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INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan

As it happened: Kerry v Mayo, National Football League Division 1 semi-final

We’re went minute-by-minute as Kerry took on Mayo in the NFL semi-final.

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. E-mail paul@thescore.ie, tweet @thescore_iepost a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.

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Kerry 1-17 Mayo 2-15

Hello, and welcome to our liveblog of today’s clash between Kerry and Mayo.

Here are your teams:

Kerry: Brendan Kealy; Shane Enright, Marc Ó Sé, Killian Young; Peter Crowley, Aidan O’Mahony, Brian Maguire; Anthony Maher, Bryan Sheehan; Paul Galvin, Darran O’Sullivan, Kieran Donaghy; Colm Cooper, Kieran O’Leary, Patrick Curtin.

Mayo: David Clarke; Kevin Keane, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Donal Vaughan, Colm Boyle; Aidan O’Shea, Jason Gibbons; Kevin McLoughlin, Andy Moran, Alan Dillon; Conor Mortimer, Jason Doherty, Michael Conroy.

We’re underway…

And Conor Mortimer has just scored the first point of the game from a free for Mayo.

And Mortimer has just doubled Mayo’s advantage with a beautifully-struck point.

Keith Higgins, the corner back, scores another point for Mayo, continuing their dominant start to this game.

Conor Mortimer has started very impressively – he gets his third point of the game to restore Mayo’s three-point advantage.

This game is swiftly turning into the Conor Mortimer show – he gets his fourth point of the game from a free.

Colm Cooper (who else?) scores Kerry’s first point from play in this game. Kerry seem to be belatedly coming good.

Kieran O’Leary kicks another point for a seemingly revitalised Kerry.

Mayo haven’t scored for five minutes now.

Anthony Maher scores a point, and the momentum seems to be totally with Kerry right now.

Conor Mortimer and Colm Cooper – arguably the game’s best two players so far – score a free each for their respective sides.

Bryan Sheehan scores an excellent point for Kerry, leveling the score, after a nice exchange of passes with Paul Galvin.

Andy Moran capitalises on a slip from Paul Galvin, taking the ball from him and hammering it over the bar.

A point from Conor Mortimer then extends Mayo’s advantage.

Darran O’Sullivan is currently down injured, after colliding with a Mayo player, giving away a free in the process.

HALF-TIME: MAYO 0-9 KERRY 0-7

So, an interesting first half then. Mayo probably deserve their slim advantage, as Kerry have only played well sporadically.

Conor Mortimer was undoubtedly the player of the half, scoring six points for Mayo.

The second half has begun and Alan Dillon immediately scores a point for Mayo.

I haven’t received any official figures yet, but as the picture below attests, it’s not a great turnout today (INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan):

Paul Galvin brings Kerry to within a point of Mayo.

It’s a very good game at the moment. The two sides are as evenly matched as the scoreline suggests.

Darran O’Sullivan hits a relatively weak shot at goal, nonetheless David Clarke is forced to dive to make the save.

Bryan Sheehan shows beautiful technique, confidently striking a  free over the bar to bring the sides level once more.

Darran O’Sullivan has put his side ahead for the first time in this game.

Meanwhile, in the hurling, Dublin are leading Galway 0-9 to 0-7 at half-time.

GOAL FOR KERRY!

A high ball is played up towards Donaghy and his touch falls into the path of O’Donoghue, who gets to the ball ahead of Clarke, hammering it into the net in the process.

Jason Givens produces a fairly lacklustre attempt, hitting it well wide after some excellent build-up play. It’s not the first time Mayo have been wasteful in attack.

In stark contrast, Kerry’s Bryan Sheehan scores a superbly executed free from roughly 60 yards out.

The Mayo supporters are booing, which signifies their frustration with both the referee’s decisions and their consistently poor attempts on goal, as they rack up another wide.

PENALTY FOR MAYO!

GOAL FOR MAYO!

Patrick Harte scores a well-taken penalty, after a woeful backpass from Donaghy leads to Dillon being obstructed in the box.

Cillian O’Connor scores from a free with virtually the last kick of the half.

FULL TIME: KERRY 1-13 MAYO 1-13

Extra time will be played…

I think it’s safe to say Kieran Donaghy won’t be viewing replays of this game anytime soon. He committed an absolute howler of a backpass for the Mayo goal.

Extra time is underway…

Enda Varley hits a free wide. A subsequent free by Cillian O’Connor lacks the distance to go over  the bar and  falls comfortably into the hands of the keeper. They’re clearly missing Conor Mortimer, who’s been taken off.

Bryan Sheehan kicks another free over before Cillian O’Connor replies for Mayo. The tempo of the game has dropped noticeably since extra time began.

Barry John Keane extends Kerry’s advantage. Jack O’Connor’s men look the better side at the moment.

HALF-TIME: KERRY 1-16 MAYO 1-14

To put it mildly, neither side look thrilled about still being out on the field. The energy of both teams has just dissipated completely.

And we’re back for the second half of extra time…

GOAL FOR MAYO!

Despite the attentions of three Kerry defenders, Colm Boyle somehow manages to wriggle away from them and shoot into the corner of the net.

Richie Feeney scores a point for Mayo with 30 seconds remaining.

Bryan Sheehan, surprisingly, hits a 45 wide with the last kick of the game.

FULL-TIME: KERRY 1-17 MAYO 2-15

So Mayo are through to the final, sending their fans (who were undoubtedly in the majority today) home happy.

And they probably deserved it, owing to the character they showed to comeback twice from seemingly impossible positions. Nevertheless, they also have the brilliance of Colm Boyle and the sloppiness of Keiran Donaghy to thank for their victory.

Kerry, though, will rue a game that they’ll claim they should have won. Ultimately, the ostensibly casual approach they appeared to adopt at times has cost them dearly.

By the way, extra time is currently being played in the hurling match between Dublin and Galway. It’s currently Dublin 2-15 Galway 0-22.

(Patrick Harte scores a penalty for Mayo – INPHO/Ryan Byrne)

Right, that’s it from me for now. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more liveblogs throughout the day.

Read: Canning preaches patience for Galway’s youth project>

Read: Throw in: 5 things to look out for in the National Football League today>

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9 Comments
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    Mute Gus Lynch
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    Apr 15th 2012, 4:19 PM

    Smashing game. Watched it over a few quiet jars, and didn’t realise there was extra time! Delighted for Mayo.

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    Mute Dave
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    Apr 15th 2012, 7:26 PM

    I know it’s only the league, and that we were lucky at times today. I know we can be very up and down. But seeing Mayo beat Kerry in Croker is good for the soul.

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    Mute Darren O'Sullivan
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    Apr 15th 2012, 5:34 PM

    Firstly well done to Mayo, you were the better team out there today. It seems Kerry haven’t quite learnt from last year’s All Ireland defeat. We still persist with this handpassing game which more often than not leads to a loose pass because the opposition has swarmed the player. The gooch has to stay in by the goal a number of times today he came out to the half forward line to gather possession because of this handpassing tactic not where we want our most lethal forward. Lessons need to be learnt fast.

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    Mute Aidan Gill
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    Apr 15th 2012, 8:32 PM

    Great win. Why TNaG needed to flick to the Dublin Galway throwin and other sections is beyond me.

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    Mute emmomac
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    Apr 15th 2012, 2:13 PM

    what kind of crowd is there?

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Apr 15th 2012, 2:19 PM

    I don’t have the official figures at the moment, but there’s a fair few empty seats.

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    Mute Maria Shanahan
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    Apr 15th 2012, 2:28 PM

    Had planned on going in with bro and sis but too bloody cold out – yes we’re bad fans :( The Gooch is looking handsome in blue!! Ciarai abu

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    Mute dougal1969
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    Apr 16th 2012, 12:36 AM

    A little bit of justice for Mayo over old rivals. Kerry seem to be waking out of hibernation slowly. Summer championship should be interesting. Well done Mayo.

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    Mute Marty Simpson
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    Apr 15th 2012, 8:26 PM

    Gooch just not firing at mo, defence needs shoring, star inconsistent… Another blank year beckons. Somebody go wake Tom o Sullivan ..

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