geaney, guilty of a truly tame shot earlier, sent over a point in the 32nd minute but Rafferty then pumped over a two-point free and McElroy's second came just after the buzzer. Armagh started the new half with the same zeal and went five up in the first five minutes. Rian O'Neill curled over a two-point free in the 37th minute after a great dash by Jarlath Óg Burns to win the placed ball. He and Conaty followed it up with points and the margin could have been six but for a poor Ben Crealey strike at the posts. And then Kerry took over. Completely. Scorers for Kerry: S. O'Shea (0-12, 3 tps, 3 frees); D. Clifford (0-7, 2 tps); J. O'Connor, B. O'Beaglaoich, G. White, P. Clifford, G. O'Sullivan, M. Burns (0-2 each); D. Geaney (0-1). Scorers for Armagh: O. Conaty (1 tp), R. O'Neill (1 tpf, 1 free) (0-6 each); R. Grugan (1-0); J. Burns (tp), E. Rafferty (tpf), J. McElroy (0-2 each); T. Kelly, D. McMullan, C. McConville (0-1 each). KERRY: S. Ryan; D. Casey, J. Foley, P. Murphy; B. Ó Beaglaoich, G. White (c), T. O'Sullivan; S. O'Brien, M. O'Shea; J. O'Connor, S. O'Shea, G. O'Sullivan, D. Clifford, C. Geaney, D. Geaney. Subs for Kerry: E. Looney for T. O'Sullivan (inj 24); P. Clifford for C. Geaney (h-t); M. Burns for M. O'Shea (50); D. Moynihan for M. Burns (temp 56-57); K. Spillane for D. Geaney (63); G. O'Sullivan for T. Kennedy (69); T.L. O'Sullivan for D. Casey (69-ft). ARMAGH: E. Rafferty; P. Burns, P. McGrane, B. McCambridge; R. McQuillan, T. Kelly, J. Burns; N. Grimley, B. Crealey; R. Grugan, J. McElroy, O. Conaty; D. McMullan, A. Murnin, R. O'Neill. Subs for Armagh: C. Turbitt for J. Burns (temp 37-47); J. Duffy for N. Grimley, C. Turbitt for R. McQuillan (both 50); A. Forker for T. Kelly (54); C. McConville for B. Crealey (56); S. McPartlan for R. Grugan (66); C. O'Neill for A. Murnin (temp 66-ft). Referee: B. Cawley (Kildare).
Belfast Telegraph
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Oisin Conaty reveals what Armagh must do to end drought in Ulster Championship
The Orchard County were crowned All-Ireland champions in 2024 but incredibly still haven't lifted the Anglo-Celt Cup. The provincial title has eluded them since 2008 and not only have they been knocking on the door in recent years, they have nearly kicked it off its hinges. Unfortunately for Armagh fans, that door is still hanging on and they haven't got through it just yet, but after beating Tyrone in a nail-biting Semi-Final where they scored two late points to come from behind and win, they are feeling very confident about their chances. Oisin Conaty was one of the main stars against the Red Hand County, and he was thrilled to get over the line and advance into another Ulster decider. 'Obviously buzzing to win a Semi-Final and get into another Ulster Final,' said Conaty. 'It's always nice beating Tyrone, too. I'm not going to lie, I thought we had lost it there towards the end, but when you have experienced players like Rory (Grugan) and Soupy (Stefan Campbell), you can rely on them to pull us out with big moments. 'Coming out of the changing room at half-time, a big focus was on starting the half right, set the tempo and bring it to them. 'Unfortunately, we didn't carry that all the way through but, luckily enough in the end, we pulled through, and now we have another Ulster Final to look forward to where we can hopefully right some wrongs from last year.' Conaty is too young to really remember the famous rivalry between Tyrone and Armagh in the Noughties when it was at its absolute peak, but the magnitude of this game wasn't lost on him for a minute. The flying forward soaked up the anticipation throughout the build-up and believes that it will serve them well as they prepare for another blockbuster event against Donegal. 'Of course you have nerves, that's normal,' admitted the half-forward. 'As a footballer coming into such a big game like this against your rivals, but there was a lot of excitement, too. 'You just have to try and channel that, try and use it to your advantage, something that we managed to do at times but, unfortunately at times, we didn't. 'Going into the next game, there will be even more nerves but, again, we just have to try and channel that to pull through.' The manner in which they beat Tyrone also shows that they have the grit and never-say-die attitude necessary to compete at the top level. Campbell hit the equaliser just before the hooter was blown, and then they almost toyed with their opposition while trying to manufacture a winner before winning a free kick that was slotted over by Rory Grugan. That killer instinct and cool head when the game was in the melting pot is something that Armagh has worked hard on and planned for. 'Soupy hit that point at the end and then we won the next kick-out because with the new rules, you can run down the clock and work that last shot and use it to your advantage because you know you still have time,' said the Tir na Nog clubman. 'Luckily enough, we got that free at the end, and that is just Rory Grugan's bread and butter.' When Kieran McGeeney's men lost the Final in 2024, it was a painful pill to swallow, but they turned that hurt into motivation and that led them to All-Ireland glory. However, Conaty admits that he isn't looking for motivation and wants to bring that trophy home at long last. He continued: 'You want an Ulster medal in your back pocket. 'I'm not going to lie, people say we used the loss as motivation last year, and we did, but you would have rather have won and used that. 'That is just the focus for us going into the next two weeks, we will watch this game back and take it from there at training.'
