In a recent encounter at The O’Moore Park, Kerry and Louth squared off, with Kerry coming out on top with a 14-point lead, making the final score 2-21 to 1-10. Despite losing, Louth were surprisingly cheerful as they had halved the 28-point gap they had against Kerry in the previous year’s match at the same location.
As predicted, Kerry claimed the victory and ensured their spot in the All-Ireland quarter-finals at Croke Park, due in two weeks’ time. On the other hand, Louth were content as they maintained their second position in Group Four, nudging ahead of Monaghan by scoring difference. Their next assignment is the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals the coming weekend. They are, however, devoid of any home advantage as Adree is deemed unfit to host a championship game.
There were both positives and negatives for Kerry. While the victory was assured, they were given a run for their money by Louth, especially in the first half. However, Kerry’s defensive weaknesses were exposed by the several scoring opportunities that Louth created. Manager Jack O’Connor will need to tighten up the defence before they take on Croke Park’s massive ground.
With a decent crowd in attendance, Kerry managed to stay ahead by five points in the halftime, with a score line of 0-13 to 1-5. However, Louth were satisfied with their performance. In contrast to the 18-point deficit in the previous year’s corresponding match, their relative success in this game can be viewed as a positive indicator of performance.
The match began with early points from Joe O’Connor, Sean O’Shea and Tony Brosnan, setting Kerry into motion. However, seven minutes into the game, Donal McKenny intercepted a high ball above Tadhg Morley, levelling the score for his team. Louth then switched to a defence-heavy strategy with swift counter-attacks involving numerous forward players. However, handling mistakes and poor shot execution let down the Leinster finalists.
Kerry seemed content to absorb the pressure, swiftly counterattack, and pick out points from David Clifford (4), Paudie Clifford (2), Brian Ó Beaglaioch (2), Paul Murphy, and Diarmuid O’Connor. This strategy propelled Kerry to their halftime advantage of 0-13 to 1-5. Louth’s points stemmed from contributions by Craig Lennon, Ciarán Byrne, Conor Grimes, Sam Mulroy (free), and Bevan Duffy.
Kerry extended their lead shortly after the second half started, thanks to points from Sean O’Shea and David Clifford. In the meantime, a missed goal opportunity from 10 metres by Craig Lennon, who had been set up by Ciaran Keenan, occurred. Forty-seventh minute saw Kerry’s first goal, with Diarmuid O’Connor capitalising on the rebound after a saved shot from Jason Foley, giving Kerry a 1-17 to 1-7 lead.
In the 55th minute, another missed chance for Louth occurred when Keenan shot over the bar from close distance. Just seven minutes thereafter, Paudie Clifford delivered Kerry’s second goal with the setup of Sean O’ Shea, claiming the victory.
Kerry’s squad included Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy (0-1), Jason Foley, Tom O’Sullivan (0-1); Brian Ó Beaglaioch (0-3), Tadhg Morley, Gavin White; Diarmuid O’Connor (1-1), Joe O’Connor (0-2); Tony Brosnan (0-1), Paudie Clifford (1-2), Dara Moynihan (0-1); David Clifford (0-7, five frees), Sean O’Shea (0-2, free), and Paul Geaney. Substitutes featured Cillian Burke for T Brosnan (55 minutes), Killian Spillane for P Geaney (55), Dylan Casey for J Foley (67), Mike Breen for T Morley (67), and Barry Dan O’Sullivan for J O’Connor (67).
In the Louth match, the playing team included Niall McDonnell, Donal McKenny who scored (1-0), Dan Corcoran, Dermot Campbell, with notable contributions from Conall McKeever, Anthony Williams, and Craig Lennon who scored (0-1). Taking to the field were also Tommy Durnin, Bevan Duffy who scored (0-1), along with Paul Mathews who scored (0-1), Ciaran Keenan scoring (0-1), and Conor Grimes securing (0-2). Ryan Burns, Sam Mulroy who placed (0-3, two frees), and Ciarán Byrne on the score board with (0-1) were also present.
Substitutions saw Leonard Grey come on for C Lennon (during the 50-minute mark), Conor Early took the place of P Mathews (52 minutes), Tom Jackson replacing R Burns (60 minutes), Liam Jackson being subbed in for C Byrne (67 minutes), and crucially, Peter McStravick came on for B Duffy (67 minutes).
The game was officiated by Conor Lane hailing from Cork.