Monaghan 1-11
Kerry 0-10

ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS Kerry fell to defeat at home to Monaghan today and now will need to get something from their final game away to Tyrone next Sunday to ensure they do not suffer Division 1 league relegation.

Talk and expectation in the Kingdom all week of a final place in the top four crumbled to dust after the All-Ireland champions shipped their third defeat of the campaign, a result that leaves them heading to Omagh all but needing to beat Tyrone.

A loss by no more than a point would actually save Kerry from relegation but the thought of heading north to their old nemesis for another do-or-die final round match with the Red Hands drew a wry smile from Kerry boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice.

“There’ll be a championship feel to that game in Omagh next weekend and we’ll have to improve one hundred per cent on where we were today,” Fitzmaurice suggested.

More pressing for Fitzmaurice was the frustration of another woefully underwhelming Kerry performance, one that saw them bring nothing of the display that saw them beat Donegal at the same venue two weeks earlier.

Aided by a very strong wind in the first half Kerry took a 0-5 to 0-0 lead after 18 minutes and the fear then, for Monaghan, was that the hosts would build up an unassailable lead by the break. It never came to pass.

Conor McManus curled over a delightful score to get Monaghan off the mark in the 20th minute, and when goalkeeper Rory Beggan drilled over a 50-metre free in the 24th minute Monaghan trailed 0-3 to 0-6.

By half-time Kerry still only had a three-point lead, 0-7 to 0-4, but having lost Alan Fitzgerald to a 32nd minute black card, and Paul Geaney to a hamstring strain, Monaghan looked better set at the break, and so it proved.

Early points from McManus, Dermot Malone and Owen Duffy levelled matters by the 42nd minute, and while Johnny Buckley’s point briefly restored Kerry’s lead, Duffy palmed Hughes’ pass to the Kerry net minutes later to hand Monaghan a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

With Kieran Donaghy a frustrated figure for Kerry as Vinny Corey and others did an excellent marking job on the Kerry captain, Monaghan blended a sweeper system in defence with some neat attacking play that an underwhelming Kerry simply couldn’t match.

Late points from Paul Finlay and two from McManus ensured a first competitive win for the Farney men over Kerry in 27 years, a victory that puts Monaghan on the cusp of a place in the semi-finals if final round results go their way.

Kerry’s problems are more pressing as the threat of relegation stalks them again for the third year running.

Scorers for Monaghan: Conor McManus 0-6 (0-2f), Owen Duffy 1-1, Rory Beggan (0-1f), Darren Hughes, Paul Finlay, Dermot Malone 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kerry: Paul Geaney 0-4 (0-2f), Barry John Keane 0-2 (0-1f), David Moran (0-1f), Jonathan Lyne, Stephen O’Brien, Johnny Buckley 0-1 each.

KERRY

Brian Kelly

Pa Kilkenny
Mark Griffin
Shane Enright

Jonathan Lyne
Peter Crowley
Killian Young

Anthony Maher
David Moran

Stephen O’Brien
Alan Fitzgerald
Johnny Buckley

Paul Geaney
Kieran Donaghy
Barry John Keane

Subs
Darran O’Sullivan for Fitzgerald (black cards, 32)
Tommy Walsh for Geaney (inj, 33)
Paul O’Donoghue for O’Brien (52)
Fionn Fitzgerald for Buckley (58)
Marc O Sé for Kilkenny (61)
Thomas Hickey for Moran (66)

MONAGHAN

Rory Beggan

Kieran Duffy
Vinny Corey
Drew Wylie

Fintan Kelly
Ryan Wylie
Karl O’Connell

Neil McAdam
Darren Hughes

Dessie Mone
Paul Finlay
Owen Duffy

Dermot Malone
Kieran Hughes
Conor McManus

Subs
Daniel McKenna for O Duffy (66)
Thomas Kerr for Malone (70)

Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)

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