Antrim 5-22 Kerry 4-24
Antrim were 11 points up after 25 minutes, they were five points up with five to play but Kerry just wouldn’t give in, and they were almost rewarded for their persistence.
Padraig Boyle scored a late goal to reduce the arrears to one and, on the long drive home, Kerry will wonder what might have happened if there was time for one more puck-out. But that was when Sean Stack looked at his watch to realise that the six minutes of injury-time had been played and, despite Kerry’s pleas for one more play, he blew his final whistle.
Padraig Boyle fell to the ground but he won’t be down for long. That’s because, just around the corner, in no fewer than seven days time, the Kingdom will host Wexford on their home patch in a preliminary quarter final of the All-Ireland senior hurling championship. Westmeath got a result against Darragh Egan’s side just a few weeks ago and, in the build-up to this one, you’d have to imagine Stephen Molumphy’s be drawing inspiration from there.
Saying that, they will have to be a hell of lot sharper than they were in the earlier exchanges here, when the lively Conal Cunning tore them asunder. The Dunloy forward ended his evening with 1-12 (0-9 frees) but it was his last score of the day that will leave Kerry players and supporters with a sour taste in their mouths. That came from a free that, with only three points between the teams at the time, was awarded after Antrim sub Daniel McKernan quite clearly tripped over his own legs.
The Kerry players protested and it was easy to see why.
Kerry lost by a point and apparently a lad falling over himself is a free now 🤔 pic.twitter.com/87fkDB7afp
— Smaller Fish GAA (@SmallerFishGAA) June 4, 2022
“I thought Sean Stack had a really good game,” Jackie Tyrrell said on The Sunday Game afterwards, “but this was really bemusing. He tripped himself up, he just slips – the result was that Conal Cunning stuck it over the bar.”
The Kingdom will be disappointed about that, and with good reason, but there’s no denying the point that on the balance of play, Antrim were certainly the better team here tonight. That’s why they’re Joe McDonagh Cup champs for a second time in three seasons, it’s why they’ll be back in the Leinster championship next and it’s why, when Cork travel up to Corrigan Park next weekend, they’ll be travelling under no illusions of the challenge they’re about to face.
All-Ireland preliminary quarter finals (June 11/12)
Kerry v Wexford, Tralee
Antrim v Cork, Belfast
