Paul Geaney was running amok against Dublin during that wet ‘n’ wild period of play just before half-time.
The Kerry forward went turbo boost for 15 minutes and was impossible to pin down. All told, he kicked four points in the All-Ireland semi-final defeat and fisted home a goal that rocked GAA headquarters to its foundations.
The Dubs rebuilt after calming words at half-time and Kerry, oddly, altered their long ball tactics to detrimental effect. Geaney was withdrawn from the fray for fresh legs but, looking back, his presence up the field would have been handy.
Obvious first question to Eamonn Fitz in the post match interview was "Why take Paul Geaney off??" #sundaygame #DUBvKER
— Paddy Savage (@paddysavage) August 28, 2016
Why did kerry take Paul Geaney off? #strangeone
— Eamonn Murray (@eamomurray) August 28, 2016
https://twitter.com/Nagle75/status/770326775247335424
The Kingdom scored only six second half points and could not halt Dublin’s comeback.
The night before Geaney was awarded the Gaelic Players’ Association award for August’s Player of the Month, Kerry boss Éamonn Fitzmaurice lamented his decision on RTÉ’s Raidió na Gaeltachta:
“Perhaps we should have left Paul on the pitch. He’s the best forward in the country at the moment.
“It may have been a mistake. But the analysis always points to the person who’s not there as the key to a win, but that’s too easy.”
Too easy but too true, many would argue.
As for the narrow defeat, which saw Dublin march on to face Mayo for the Sam Maguire, Fitzmaurice graciously conceded that Kerry lost to the better team.
“We made mistakes, particularly in the last 10 minutes and they are costly mistakes,” he added. “We need to improve our composure at the end of matches, that’s our challenge for next year.”
The GAA Hour Hurling Show relives Tipperary’s sensational All-Ireland victory with Paidí Maher. Listen below or subscribe on iTunes.
