Monaghan moved into second place in Division 1 of the Allianz Football League with a rare away win over Kerry in Tralee.
Kerry, with the wind at their backs, hit the first five points, but Monaghan grew into the game and an impressive second-half performance saw them outscore the Kingdom by 1-7 to 0-3. Owen Duffy got the goal in the 47th minute, as Monaghan won on Kerry soil for the first time since 1987.
Scores were hard-earned in the opening ten minutes, during which a Paul Geaney free was all that broke the deadlock.
Geaney added a point from play in the 12th minute, starting a purple patch for Kerry, which featured scores by Stephen O’Brien, Barry John Keane and Geaney from another free.
A Conor McManus brace (one from a free) got Monaghan up and running midway through the half, and although Geaney replied, a long-range free by Rory Beggan kept the visitors in touch.
Darren Hughes fisted over to close the gap to two, but after losing Aidan Fitzgerald to a black card, Kerry hit back in style through Jonathan Lyne to lead by 0-7 to 0-4 at half-time.
Monaghan made a storming start to the second half with points by McManus (free), Dermot Malone and Owen Duffy.
Kerry regained the lead through Johnny Buckley, but after Keane had missed a goal chance for the hosts, Monaghan struck for the only goal when Duffy palmed home from a Darren Hughes pass.
Some strong defending by Monaghan repelled the All-Ireland champions’ attempts to respond, while Paul Finlay and McManus (twice) kicked points at the other end to move them five clear.
A David Moran free ended 22 scoreless minutes for Kerry, but a sixth McManus point kept them at arm’s length.
Keane tapped over a free in added time, but Monaghan had done enough to claim a third consecutive win and take a step towards qualifying for the semi-finals.
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Scorers for Kerry: P Geaney 0-4 (3f), BJ Keane 0-2 (1f), J Lyne 0-1, S O’Brien 0-1, J Buckley 0-1, D Moran 0-1f
Scorers for Monaghan: C McManus 0-6 (2f), O Duffy 1-1, D Malone 0-1, D Hughes 0-1, P Finlay 0-1, R Beggan 0-1f
KERRY: B Kelly; P Kilkenny, S Enright, K Young; M Griffin, J Lyne, P Crowley; A Maher, D Moran; S O’Brien, A Fitzgerald, J Buckley; P Geaney, K Donaghy (Capt.), BJ Keane. Subs: D O’Sullivan for Fitzgerald (black card, 32), T Walsh for Geaney (inj., 33), P O’Donoghue for O’Brien (52), F Fitzgerald for Buckley (58), M Ó Sé for Kilkenny (61).
MONAGHAN: R Beggan; R Wylie, V Corey, D Wylie; F Kelly, K Duffy, K O’Connell; N McAdam, K Hughes; D Mone, P Finlay, D Hughes; D Malone, O Duffy, C McManus (Capt.) Subs: D McKenna for O Duffy (65), T Kerr for Malone (70).
Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)

This Article first appeared in GAA.ie