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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Michael Scully

Kerry v Galway player ratings as the Kingdom are crowned All-Ireland champions

Kerry

Shane Ryan 7

Had nothing to do in terms of shot-stopping but was intelligent as always with his kick-outs.

Graham O’Sullivan 8

Tamed Rob Finnerty and capped a big second half with a well-taken point.

Jason Foley 8

Attached himself to Damien Comer like a leech and marked him out of it for the most part.

Tom O’Sullivan 6

Was a surprise to see the prolific corner-back strike an early wide, and then another in the second half. Couldn't get near Shane Walsh who was in inspired form

Kerry’s Tom O’Sullivan and Shane Walsh of Galway (©INPHO/Ryan Byrne)

Brian Ó Beaglaoich 5

Lacked his usual dynamism getting up and down the pitch and failed to provide his usual runs from deep.

Tadhg Morley 7

Started in the sweeper position but rotated with O'Connor and O'Brien. Solid in the centre of the defence.

Gavin White 8

A serious doubt beforehand with a knee injury but didn't seem impeded. Crowned his efforts with Kerry's last point from play in injury time.

David Moran 5

Quiet display in the engine room for such an experienced performer and no surprise when he didn't return for the second half.

Jack Barry 7

A physical presence in midfield who grew in stature as the game progressed.

Diarmuid O’Connor 6

His 39th minute point restored parity for Kerry but was in and out of the encounter.

Seán O’Shea 7

As in the semi-final, scored the last point of the game with a free but an early miss seemed to affect him. Only really exerted an influence in the closing stages as the Kingdom pulled clear.

Stephen O’Brien 8

Energetic on both sides of the ball. Brilliant block to deny Johnny Heaney a goal and Paul Conroy a point.

Paudie Clifford 8

Played in his usual role, dropping deep at times, and proved very influential in the third quarter as Kerry got a grip on proceedings.

David Clifford 9

Masterful display by the Fossa man. Kept Kerry in touch in the first half with a number of important scores, finishing the game with eight points - four in either half

Kerry's David Clifford celebrates (©INPHO/James Crombie)

Paul Geaney 5

Couldn't improve on a very disappointing semi-final display and was hauled off at the break.

Subs: Adrian Spillane 7

Killian Spillane 7

Micheal Burns 7

Paul Murphy 6

Joe O'Connor 7

Galway

Conor Gleeson 6

Dealt well with two early high balls but concerns about his kick-outs almost led to calamity with a mis-hit first half effort and again late on.

Jack Glynn 7

Saved first Championship point for the final and played well throughout.

Seán Kelly 6

Skipper stuck to David Clifford as well as he could but lost the aerial battle with Kerry's main threat. Just couldn't keep the genius bottled.

Liam Silke 7

Excellent job done on Sean O'Shea in the first half but lost his man more and more as Galway chased late on.

Dylan McHugh 6

Dropped deep as a second sweeper and at times did well in the pocket to win possession.

John Daly 7

Great vision to set up an early goal chance that wasn't taken. Less prominent as the game went on.

Kieran Molloy 7

Took over marking David Clifford at times and was a strong option in attack in the second half.

Paul Conroy 5

The veteran visibly ran out of steam in the second half and could have been withdrawn earlier. Fortunately got up from a legitimate Stephen O'Brien challenge in the 25th minute and could carry on.

Cillian McDaid 8

Was one of Galway's outstanding second half performers, firing over three points to add to his one successful first half effort. But two wides late on underlined the fatigue that set into the Tribe's challenge.

Patrick Kelly 7

Flowed well throughout, particularly in the first half as he proved a good conduit between defence and attack.

Matthew Tierney 6

Made a big turnover to keep his team in front at the break but made little impact in attack.

Johnny Heaney 7

Took too long to pull the trigger on a golden eighth minute goal chance. Was one of Galway's better players in the opening half but less effective after the restart.

Rob Finnerty 5

Disappointing. Really struggled to make an impact and was replaced by Finnian O'Laoi after 47 minutes.

Damien Comer 5

Scored 2-2 in the semi-final against Derry but, surprisingly, was a peripheral figure here for the most part. Finally came alive in the last quarter when he came out around middle but it was too little, too late.

Shane Walsh 9

Galway's marksman supreme was dominant in the opening 25 minutes, firing off his team's opening six points and effectively carried the Tribe's hopes in the second half. Two points in particular, one in each half, when he cut in from the touchline will live long in the memory.

Subs: Finnian O'Laoi 6

Cathal Sweeney 6

Eoin Finnerty 6

Niall Daly 6

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