Denn's run ends as Kerry champs prove too strong

All-Ireland Club JFC semi-final

Denn 1-12

Gneeveguilla 5-8

Paul Fitzpatrick at O’Connor Park

Denn’s odyssey in the All-Ireland Club Junior Football Championship came to an end this afternoon in Tullamore when they succumbed to the might of Kerry’s Gneeveguilla.

The winners were full value for their victory, building a foothold in the first half, but Denn battled bravely in the second.

Denn came into this match off the back of a big win over British champions St Brendan’s of Manchester a fortnight ago while the Kerrymen were also match-fit, having won their Munster final on the same afternoon, beating Tipp’s Ballina by 18 points. The east Kerry side wore the favourites’ tag pre-match and they lived up to their billing with a devastating display.

At half-time, the match was over as a contest as Gneeveguilla led by 4-4 to 0-4. Denn, playing against a strong wind, showed signs of nerves and the Kerrymen punished them ruthlessly. They were impressive in all facets of play; they forced turnovers, countered at blistering pace and when they got a sniff of goal, they buried it in an excellent first half performance.

Gneeveguilla recorded two wides early on as Denn looked to get a foothold but disaster struck for Stephen Baxter’s side in the fifth minute when a kick-out was intercepted Shane O’Sullivan took a pass from John O’Leary and found the net.

O’Leary again was the provider for the next score, a point for Padraig Doyle. Denn were struggling to get their hands on the ball as the Munster winners routed their kick-out in the first quarter.

Doyle, Cornelius Buckley and O’Leary combined for a palmed goal and when Buckley kicked a lovely score from play, Denn were 2-2 to 0-0 down after 10 minutes and the nightmare start was complete.

An excellent score from Ben Conaty got Denn going but Gneeveguilla were proving very dangerous on the break. After a harsh free against Bernard Gaffney, Sean O’Keeffe pointed and although the outstanding Oisin Kiernan pulled one back and Mark Fegan stroked over a free, after another turnover, Gneeveguilla ran in a third goal on 22 minutes through O’Sullivan.

And worse was to come when another slick passing move carved Denn open and Kerry senior panellist Pa Warren flicked home their fourth goal. A sweetly-struck point from Buckley in first-half injury time made it 4-4 to 0-4 at the midway point; Denn needed a miracle.

And, in fairness, they did all they could to engineer one. The Crosskeys-based side got off to a brilliant start after half-time and showed their resilience with a battling second-half performance. In a match which was played at a high tempo throughout, Denn belatedly hit their stride and played the type of free-flowing football that had characterised their run to this point.

The Cavanmen seemed to struggle with Gneeveguilla’s physicality but once they matched it – within the rules and not, which given how the match was refereed actually mattered little – they showed they were not out of their depth.

Thirty seconds after the restart, Sean Donohoe bundled home a goal and a free from Conaty brought the gap back to a more manageable eight.

By the three-quarter mark, it was down to seven after frees from Thomas Edward Donohoe and Fegan either side of a white flag from O’Sullivan.

Paul O’Leary and Buckley registered two more, ‘Ted’ replied but any faint glimmer of a comeback was extinguished when sub Jack Cremin hammered home a fifth goal with a great finish to the top corner.

Buckley followed this up with a well-taken point but Denn kept to their work and three late frees from Donohoe (two) and Fegan left eight between them at the final whistle.

Kerry teams have now reached the All-Ireland final in this grade 13 times out of 19. Gneeveguilla were outstanding but Denn can hold their heads high after a magnificent run through the county and province which has lifted their club and community after a very difficult period on and off the field.

Denn: Mark Fegan (0-3f), Leon Cobey, Tomás Corr, Micheál Gaffney, Mark McSherry, Oisin Kiernan (0-2), James Brady, Conor O’Reilly, Bernard Gaffney, Caoláin McCabe, Cavell Keogan, Sean Donohoe (1-0), Thomas Edward Donohoe (0-4f), Ben Conaty (0-3, 1f), Brandon Keogan

Subs: Andrew Cusack-Smith for Corr (temp, 6 mins, reversed 9 mins), Jamie Reilly for Conaty (43), Eoin Reilly for C Keogan (43), A Cusack-Smith for B Keogan (53)

Gneeveguilla: Patrick O’Riordan, Eoin Fitzgerald, Paul O’Leary (0-1f), Pat Brosnan, Padraig O’Connor, Darren Brosnan, Conor Herlihy, Pa Warren (1-0), Ronan Collins, Michael Murphy, Cornelius Buckley (0-4, 1f), John O’Leary (1-0), Sean O’Keeffe (0-1), Shane O’Sullivan (2-1), Padraig Doyle (0-1)

Subs: Connie O’Connor for M Murphy (40 mins), Murphy for J O’Leary (43), Jack Cremin (1-0) for P Doyle (47)

Ref: John Hickey (Carlow)