All-Ireland Football Championship 2015: Kerry vs. Dublin Score and Reaction

Dublin beat defending champions Kerry 0-12 to 0-9 to win the 2015 All-Ireland Football Championship final on Sunday, emerging victorious after a sloppy match that was heavily affected by the rainy conditions at Croke Park.

Kerry's usually crisp passing and handling went out of the window due to the slippery ball, allowing the Boys in Blue to use their physicality and pace to devastating effects. Dublin's defence won them plenty of matches in 2015, and on Sunday, it also won them the Sam Maguire Cup.

While the Kingdom may have been the favourites, the Dubs dominated from start to finish, and the final score looked much closer than the teams were on the pitch.

Seamus O Dowd (h/t The42.ie GAA) took this photo before the match, an ill omen for Kerry:

It took Brian Fenton less than 30 seconds to put Dublin in the lead, setting the stage for a frantic first couple of minutes. The action was fast and furious from the opening minute, with Anthony Maher nearly pulling Kerry level before Brendan Kealy was forced to pull off his first good save of the match, denying Dean Rock. Rock eventually scored from a free kick after a Fionn Fitzgerald foul.

James O'Donoghue, last year's Player of the Year, eventually found the breakthrough for Kerry before Paul Geaney equalised with a free of his own, as Kerry started to find form. O'Donoghue struggled with his finishing, however, putting several good chances wide of the goal.

Possession shifted to Kerry, but Dublin did a sublime job slowing down the match. SportsJOE.ie thought Kerry didn't look too eager to do anything with the ball, either.

Maher and Andrews clashed heads, and due to the pouring rain at Croke Park, the blood coming from Andrews' nose seemed much worse than it actually was.

The rain had an even bigger impact on the ball and the pitch, however. Players were sliding all over the place, and the ball became almost impossible to handle. Rock missed an easy chance for the Dubs, one he always would have scored with a dry ball, before O'Donoghue gave the Kingdom a deserved lead.

Rock responded with another free, however, and 17 minutes into the match, both teams looked just as likely to win the championship.

Sports commentator Ger Canning foresaw a close ending to the match, via SportsJOE.ie:

Stephen Cluxton handed the lead back to the Dubs with a wonderful free from outside the 45, his first point of the year, and David Moran was the next Kingdom player to put a promising chance wide. Dublin seemed to be in control, although a yellow card for Diarmuid Connolly took some of the wind out of their sails.

Connolly slid in quite harshly and had no reason to complain to the official, and Geaney equalised soon after.

Cluxton and James McCaffrey restored Dublin's two-point advantage, and Andrews gave the Dubs an 0-7 to 0-4 lead, taking advantage of Kerry's struggles in transition. Sports writer Ewan MacKenna was not impressed by what he was seeing:

Philly McMahon found space to add one more point for the Boys in Blue before half-time, and with a half-time score of 0-8 to 0-4, things were looking up for Dublin.

Kevin McManamon came on for Dublin to start the second half, replacing Rock, and the Kingdom started the half on the fight foot, with Jonathan Lyne curling a beautiful shot between the sticks. Darran O'Sullivan reduced the deficit to just two points, but a free from Bernard Brogan halted their momentum.

Fenton came agonisingly close to scoring and all but putting the match away for Dublin, but as shared by Off The Ball, the post came to the defending champions' rescue:

Paul Flynn restored the four-point lead soon after, and the Dubs were now in full control, with their defence all over Kerry's forwards. O'Sullivan put a shot wide of the goal before O'Donoghue pulled one back for the Kingdom.

Despite the deficit, the experienced Kerry squad didn't panic, and when O'Sullivan dragged his team back within two, the Dublin fans clearly started to worry. The Boys in Blue had dominated the second half until that point, but suddenly, Kerry started to find space.

O'Sullivan in particular proved a handful, weighing on the defence, and on the other end of the pitch, Dublin started missing chance after chance. And just as Kerry needed him the most, 35-year-old Paul Galvin was brought on, to the delight of fans and pundits alike. Balls.ie couldn't contain himself:

Aidan O'Mahony was handed a black card for a pull on McManamon, but Brogan missed the free. Dublin were in dire need of a point to restore the gap back to three, and Flynn finally delivered with just 10 minutes left to play.

Killian Young missed a good chance to score a goal, allowing Dublin to break and extend their advantage through Brogan, all but ending the match. Kerry needed a goal during the four minutes of added time, but Dublin's defence held firm, preserving the lead.

The win means the Sam Maguire Cup returns to Dublin after a one-year absence, marking Dublin's third Championship in five years. Dublin dominated the Championship all year long, and heading into next season, fans will be expecting more of the same from the Boys in Blue.

Post-Match Reaction

Speaking to Sunday Sport on RTE Radio One (h/t the Independent), James McCarthy felt as if he and his team-mates answered the critics in the best way possible after last year's debacle:

"

A lot of people had the knives out for us after last year, a lot of people gave us a lot of stick... I think we gave them their answer this year and we're delighted to win the game.

There were a lot of things being said about us, calling us bottlers and cowards and the likes.

A bit funny with a lot of lads in this dressing room with two All-Ireland medals being called cowards and bottlers... that is the answer for them.

 

"

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