In what was a vintage year for Gaelic Football, thrilling games were in plentiful supply, the majority of which came at the business end of the Championship.
All-Ireland Final: Dublin 1-12 Kerry 1-11
The football on show wasn’t exactly a purist’s wet dream, but what made this final great was the grandstand finish and how it was settled in such dramatic circumstances. Dublin were gasping for air with little over ten minutes left on the clock until Kevin McManamon breached Brendan Kealy’s goal and suddenly Pat Gilroy’s men had a new lease of life.
The tension was palpable in the dying minutes as Dublin edged in front only to be pegged back by a magnificent Kieran Donaghy equaliser. The free awarded to McManamon at the death might have been dubious, but there was nothing dubious about the quality of Stephen Cluxton’s coup de grace.
A great finish to a great final; this was one for the ages.
All-Ireland Quarter-Final: Donegal 1-12 Kildare 0-14 (after extra-time)
The amazing thing about this encounter was how it eventually developed into a classic despite one of the worst halves of football seen in Croke Park for a very long time. Donegal’s defensive strategy had been well flagged by this stage, but they appeared to grow even more conservative at headquarters and as a result, the opening 35 minutes were just plain awful.
Things could only get better in the second half and they did, considerably so and although Kildare were denied a perfectly legitimate goal, extra time didn’t seem overly harsh on either side. The Lilywhites looked to have the legs early in added time, but inspired by the likes of Karl Lacey and Michael Murphy, Jim McGuinness’ side hit back and stole it at the death thanks to THAT Kevin Cassidy point (see below).
The weather, the turning on of the lights at Croke Park and the sight of Jim McGuinness with a bloodied nose after colliding with a photographer after the game all added to the drama of the occasion and once again Kildare were left rueing what might have been.
All-Ireland Qualifiers Round 4: Limerick 1-18 Wexford 1-17
Three points up with the game ticking into injury time, Wexford should have cruised into an All-Ireland quarter-final but instead left Portlaoise licking their wounds and cursing referee Derek Fahy, who adjudged that Ian Ryan’s last gasp free went over the bar even though an umpire had flagged it wide.
Limerick got themselves in a position to win the game thanks to a goal from Eoghan O’Connor in injury time, which gave them momentum to push on for the crucial score in a game that ebbed and flowed magnificently throughout.
As a result, they progressed to their first ever All-Ireland quarter-final, but not for the first time in recent years, a game was ultimately decided by some controversial officiating, which isn’t fair considering the enormous stakes at play.
All-Ireland Quarter-Final: Mayo 1-13 Cork 2-6
5/1 outsiders going into the game against the reigning All-Ireland Champions, Mayo weren’t given a hope in hell against Conor Counihan’s side, who could be accused of a complacent approach, particularly when trying to kill the game with goals early on when there handy points there for the taking.
The Rebels were left to rue that profligacy when Mayo restricted them to only a point in the second half and emerged deserved winners, thanks to a dominant midfield performance against Aidan Walsh and Alan O’Connor and a cracking goal from Kevin McLaughlin (see above).
It was the defining performance of what was an excellent first year in charge for James Horan and although Kerry comfortably dealt with their threat in the last four, the future looks bright for the Green and Red.
All-Ireland Qualifiers Round 1: London 0-15 Fermanagh 0-9
Fermanagh might have been all over the place last year, but London’s first championship success in 34 years deserves to be commended and not in a blatantly patronising way either. By all accounts Mayo should have beaten in Ruislip before scraping through after extra-time earlier in the season, while numerous teams have suffered major scares there over the years.
In the end it was a comfortable victory for the Exiles, who subsequently took their eye off the ball against Waterford in Round Two. Still, at least they can take consolation in the fact that their exploits earned them a place on Sky Sports News, and how many GAA teams can say that?
