“AH LOOK, IT’S still the league, it’s an important competition, but it’s not the end of the world,” said Jack O’Connor, instantly distancing this Kerry performance and adding a number of qualifiers around players still out injured, the heavy game they played a week earlier against Armagh, and bringing up the fact that in Kerry they play three championships.
However, they were off it. And Donegal were on it. Jim McGuinness’s side needed a win here to cut out any sign of an inferiority complex settling in.
At one stage in the second half, Peader Mogan was sprinting down the field with the ball when Seán O’Shea was giving chase. The gap widened the longer Mogan went on. Donegal were fresher and primed more. Kerry got the mother of all wake-up calls. Imagine if these two played a challenge match over in Portugal at their warm weather training camps. Sure they’d sell out Estádio Algarve.
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2. A sobering league final day for Kerry
There is generally a positive theme to league final days for Kerry, as illustrated by the well-documented trend that Jack O’Connor’s five Sam Maguire victories have been preceded by five triumphs in the spring. Their qualification for this game suggested the team was in strong form once more, yet this proved a decider with a difference.
A dejected Sean O'Shea after the game. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Kerry eventually lost by 13 points but the scoreline at stages during the second half threatened an uglier outcome as they fell 21 points in arrears at one point. Conceding three goals in the space of 158 second-half seconds was a stunning sequence of events, a series of blows that floored Kerry and ended the question of who would be triumphant.
A late goal from David Clifford and a two-pointer from Paul Geaney, freshly introduced for his first outing as captain in 2026, helped them claw back some of the deficit, yet it could not mask a quite sobering afternoon for Kerry with the performance level they served up. As they head to Portugal for a warm-weather training camp, there’s plenty to consider before a late April meeting in Munster with Clare.
Kerry's Jack O'Connor and Cian O'Neill. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
3. Meath’s breakthrough
Meath football has spent enough time locked away in a cycle of despair that any afternoon when they leave Croke Park with a trophy is one they will properly appreciate. They carried off the Tailteann Cup in 2023, yet a Division 2 title is a feat of greater substance.
The timing is instructive – it sends them into the Leinster championship in a state of heightened enthusiasm and represents the continuation of Robbie Brennan’s fine work since taking charge.
Last summer, Brennan guided them to the Leinster final, along with claiming a trio of scalps against Dublin, Kerry and Galway. Missing out on a provincial title at the hands of Louth naturally stung, while having their season end with a landslide defeat to Donegal was a crushing experience.
Meath’s Cathal Hickey, Bryan Menton and Jordan Morris celebrating at the final whistle of today's game. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Yet the response has been striking. Jack Flynn, Jack O’Connor, and James Conlon were all marked absent for that semi-final defeat last July. Flynn was a central ingredient today in establishing Meath’s third-quarter midfield control as they won eight out of nine Cork kickouts. O’Connor swung over a brilliant two-pointer after half-time and followed it up with a rocket to the net in the 42nd minute. Conlon was a source of trickery that Cork couldn’t handle as he picked off four points. That all added up to help Meath achieve a breakthrough.
Meath captain Eoghan Frayne lifts the trophy. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
4. Cork’s closing quarter fadeout
By the 46th minute of the Division 2 showdown, Cork’s prospects of victory looked to be strengthening. They were ahead 1-16 to 1-13, boosted by Chris Óg Jones atoning for earlier misses by continuing his goalscoring streak, by their own strong response to the concession of a wonder goal to Jack O’Connor, and by the comfort that in Steven Sherlock they possessed the game’s top scorer.
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Cork's Steven Sherlock. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Sherlock did expand his collection of points by registering his ninth of the day eight minutes from time, moving Cork’s tally upward to 1-17. But by that stage they were trying to salvage the game, having shipped eight points on the spin. The source of Meath’s dominance lay in the pressure they placed on Cork’s kickout.
The wind had whipped up as Patrick Doyle took his restarts in the second half, yet it had been an area of difficulty for them all day. They were penalised on three occasions for kicks not travelling the required distance and Meath punished them by pointing frees. Cork were starved of primary possession as Meath wrestled back control of the game, and while Brian Hurley’s late goal made the finale interesting, the damage had been done.
It isn’t the type of defeat to puncture the general positivity surrounding Cork’s league campaign. Gaining promotion is a major step forward for their playing group; the combined threat of Sherlock and Jones was again showcased here with their combined 1-12. They will regret that last-quarter fadeout, a reminder of an area in their game that still needs to be tidied up.
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Donegal in a rush, a sobering day for Kerry, and Meath's breakthrough
1. Donegal on it
“AH LOOK, IT’S still the league, it’s an important competition, but it’s not the end of the world,” said Jack O’Connor, instantly distancing this Kerry performance and adding a number of qualifiers around players still out injured, the heavy game they played a week earlier against Armagh, and bringing up the fact that in Kerry they play three championships.
However, they were off it. And Donegal were on it. Jim McGuinness’s side needed a win here to cut out any sign of an inferiority complex settling in.
At one stage in the second half, Peader Mogan was sprinting down the field with the ball when Seán O’Shea was giving chase. The gap widened the longer Mogan went on. Donegal were fresher and primed more. Kerry got the mother of all wake-up calls. Imagine if these two played a challenge match over in Portugal at their warm weather training camps. Sure they’d sell out Estádio Algarve.
2. A sobering league final day for Kerry
There is generally a positive theme to league final days for Kerry, as illustrated by the well-documented trend that Jack O’Connor’s five Sam Maguire victories have been preceded by five triumphs in the spring. Their qualification for this game suggested the team was in strong form once more, yet this proved a decider with a difference.
Kerry eventually lost by 13 points but the scoreline at stages during the second half threatened an uglier outcome as they fell 21 points in arrears at one point. Conceding three goals in the space of 158 second-half seconds was a stunning sequence of events, a series of blows that floored Kerry and ended the question of who would be triumphant.
A late goal from David Clifford and a two-pointer from Paul Geaney, freshly introduced for his first outing as captain in 2026, helped them claw back some of the deficit, yet it could not mask a quite sobering afternoon for Kerry with the performance level they served up. As they head to Portugal for a warm-weather training camp, there’s plenty to consider before a late April meeting in Munster with Clare.
3. Meath’s breakthrough
Meath football has spent enough time locked away in a cycle of despair that any afternoon when they leave Croke Park with a trophy is one they will properly appreciate. They carried off the Tailteann Cup in 2023, yet a Division 2 title is a feat of greater substance.
The timing is instructive – it sends them into the Leinster championship in a state of heightened enthusiasm and represents the continuation of Robbie Brennan’s fine work since taking charge.
Last summer, Brennan guided them to the Leinster final, along with claiming a trio of scalps against Dublin, Kerry and Galway. Missing out on a provincial title at the hands of Louth naturally stung, while having their season end with a landslide defeat to Donegal was a crushing experience.
Yet the response has been striking. Jack Flynn, Jack O’Connor, and James Conlon were all marked absent for that semi-final defeat last July. Flynn was a central ingredient today in establishing Meath’s third-quarter midfield control as they won eight out of nine Cork kickouts. O’Connor swung over a brilliant two-pointer after half-time and followed it up with a rocket to the net in the 42nd minute. Conlon was a source of trickery that Cork couldn’t handle as he picked off four points. That all added up to help Meath achieve a breakthrough.
4. Cork’s closing quarter fadeout
By the 46th minute of the Division 2 showdown, Cork’s prospects of victory looked to be strengthening. They were ahead 1-16 to 1-13, boosted by Chris Óg Jones atoning for earlier misses by continuing his goalscoring streak, by their own strong response to the concession of a wonder goal to Jack O’Connor, and by the comfort that in Steven Sherlock they possessed the game’s top scorer.
Sherlock did expand his collection of points by registering his ninth of the day eight minutes from time, moving Cork’s tally upward to 1-17. But by that stage they were trying to salvage the game, having shipped eight points on the spin. The source of Meath’s dominance lay in the pressure they placed on Cork’s kickout.
The wind had whipped up as Patrick Doyle took his restarts in the second half, yet it had been an area of difficulty for them all day. They were penalised on three occasions for kicks not travelling the required distance and Meath punished them by pointing frees. Cork were starved of primary possession as Meath wrestled back control of the game, and while Brian Hurley’s late goal made the finale interesting, the damage had been done.
It isn’t the type of defeat to puncture the general positivity surrounding Cork’s league campaign. Gaining promotion is a major step forward for their playing group; the combined threat of Sherlock and Jones was again showcased here with their combined 1-12. They will regret that last-quarter fadeout, a reminder of an area in their game that still needs to be tidied up.
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Cork Donegal GAA Kerry Meath Talking Points