Sport
An honest analysis of the key decisions in Kerry v Derry
by Adam Moynihan
Kerry and Derry served up an enthralling match at Croke Park on Sunday last. The Ulster champions threw everything they had at Kerry, and for a while there it looked like they were on the brink of a famous win. Jack O’Connor’s men held firm, though, and with the incomparable David Clifford to the fore, they just managed to get over the line.
All in all, it was a wonderful advert for real Gaelic football. It was open, action-packed, and full of skill and passion.
Unfortunately, a lot of the post-match talk focussed on the referee and the decisions he made over the course of the game. Derry supporters felt that Joe McQuillan favoured Kerry. When I shared the plans for the new Fitzgerald Stadium on Twitter, one fan commented: “Where is the statue of Joe McQuillan going?”
Watching the game live I did feel as though the referee had made some mistakes – as most referees do over the course of a frenetic game like this – but the post-match rhetoric that McQuillan screwed Derry over prompted me to take a closer look.
I realise that as a Kerryman I might not be totally impartial but here’s my honest analysis of the key incidents.
28th minute: Diarmuid O’Connor black card. While lying on the ground, the Kerry midfielder is adjudged to have tripped Brendan Rogers as the Derry midfielder attempts to get up and move the ball on. It might seem innocuous enough on first viewing but O’Connor does trip his opponent and the rules are very clear on this type of infraction. McQuillan correctly issues a black card.
32nd minute: Shane Ryan clashes with Shane McGuigan. A loose square pass high up the field from Tom O’Sullivan forces Ryan to scamper and gather a bouncing ball under pressure from McGuigan. Ryan jumps, collects, and turns his body. I think he is expecting a much heavier hit from McGuigan, but the Derry man stands his ground. Ryan’s backside hits McGuigan flush in the face, knocking him to the floor. Ryan breaks forward and kicks a point.
For me, Ryan has every right to go for the ball and once he leaves the ground, he has every right to turn his body to protect himself.
The question is: does he leave more on McGuigan than he needs to? Having viewed the replays, I would say possibly so, but in real time I can understand how McQuillan waved play on. At worst it might have been a free and maybe a yellow, but nothing more than that.
34th minute: Jason Foley’s head injury. Foley goes down holding his face after McGuigan inadvertently swings his arm back and catches him. McQuillan says Foley is faking it to waste time (Kerry have a man in the sin bin at this point). It’s hard to say whether or not the Kerry full back was trying to run down the clock. Only he knows. Teams have successfully manipulated this rule in the past.
From a Kerry perspective, you would be hoping that whoever referees the final is equally unforgiving if a Dublin player attempts the same thing.
37th minute: David Clifford shoulders McGuigan. Clifford catches his opposite number with a bone-crunching but legal shoulder. McQuillan incorrectly awards Derry a tap-over free and also issues a yellow card, much to the Kerry captain’s bemusement.
50th minute: Jack Barry tackles McGuigan. Barry brings Derry counter-attack to a halt when he reaches across the onrushing McGuigan and knocks him to the ground. McGuigan goes down holding his face and Derry players tell the ref it was an elbow. It wasn’t. Yellow card issued, the right call.
66th minute: McKinless called for a foul on Stephen O’Brien. My initial reaction was that this one was soft and watching it back hasn’t changed my mind. McKinless does make contact in an awkward fashion but no Kerry fan would have complained if play carried on. Instead, McQuillan awards a close in free. Kerry score to close the gap to one.
67th minute: Clifford is fouled by McKaigue. Derry fans were unhappy with this one as well but I don’t see their argument in this instance. It looks to me like McKaigue pulls him back.
69th minute: Seán O’Shea turns Brendan Rogers over. This turnover around the middle led directly to a point for Clifford that made it 1-16 to 1-14. If you examine the tackle closely, O’Shea appears to hit Rogers in the stomach in an attempt to break the ball loose – before actually knocking the ball loose with his other hand. This should have been a free to Derry.
75th minute: Time ticks on… Four minutes of additional time were signalled by the match officials. Four minutes and 32 seconds had been played when Shane Ryan comes and clears what appears to be Derry’s last attempt at fashioning an equalising goal. Graham O’Sullivan raises his hands to the air when Micheál Burns gathers the breaking ball. Several players on both sides stop moving entirely, expecting the final whistle.
The whistle doesn’t come, however, so Kerry carry the ball forward. Over five minutes of additional have passed when Odhran Lynch intercepts David Clifford’s attempted pass to Tom O’Sullivan. Still no final whistle. Derry go up the pitch. McKinless wins a free, and then…
76th minute: McKinless kicks O’Shea. When McKinless attempts to take the free quickly, O’Shea knocks the ball out of his hands. The Derry player is in the act of kicking but the ball is well gone when he decides to continue his striking motion. He forcefully kicks O’Shea across the midriff – so forcefully that he hurts himself and needs to be stretchered off. To my mind, this was the only blatant red card that McQuillan missed. Having said that, it wouldn’t have affected the result.
The referee made mistakes on both sides. A couple of those decisions went against Derry in the closing stages so their frustration is understandable, but at the end of the day it was their failure to convert their chances that cost them.
SILLY
Ultimately, these claims that referees go out to screw teams over or that they have agendas are all a bit silly.
If Derry had managed to score a goal with that last chance and then win in extra time, Kerry fans would feel aggrieved with the same referee for the same refereeing performance. I think that tells its own story.
Sport
Jack O’Connor’s Kerry squad is looking deeper and stronger (but the proof will be in the eating)
As we reach the midway point of the 2025 season, Adam Moynihan takes a close look at Kerry’s strength in depth
As the Kerry players, management team and backroom staff huddled together for a photo with the Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh Cup in front of the Hogan Stand, one of the photographers raised his fist in the air, trying to illicit something resembling a celebratory scene. No joy.
Victory over Mayo had been secured in convincing enough fashion but winning the league has never been grounds for buoyant celebrations as far as Kerry are concerned. Retaining Division 1 status and unearthing some new talent is generally enough to tick the springtime box ahead of the serious business of the championship. Once that has been achieved, anything else is gravy.
Going by the disappointing loss to Armagh in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final, the need for new blood was especially great heading into the 2025 season. The team faded badly down the stretch and into extra time against the Orchard County with overdependence on core players glaringly obvious. It wasn’t the only reason they lost but Kerry simply didn’t get enough from their supporting cast on the day.
With that in mind, Jack O’Connor knew he had to work on the depth of his squad during this league campaign, and you’d have to say he made a pretty good fist of it.
Starting in goal, the situation here is clear with Shane Murphy providing back-up to Shane Ryan.
Moving out the field, in recent years Kerry have generally gone with Jason Foley at full back, Tom O’Sullivan at left corner back, and one of Paul Murphy or Graham O’Sullivan at right corner back.
After making his debut in the league in 2024, Damien Bourke has emerged as a genuine right corner back alternative with some strong performances that have vastly enhanced his reputation. Not many Kerry players came out of the Dublin defeat with extra credit to their name but Bourke was brave and tenacious, bursting out of defence and using the ball wisely. He was replaced as a starter by the experienced Murphy in later rounds but the Tralee man capped his league with a goal off the bench against Galway in Salthill.
Dylan Casey also got extended game time in the absence of Tom O’Sullivan and he acquitted himself professionally. He has a solid head on his shoulders and you get the impression that Jack O’Connor would now be comfortable throwing him into any given situation without hesitation.
The versatile Graham O’Sullivan is also an option at corner back and it looks like he’ll need to slot in somewhere other than his natural position of half back as Brian Ó Beaglaoich and Gavin White are nailed on starters at 5 and 7. O’Sullivan lined out at half forward against Galway and Mayo, underlining his flexibility and importance to the team.
There could be a changing of the guard taking place at centre back with Mike Breen seemingly shaking off the injury woes that have held back his progress with Kerry to date. With regular number 6 Tadhg Morley unavailable for selection for most of the league, Breen slotted seamlessly into that crucial central role, and he looked really confident against Mayo on Sunday. As things stand, Morley will be doing well to displace Breen but either way Kerry should have two good centre back options heading into the summer months.
Midfield has been a head scratcher for Kerry for a number of years but in Diarmuid O’Connor and Joe O’Connor they appear to have found a winning combination. Diarmuid was playing the best football of his career up to his injury against Armagh in Round 6 so getting his shoulder right for championship is of paramount importance to Kerry’s chances.
Joe is a guaranteed starter too but his assured display at wing forward against Armagh was interesting in that it opens the door for a third midfielder to start. Seán O’Brien and Barry Dan O’Sullivan both applied themselves admirably when called upon in the league and the manager should feel like he can trust them more now than he did 12 months ago.
Joe O’Connor’s arrival as a half forward candidate has improved Kerry’s options to the extent that it’s difficult to predict how they will line out from 10 to 12 in the Munster Championship. Micheál Burns has done quite well upon his reintroduction to the team after being dropped from the panel in 2024, and Paudie Clifford is looking sharp at centre forward. Tony Brosnan and Dylan Geaney are options along this line too, although Dylan has been operating as a withdrawn inside forward to date – a role Tony is also capable of playing.
Of course, Seánie O’Shea will have to fit in somewhere in this department when he fully recuperates from his knee ligament injury, so it will be interesting to see how Jack O’Connor works this conundrum out. File under ‘good problems’.
Dara Moynihan is still recovering from a hip injury and has not yet featured in 2025. He would naturally be an option at 10 if he can get back up to speed. Meanwhile, Darragh Lyne, Ruairí Murphy and Cathal Ó Beaglaoich all featured at half forward in the league.
David Clifford and Paul Geaney will play at 13 and 14 with Dylan Geaney in pole position to start at 15 on the back of a really good run of form, perhaps excepting the league final in which he was relatively quiet. Tony Brosnan is a prime candidate to challenge Dylan for that spot; the Dr Crokes player has kicked some fantastic scores in each of his last three appearances as a substitute.
As for out-and-out inside forwards, Conor Geaney and Killian Spillane are likely to be used as impact subs.
All told Kerry do appear to have better depth than they had last year, particularly with the emergence of second season players like Bourke, O’Brien and Dylan Geaney as legitimate options, and with Breen beginning to fulfil his potential. Burns’ comeback and Joe O’Connor’s newfound ability to play the 12 position also help.
As always, though, the proof will be in the eating. We will have to wait for the suffocating heat of do-or-die championship matches to find out if this squad is as deep and dependable as it looks on paper.
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