22 METROSPORT Tuesday, August 4, 2009 D GAA all-ireland sfc quarter-finals by paul keane Dubs left in a daze as Gooch inspires Kerry Kerry sent Dublin back to the championship drawing board with a majestic Croke Park display that left the Leinster champions completely shell-shocked. The Sky Blues headed to Croke Park with high expectations of deliv- ering the fatal blow to a Kerry team apparently on the brink of collapse. Instead, a capacity crowd witnessed the Kingdom bounce back from a dif- ficult championship campaign with a virtually error-free display. From the 37th second of the game, when Colm Cooper opened the scor- ing with a coolly taken goal, to the fi- nal whistle, Kerry were in command. Cooper shook off a listless personal campaign to finish with 1-7, while fellow forward Declan OSullivan was Man of the Match. There were star performers all round the field for Kerry, who had inspira- tional leaders in the likes of Tom OSullivan, Mike McCarthy and Paul Galvin. By half-time they led by 14 points, 1-14 to 0-3, and there was no way Dublin were going to find a path back into the contest. It was a case of how much Kerry would win by and, in the end, the 17- point winning margin equalled their win over Dublin in the 1978 final. They head on to face Mayo or Meath in the semi-finals and, on the evidence of this display, are good value to con- test a sixth final on the trot. For Dublin, the question marks now loom even larger than after last years 12-point quarter-final loss to Tyrone. They looked flat-footed and inco- herent as a unit despite beating Kil- dare in a thrilling Leinster final. Bernard Brogan came into the game with 2-17 but hit just three points, two from frees, as Tom OSullivan locked him down. The effort began right at the back, with Diarmuid Murphy at full stretch to tip an early Alan Brogan strike on to the crossbar, while Diarmuid Con- nolly was also denied by the bar when Kerry were still within their reach. Those misses were symptomatic of Dublins day, although when the Blues did come up with a free-flow- ing move and Conal Keaney provided Brogan with a 57th-minute overlap, Keaney fired a fine goal. But moments like that were all too rare and not even the early introduc- tion of Ciaran Whelan could inspire the faltering Sky Blues. Whelan was one of three first-half substitutes and boss Pat Gilroy admit- ted he could have made 15 and it would not have done them any good. In contrast, Tadhg Kennelly and Paul Connor came off the bench for Kerry in the second half and hit four points between them to wrap up a thoroughly convincing victory. lightning start: colm cooper wheels away after scoring kerrys first-minute goal in front of Hill 16 Royals to appeal red card for skipper Bray MeATH will appeal the red card dismissal of captain Stephen Bray which rules him out of Sundays All-Ireland quarter-final against Mayo. Bray was handed a straight red late in their round 4 qualifier win over Limerick. He was involved in an off-the- ball tussle with Limericks Mark Oriordan and, on the advice of umpires, was shown a straight red card having been booked earlier in a separate incident. He was on form with four points from play in the 1-13 to 2-9 win and would be a major loss against the Connacht champions. Stephen is a clean player, hes our captain and it would be a huge blow not to have him for the Mayo game, royals manager eamonn OBrien said. The win over Limerick was revenge for last years humiliating nine-point loss that ended Colm Coyles reign as manager. I was very happy with the effort and intensity our players showed, added OBrien.royal blow: bray sees red Counihan rues lack of real challenge for Cork CONOR Counihan maintains Cork are on the back foot for their All-Ireland semi-final tie against Tyrone after beating Donegal so easily. Cork had a whopping 14 points to spare over their Ulster opponents as they ran riot in a one-sided quarter- final. Paul Kerrigan top scored with 1-4, but evidence of Corks dominance came in defender John Miskellas haul of 0-4 from play, while 11 different players scored. From our point of view its disappointing that we havent been tested further, said Counihan. I dont think that we learned a whole lot against Donegal. The reality was that we played well at times and kicked some good scores but we did concede scores too and thats a lot to do now in the next few weeks. Counihan added that Cork must tighten up at the back after leaking 2-10: To concede that against a team we were dominating was disappointing.scoring burst: kerrigan kerry 1-24 dublin1-7 strongman: cavanagh Gormley: We can match Rebel power CONOR Gormley insists Tyrone will match fire with fire when they take on hard-hitting Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final. Both counties pulled through their respective quarter-finals on Sunday but Cork were the big winners, hammering Donegal by 14 points while Tyrone narrowly overcame Kildare. It prompted several analysts to predict that if Cork bring the same physicality and mobility to bear on Tyrone on August 23, they will beat the All-Ireland champions. Cork physically towered over Donegal and the influence of their midfield diamond of Graham Canty, Alan OConnor, Nicholas Murphy and Pearse ONeill was particularly significant. But centre-back Gormley said: Were not too bad in that area either. The likes of big Hub (Kevin Hughes) and Sean (Cavanagh), theyre very big and strong as well. We know well have to be at our best to curtail those Cork guys. Theyre strong and mobile and they get scores as well. But hopefully well have Enda McGinley back the next day for us also. We know were good enough in that area so I wouldnt worry too much about it. The Red Hand men trailed Kildare by four at half-time but restarted with a burst of scores that laid the platform for victory, with Tyrones fight-back prompting Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney to label them the best team of the last 30 years. DUBlIN skipper Paul Griffin admitted Kerry blew us out of the water at Croke Park. Defender Griffin gave an energetic display but was powerless to stop Kerry igniting their All-Ireland bid with a 17-point win. They are a class outfit, said Griffin. The quality of guys they have is unreal. It is the ultimate form is temporary kind of thing. They were peaking for this game and the next few weeks ahead. They are very good at preparing for this kind of stage. They came out and blew us out of the water for most of the game. Griffin admits Kerry timed it right Picture: Sportsfile index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html