David Clifford stars as Kerry dash Donegal dreams in All-Ireland final

One swing of David Clifford’s left foot just before half-time encapsulated this All-Ireland final as Kerry dashed the Donegal dreams.

Donegal had recovered from some disastrous moments, trailing by nine points at one stage, to come to within five.

In the circumstances, it wouldn’t have been a complete nightmare to head under the Hogan Stand five in arrears. Yet, when Clifford, just inches inside the ’45, was fed by his brother, Paudie, and slammed over with the final kick of the first half, it felt like daylight.

It was Clifford’s third two-pointer of a first half in which so much went wrong for Donegal and they found themselves 0-17 to 0-10 behind.

Michael Murphy - whose return to the panel this year after retiring in 2023 helped propel Donegal to the final - scored eight points, including five in the second half, and Donegal were twice only four adrift in part two.

The game was long since gone from Donegal’s reach when, with one of the game’s final plays, Joe O’Connor riffled one last dagger through the Donegal hearts, thumping high to the Hill 16 net. 

Soon, the Rose of Tralee blared through Croke Park, but this will be a painful thorn for Donegal to pull from their skin when it’s digested and analysed.

When they emerged from the interval, Jack O’Connor’s Kerry tacked on the opening two points of the second half, via Clifford and Seán O’Shea, Sam Maguire was heading for Kerry for the 39th time. Clifford ended the afternoon with nine points and there was little doubt on who made the telling difference in this one. Clifford has scored 8-62 in this year’s championship.

The stadium, heaving at its capacity, seemed like visual conundrum on a day when Croke Park shimmered in green and gold, although the teams jostled in their change kits: Kerry in blue and Donegal in white.

The dizzying euphoria that engulfed Donegal in the last fortnight quickly turned to nerves of fear right from the moment Brendan Cawley, the referee, launched the ball into the air. Kerry, from the get-go, appeared ravenous, as if affronted by the notion that they might be outfoxed by Jim McGuinness and Donegal.

The first involvement of Clifford, in the ninth minute, saw the Fossa star nail a two-pointer from just outside the arc to put Kerry 0-7 to 0-3 in front - the first two-point score in an All-Ireland final, by the way. 

When Clifford’s left instep next touched the O’Neills, he arrowed over one of those majestic scores that have catapulted him into those ‘best ever’ conversations.

In the space of two Donegal points, in only a six-minute spell, Kerry moved seven ahead, 0-10 to 0-3, largely thanks to those booming kicks by Clifford, which were bookended by points from Paudie Clifford and Seán O’Brien.

An Oisin Gallen point came as little respite for Donegal as Seán O’Shea landed a two-point free after Brendan McCole was adjudged to have fouled David Clifford. 

The early stages were frenetic and fascinating, Kerry bursting from the starting blocks for captain Gavin Whyte to tee up Dylan Geaney for the opening point after just seven seconds.

Whyte scurried in for two early points of his own and there was a warning shot for Donegal when Paudie Clifford’s dangerous dropping ball was knocked over the bar by O’Brien, who roamed in on top of Donegal ‘keeper Shaun Patton.

Donegal were nine down when David Clifford clipped Kerry into a 0-13 to 0-4 lead in the 18th minute. 

It seemed as if the Ulster champions needed smelling salts at this stage. From seemingly nowhere, Donegal summonsed a response and hit four points in a three-minute spell - two of them by Murphy and one apiece by Gallen and Conor O’Donnell - to narrow the deficit to five.

However, O’Shea popped over a free before Kerry zipped through Donegal again for Geaney to convert.

When they headed for the dressing room at half-time in the quarter-final against Monaghan, Donegal found themselves behind by seven only to win by six after a sensational second-half comeback. 

With the hooter sounding here, Kerry led by five. It might have been manageable for Donegal but Clifford nonchalantly spun over from distance to raise his third orange flag of the day, the margin now 0-17 to 0-10.

Kerry, old hands at this malarkey, were appearing in their 63rd All-Ireland final and their third in the last four years - and they pushed the lead out to nine again early in the second half.  

This was only a fourth ever senior championship meeting of the counties - and there was little that history could teach us: Donegal, on their way to capturing Sam Maguire, held sway in a 2012 quarter-final; Kerry carved out a 2-9 to 0-12 win in the 2014 final; and, also at Croke Park, the sides share a cracking 1-20 apiece draw in a group stage clash in 2019.

Both lost once on their way to this final, Donegal beaten by Tyrone and Kerry stunned by Meath, both in the group phase, but comfortable preliminary quarter-final wins over Louth and Cavan steadied the respective ships again. 

McGuinness and O’Connor named unchanged teams at the end of the week from their semi-finals, but Donegal showed one change when they marched behind the Artane Band; Caolan McGonagle came in for his first start since limping out of the group stage loss to Tyrone in May. 

Three frees from Murphy, one which saw him bend over a brilliant kick from the shadows of the Cusack Stand and Conor O’Donnell clipped the following point.

Donegal weren’t going out without a fight - and with 20 minutes to go the gap was five again, with Conor O’Donnell and Shane O’Donnell hitting quick-fire scores. 

Kerry wing-back Brian O Beaglaoich missed a chance to put Kerry’s advantage to six in the 52nd minute.

Then, Murphy was fouled and knocked over the free as Donegal - who saw enforced changes with injuries to Ciaran Thompson and Ryan McHugh in each half - moved right onto the Kingdom coat tails. 

Like a boxer on the ropes and behind on scores in the final round, Donegal needed to land a knockout blow as the game entered the last 10 minutes. Instead, Kerry jabbed their cheeks, O’Shea arrowing over for two and Paudie Clifford lifting over off the hand after scuttling through a parting. 

David Clifford shot between the sticks and the Kerry volume lifted considerable. Clifford might have had a goal to put a cherry on his day, but Conor O’Donnell intervened on the goal-line.

The game was in the 70th and final minute when O’Connor side-stepped Jamie Brennan and riffled home.

At least we had ourselves some kind of a summer. 

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Scorers for Donegal: Michael Murphy 0-8 (6f), Conor O’Donnell 0-4, Oisin Gallen 0-3, Shane O’Donnell 0-2; Caolan McGonagle, Daire Ó Baoill 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kerry: David Clifford 0-9 (3 2pt), Seán O’Shea 0-6 (2 2ptf, 1f), Joe O’Connor 1-0, Gavin Whyte, Dylan Geaney, Paudie Clifford 0-3 each, Sean O’Brien 0-2. 

Donegal: Shaun Patton; Finnbarr Roarty, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ryan McHugh, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Caolan McColgan; Caolan McGonagle, Michael Langan; Shane O’Donnell, Ciaran Thompson, Ciaran Moore; Conor O’Donnell, Michael Murphy, Oisin Gallen. Subs: Daire Ó Baoill for Thompson (23), Hugh McFadden for McColgan (half-time), Jason McGee for McHugh (40), Patrick McBrearty for Gallen (50), Jamie Brennan for Gallagher (58).

Kerry: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian O Beaglaoich, Mike Breen, Gavin Whyte; Seán O’Brien, Mark O’Shea; Joe O’Connor, Seán O’Shea, Graham O’Sullivan; David Clifford, Paudie Clifford, Dylan Geaney. Subs: Diarmuid O’Connor for O’Brien (50), Killian Spillane for Geaney (54), Evan Looney for O Beaglaoich (63), Tadhg Morley for Breen (65), Micheal Burns for O’Sullivan (69).

Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare),