GALWAY asked the tough questions, but Kerry had all the answers for them.
When the game was in the melting pot, they hit the last four points to seal the victory and, with it, their long-awaited 38th All-Ireland title.
They showed a mental strength and composure in those last few minutes which they haven’t been renowned for in recent times and that should help erase memories of the painful defeats over the last few years.
This final will be remembered as the David Clifford and Shane Walsh show. Both players were exceptional and gave performances for the ages.
The skills that either displayed were from a different planet; Clifford hit 0-8 from nine shots, while Walsh scored 0-9 from 11.
The key difference was that Walsh’s influence waned in the last 20 minutes and, bar a sensational second half performance from Cillian McDaid, not enough Galway players picked up the baton.
Kerry, meanwhile, had Paudie Clifford, Killian and Adrian Spillane backing up David Clifford’s tour de force.
Graham O’Sullivan was really influential in that second half also, kicking a score and had two direct assists along with completely nullifying Rob Finnerty.
Kerry’s plan was clear early on and they tested out the Galway full-back line with five long balls in the first half with three points from marks for Clifford (two) and Geaney resulting from them.
But they were uncharacteristically wasteful in that first half, hitting seven wides and looked like a team wilting under the pressure.
Galway, on the other hand, didn’t hit a wide until the 33rd minute and looked to have Kerry rattled with both their system of play and efficiency in front of goal.
It wasn’t all perfect from them though and they had some poor turnovers coming out of defence, with mistakes from Conor Gleeson and Dylan McHugh in particular, but Kerry couldn’t punish them.
Stephen O’Brien got through a huge amount of work in the first half, making two blocks, one of them a crucial one on a Johnny Heaney goal chance that ricocheted over the bar. This was the only score from a Galway forward outside of Walsh.
The kickout battle was fascinating and also a throwback to years gone by with a particular focus on long kick outs to break zones. Kerry got on top in this battle early on but Galway started to win more of their long kickouts as the half went on and looked to hit Kerry quickly before they could put a sweeper in place.
The second half was a complete reversal for Kerry, who were far more clinical in front of goal as they converted 13 points from 16 shots as Galway’s efficiency waned.
The lack of depth in the squad was really prevalent for Galway, with their subs providing little impact after the starting team started to tire having put in a huge performance.
Kerry, by contrast, got 0-3 from their subs and Joe O’Connor was just on the pitch when he got hauled down for the late free which brought the insurance point for them.
With the game on a knife edge, Sean Hurson made a huge decision to award a free against John Daly for holding Killian’s Spillane’s arm while trying to break the tackle. It was a very tight call and not one you would often see given, so to give it at that stage was harsh, I felt.
Against that, I thought Gavin White’s shoulder on Cillian McDaid minutes earlier was perfectly timed and not a free either. Both resulted in scores but, crucially for Kerry, they never looked back after David Clifford scored his to put them back in front.
Overall, Kerry deserved it. The pressure on them coming into the last 10 minutes was huge and it would have been exactly where Padraic Joyce would have wanted to be before a ball was kicked.
But any doubts about this Kerry team have been answered. They have been the best team in the country this year, losing only one game while winning the League, Munster and All-Ireland titles.
Jack O’Connor was brought back to manage Kerry with a specific remit and he has delivered on it.
IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF A PERIOD OF KERRY DOMINANCE?
MUCH of the narrative ahead of this All-Ireland final was around how a Kerry victory would be a catalyst for a period of Kingdom dominance.
I wasn’t convinced by that before the game and I’m not after it either. I don’t think they will become a runway train similar to the Dublin footballers of the last decade or the current Limerick hurlers.
I believe we are now entering a period in Gaelic football where there will be a lot more teams coming to the fore and even back-to-back titles will be extremely hard to come back.
Also, how will they react to being hunted rather than the hunters?
There is no doubt Kerry have the game’s outstanding player and for long periods of the final David Clifford put his teammates on his back and carried them forward.
Bar David Moran, there is a really good age profile to the team and the confidence and belief they will get from winning this All-Ireland will be massive. The monkey is off their back now - but I don’t think they have forged well ahead of the chasing pack for 2023.
For Galway, it has been a huge year. While this was a missed opportunity, Padraic Joyce will look forward with plenty of belief that his team can be back challenging again next year.
He will also be aware that he needs a stronger bench. If Galway had Peter Cooke, Micheal Daly and Ian Burke for the last 20 minutes today it could have been a different outcome.
The return of even a few of those guys and, as well as Sean Mulkerrin from injury, will certainly strengthen them going forward.
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