Kerry v Tyrone

[Hoof Hearted]

FoSB - any chance of Brolly's article? I'll buy you a shandy.

Too kind sir! 

Gooch can't choke again

The problem with this Kerry team is that they have always failed when it has really been put up to them.
Pat Spillane is very keen to point out that in the numbers game, they have more All-Irelands than Tyrone. But this disguises the reality that deep down in their bones, Kerry folk have always had doubts about this group.
They are, of course, fine foot- ballers and will retire with trophy cabinets sagging under the weight of gold. But at the very highest level, against serious opposition, they have always wilted.
The first hint that they were not on a par with the Golden Years crop came in 2003 when they collapsed entirely in the face of Tyrone's furi- ous indignation. "Sweet mother of Mikey Sheehy" they wailed in the Kingdom. "They're tackling Darragh O'Se!"
As the game wore on and it be- came plain that this particular Ty- rone team was not going to succumb to stage fright in the face of the green and gold jerseys, it was the Kerry men who gave up. It was a surrender that would have been un- thinkable for O'Dwyer's crew. For the record, Kerry scored a miserable six points and lost by seven.
In 2004, the Team of the Decade beat up a Conor Mortimer-inspired Mayo in the final, spraying cham- pagne midway through the first half after Colm Cooper scored a delight- ful goal having soloed through un- touched by human hand. Funny thing, I haven't seen Colm scoring a delightful goal against Tyrone in Croke Park, or any sort of goal.
Which brings me to another sub- ject that I have been reflecting upon anxiously over the last six months: Is Colm as great as I once- thought he was? The skills are of course peerless. He is magnificent when the Kingdom are beating up on Mayo or the old Cork team. But I am begin- ning to have my doubts.
I watched him closely in this year's club semi-final against Cross- maglen. Crokes went seven points up. He had not contributed. Then, Crossmaglen - against all the odds - began their comeback. Now, I thought to myself, now Cooper will ead them home. I waited, and wait- ed, and waited. In the face of Cross- maglen's furious indignation, the golden boy disappeared.
James Morgan, an aggressive, tight marking and hugely competi- tive corner back with no county ex- perience and aged just 21, utterly dominated him.
An American tourist would never have believed it if you'd told him The Gooch was one of the greats. If howver you'd told him he was a choker, he would have agreed, since that is what Colm did against Cross. As their key man floundered, so did his team mates.
When you think about it, there is a pattern.
When Tyrone put it up to him in 2005 and 2008 he failed. When Dublin put it up to him in last year's final, he failed, leaving it to Donaghy to lead the attack. Think on the other hand of how many times Mikey Sheehy, Bomber Liston or my good friend Pat turned games on their head. No quitters on that team.
In 2003, Tyrone put it up to them and Kerry wilted.
The next year, the Green and Gold were back to beat up Mayo in a one sided cakewalk. Let's be fair about it, they could have thrown their jerseys onto the field and Mayo would have surrendered.
In 2005, Tyrone put it up to them again and again the Kingdom quit after a great start saw them surge clear. It is typical of bullies that when a strong start doesn't deter the opponent, they begin to doubt themselves.
In 2006, hip hip hooray, it was Mayo again. Oh how they laughed in the Kingdom when the news came through on the wireless. Come the day of the final, John Morrison'sprediction that Mayo would be Brazil against Kerry's England prompted a new entry in Private Eye's 'Coleman Balls'. The game was over after fifteen minutes, which is just the way Kerry like it. Star and Gooch ran riot and Pat put another notch in his bed post. A 13 point margin.
In 2007 it was Cork. Again, game over after ten minutes and a cushty 10-point win.
In 2008, Tyrone again. Kerry huffed and puffed for a good while that day. like the Big Bad Wolf they threatened to blow down the Tyrone house.
But like the Big Bad Wolf, they chickened out at the finale. With four minutes to go it was a draw. In the RTE soft seats though, we knew what was coming.
I nudged Patrick with my elbow and said "Hard luck." "F*** off" he said. Tyrone duly reeled off five unanswered points.
In 2009, hip hip hooray, it was Cork again and another one sided canter. By God, the Kerry men were throwing their weight about that day. "Fair play to you Tadgh." they roared in the Kingdom. Why didn't they do that the previous year?
In 2010, Kerry were fazed by the fact that Down were totally unfazed. It was the referee's fault don't you know.
Last year, they were fazed by the fact that Gilroy had discarded the startled earwigs and replaced them with an army of worker ants. Dublin stuck with them for sixty minutes. Again, the bullies yielded.
On Saturday, everything is stacked in the Kingdom's favour. Home venue, everyone fully fit, their destroyer in chief Sean Cavanagh in- jured and a Tyrone team not at the level of its predecessors. Yet Tyrone don't give a damn about their green and gold.
If Kerry can finally stand up and by that I mean all of them, not just Tomas and Marc O'Se, then this could be the path to another All-Ire- land. But far more importantly, it will be the path to self respect.
Something Tyrone have never had to worry about...

i wonder was this hung in Kerrys changing rooms !!

[5 Sams]

A few observations.

IMHO McGuigan didnt deserve the red, Curtin did.

I had "words" with Wobbler earlier about his opinion on Kerry's cynicism in the tackle which I refuted as I think there is no-one as cynical as Ricey & Gormley among others...I will however admit that Dec O'Sullivan is prone to a wee bit of playacting, Star is a slabber and Galvin really lives on the edge when tackling, even the Gooch is prone to a wile bit of moanin at refs when things arent going his way. But, and it's a big but, the difference today was that that Kerry had maybe half a dozen players on the field today who rank among some of the best footballers in Ireland over the last 10 years and they produced the goods...again....big time. Tyrone had Gormley acting the thug and Ricey looking like a yoke from the ha'penny bridge without his dog.

I honestly don't know how Tomás bit his tongue when Gormley did what he did.

Nobody will want to meet them Kerry hoors now with their tails up (apart from us of course)...especially not Cork as they'll scare the shite out of them again outside of their Munster comfort zone.

August will be interesting...

[sheamy]

A few observations.
I honestly don't know how Tomás bit his tongue when Gormley did what he did.

I thought that too. A total legend.

[Minder]

I can't imagine Kerry being too bothered about what single All Ireland winner Brolly has to say, as I saw written earlier he wouldn't get a mention in the parish newsletter in Kerry but RTE hold him up as an "expert".

[Ciarrai_thuaidh]

Disappointed with today.

Don't think Kerry are as good as they looked nor Tyrone as bad. I think Tyrone thought that Kerry were feeling the pressure coming into the game and thought they could outfox Kerry. The approach and tactics from Tyrone were totally wrong. They played pretty lethargic and no-one was making any good runs forward. Tyrone didn't show the necessary intensity needed and Kerry took hold of the match.


For once unlike the teams of the past there does not seem to be a cohesive unit, it was like a jigsaw that didn't fit. Tactics haven't worked the last few years against the better teams who keep all the men back in their half. It failed in 2009 and last year I'd be reluctant to say it did in 2010 as we did everything but win. Something new needs to be tried. I think trying big Seán at 6 perhaps could be something to try. We definitely are still missing a big presence around the middle of the field as per usual and worryingly someone to pick up the scraps. We do have decent forwards in Coney, R. O'Neill and McCurry but we need a team.

Things need to shook up and perhaps new voices such as Monroe and Canavan should be brought into the backroom team, though not sure if Canavan would settle for second fiddle.

Don't think either side covered themselves in glory and more players should have seen shown the line, Coldrick seemed to respond to the crowd alot. I'm not sure how far Kerry will go, but I'm not convinced that they'll win sam, maybe a semi...

If the likes of yourself posted more, this place would be worthy of a lot more attention, good reasoned post. I disagree with you that Kerry "aren't as good as they looked" and don't really know what you mean? We have a decent defence and midfield and a top class forward line IMO and of the 3 main contenders for the All Ireland right now, Cork, Dublin and Donegal, I don't think we have anything to fear really. We know Cork and dublin inside out, Donegal will be a new experience alright, but we have, I think, better kickers of the ball than most teams which may be crucial if we play them.

From a Kerry perspective, we're happy with the win today, but when the dust settles, everyone will realise that we've only won a qualifier and that 2 weeks time in the 1/4 final (hopefully!) will be a huge battle. Some of the players were quite exuberant (overly so, some would argue) at the end..some people have expressed "surprise" at that...but there was huge pressure on them from within AND outside the county...if they lost, a few of them would have to retire with the prospect of having the "never beat Tyrone" line thrown at them for eternity aswell as losing at home and being the first Kerry team in 17 years to be beaten in Killarney in the c/ship, so I can understand the emotion...but they will be brought back to earth with a bang this week I'm sure.

As for today's game...Kerry by far the better team I thought, could have won by more. Tyrone hadn't a stitch of a forward really apart from young McCurry who is a good prospect. Stevie O'Neill obviously wasn't near fit, Mugsy was well contained, Penrose hardly touched the ball and was taken off. Strange to see such an non-effective Tyrone forward line. Coney & Kavanagh are huge losses obviously. Galvin and Donaghy had their best game since last year at least for us..great 2nd half by Donaghy. Most of the team played well, Darran Sull, Curtin and O'Leary made good impact from the bench aswell.

Coldrick really is an appalling ref, it has to be said...I hate criticising refs as they have a thankless job, but today is a good example of all that is wrong with modern refereeing. Guaranteed you will have McEneaney, Bannon and all the referee big-wigs telling us that he had a great game though.
Firstly, this GAA unique tradition of booking 2 people whenever there is an incident is a joke. Coldrick did this at least 4 times today I think. He funked out of a lot of decisions for both sides. Curtin's reckless hit at the end was at least as bad as Mcguigan's to be fair, so why wasn't it red....there was no consistency. Can't believe an experienced guy like Brian would be so silly though. Conor Gormley, on numerous occasions went in with the knee and also likes to catch people by the throat which should be a booking, but it went unpunished. Filthy late tackle on Gooch on the stand side aswell at one stage.
Kerry got a free in the first half when O'Donoghue fell over with nobody near him really. Darran O'Sullivan got a very soft free in the second half....I could go on, and on. Maybe none of the decisions changed the game, but down the line in bigger games they could make a difference, thats the problem.

Anyway, the real championship is underway and I'm just glad we're still there. would expect Kerry, Kildare, Meath and Down to be the 4 qualifiers facing the 4 provincial winners..thats where things will really hot up.

Lastly, fair play to Mickey Harte (and a few of the Tyrone players who we might not see again)...he took his time leaving the field this evening and stopped signing autographs and posing for photographs with people, which given what he and his family have gone through is a remarkable testament to the man's humanity if nothing else. Whether he stays or goes, he has been a brilliant manager and good for Gaelic Football.

[bigtogs]

A few observations.
I honestly don't know how Tomás bit his tongue when Gormley did what he did.

I thought that too. A total legend.

What happened

[RandyDupree]

5 hour drive to Kilarney, with the stadium packed with home support was a MAJOR factor in the outcome today. It dosnt take a genius to figure that one out. Not saying that it was the sole reason Kerry won today, but it certainly drove them on. Would be interesting to see how the match would have panned out in croke park, or even healy park.

Kerry operated the blanket defence today. Even more so than Tyrone. Not necessarily a bad thing though, as Im not dead against it. I just look forward to how Spillane will analyse it.

Declan O'sullivan is different gravy. Man of the match today by a mile. Probably the best ball carrier at pace throughout the country and has been for many years. His scores today were also superb.

Also thought Galvins interview was epic.

Could write an essay on the Ref, timing of the goals, celebrations and nasty fouls but wont. The above was the main points that I wanted to get of my chest. Still think Cork will be AIC come september.

[LeoMc]

Ok...........disappointed but......

1. Beaten by better team on the day. Fair play to Kerry.
2. Not too disheartened. Cavanagh, Coney and O'Neill absent & McCurry, Clarke, Colm C, McNamee, Carlin, McCrory, Donnelly x 2 and Harte all enjoying thier first Championship start against Kerry. Will stand to them in the long run
3. This clearly meant a lot more to Kerry than to Tyrone. they celebrated like they won an AI, Galvin in tears etc.......really? for a county that has won so many AI titles, does beating Tyrone in a 3rd round Qualifier mean THAT much? Are we so far under their skin?
4. Mugsy stays on...McCurry off?? A curtain call for Mugsy I would think..no other reason for him to stay on the pitch based on todays performance..


5. As has been pointed out already...Coldrick......possibly the worst intercounty referee out there. How does McGuigan get a straight red for shoving someone in the back (oscar worthy going down TBF) while an assault by Curtin with the forearm on Colm Cavanagh results in a yellow. A scandalous set of decisions on their own merits...never mind in conext..............

Fair play to Kerry though..Tyrone needed the next score after the (lucky) goal...they conceded a green however and that was all she wrote.

Lot of shirt swapping at the end...good respect between the aul hands...end of an era for many I would say.

As my better half said to me during the game...Kerry are the dirtiest team around but get away with it through better PR....

Reason custom wasn't lined was Cavanagh got straight up after it. O'sullivan lay lifeless after being shouldered In The back.

You can see how a handbag could have floored him alright.

[thewobbler]

Galvin was superb, Cooper was class, Donaghy was effective, Kerry midfield was dominant, Declan played a stormer, hardly any of this gets a mention with a lot of people, o se s were class as per.

With the exception of Cooper, they'll all look their age again when put into battle in Croke. This Kerry team is going nowhere.

Yep Kerry looked good today. But with home advantage and a very helpful referee, this should always have happened. Today they beat a Division II side who were missing their best player.


5 Sams, to he honest, I'm still struggling to give Kerry credit today. Their tactics were shamelessly filthy. In the Tyrone side you can easily handpick the two players of that ilk. You can't do this with Kerry, where every one of them is guilty of systematic fouling, third man tackles, diving, and afters.

For all the abuse Donegal get about being Anti Football, at least they aim to tackle legitimately. Kerry don't, they just want to stop counter attacks before they gain pace, and don't care how.

This is what was most frustrating for me about the sending off. I've no time for what McGuigan did, but O Sullivan committed three deliberate fouls - dragging McGuigan to the ground to stop him gaining momentum, stepping in front of him to prevent him gaining any advantage, then unsporting play acting when McGuigan retaliated - but Tyrone lost out. There is a fundamental problem with our game if cheating can be rewarded as such.

I hate referees.

[ONeill]

If the likes of yourself posted more, this place would be worthy of a lot more attention, good reasoned post. I disagree with you that Kerry "aren't as good as they looked" and don't really know what you mean? We have a decent defence and midfield and a top class forward line IMO and of the 3 main contenders for the All Ireland right now, Cork, Dublin and Donegal, I don't think we have anything to fear really. We know Cork and dublin inside out, Donegal will be a new experience alright, but we have, I think, better kickers of the ball than most teams which may be crucial if we play them.
have expressed "surprise" at that...but there was huge pressure on them from within AND outside the county...if they lost, a few of them would have to retire with the prospect of having the "never beat
Coldrick really is an appalling ref, it has to be said...I hate criticising refs as they have a thankless job, but today is a good example of all that is wrong with modern refereeing. Guaranteed you will have McEneaney, Bannon and all the referee big-wigs telling us that he had a great game though.
Firstly, this GAA unique tradition of booking 2 people whenever there is an incident is a joke. Coldrick did this at least 4 times today I think. He funked out of a lot of decisions for both sides. Curtin's reckless hit at the end was at least as bad as Mcguigan's to be fair, so why wasn't it red....there was no consistency. Can't believe an experienced guy like Brian would be so silly though. Conor Gormley, on numerous occasions went in with the knee and also likes to catch people by the throat which should be a booking, but it went unpunished. Filthy late tackle on Gooch on the stand side aswell at one

That's just balls. When did Gormley go in numerous times with the knee? Gooch was acting the bollox that time. Was well enough to take the free.

[Whishtup]

       Fair play to Kerry-were just the hungrier team.  This was always going to be a tough oul game to ref but jaysus yer man was awful from the start.  As for the umpires, when are these guys going to start calling things that happen right in front of their eyes.  Tyrone player held up in a rugby hold under a high ball right in front of umpire near the end. 
        My first trip to the beautifully backdropped Fitzgerald stadium on what was a perfect day for football.  The noise and support from the Kerry fans was frighteningly electric-great to experience.  There were the self-righteous mumblings about how cynical Tyrone are from the off-jaysus they really hate us!  But thankfully I was plonked beside friendly old sort from Castlemaine who I could have chatted to all day. 
   At half time I was happy enough-Tyrone got off the hook and felt that we could get back into it.  Tyrone made the mistake of getting involved in too many scuffles off the ball-no doubt a tactic implored by Kerry that the Tyrone boys fell for, hook, line and sinker.  It definitely knocked a few of them off their stride.  Apart from this, I felt that we needed Stevie O'Neill at his best to counter the threat of Gooch and Stevie showed well when he came on.  In the first half Kerry were putting in hard but fair hits and Tyrone weren't.  Tyrone stepped this aspect of their game up a bit in the second half, however I felt that Kerry were getting away with a lot of cynical high tackles as Tyrone laboured their way out of defence.  This really killed Tyrone as it seems to be their only way of playing- breaking the first tackle and passing off.   
That said, Kerry were just the hungrier team, bouyed on by magnificant home support and popping over some great points.  Just a pity the ref couldn't have got a grip on the game from the start.  He seemed to give free after free to Kerry towards the end for nothing, while missing dangerous tackles at the other end.  That's how it seemed at the match.  A few Kerry lads behind me reckoned he was becoming heavily influenced by the crowd-that can happen.  Kerry would have won but not by that much.
Enjoyed the day-hated the result

[RandyDupree]

Galvin was superb, Cooper was class, Donaghy was effective, Kerry midfield was dominant, Declan played a stormer, hardly any of this gets a mention with a lot of people, o se s were class as per.

With the exception of Cooper, they'll all look their age again when put into battle in Croke. This Kerry team is going nowhere.

Yep Kerry looked good today. But with home advantage and a very helpful referee, this should always have happened. Today they beat a Division II side who were missing their best player.


5 Sams, to he honest, I'm still struggling to give Kerry credit today. Their tactics were shamelessly filthy. In the Tyrone side you can easily handpick the two players of that ilk. You can't do this with Kerry, where every one of them is guilty of systematic fouling, third man tackles, diving, and afters.

For all the abuse Donegal get about being Anti Football, at least they aim to tackle legitimately. Kerry don't, they just want to stop counter attacks before they gain pace, and don't care how.

This is what was most frustrating for me about the sending off. I've no time for what McGuigan did, but O Sullivan committed three deliberate fouls - dragging McGuigan to the ground to stop him gaining momentum, stepping in front of him to prevent him gaining any advantage, then unsporting play acting when McGuigan retaliated - but Tyrone lost out. There is a fundamental problem with our game if cheating can be rewarded as such.

I hate referees.

Thats BS, BMG grabbed his arm and pulled him to the groun  to buy a free. He's been doing it for years!

[ziggysego]

An awful performance from Tyrone today and made from of realise that we aren't in the upper tier of All-Ireland contenders anymore. Kerry completely outclassed Tyrone all over the pitch today and we never looked like winning from the get go.

It was a horrible game to watch, the ref made a complete hash of the game. Some awful decisions by him to give and not give cards to players, on both sides.

Tyrone have a lot of work to do over the next 2-3 years, if they want to be serious contenders again, but that will require a lot of retirements this summer and for new, younger players to come forward.

Congratulations Kerry, a real master class today and a reality check for us.

[Whishtup]

As far as Gormley is concerned Tyrone weren't putting in the hits at all in the first half and were getting nailed all over the place so it was good to see him stepping up.  That tackle on Gooch happened just in front of me and was blown out of all proportion by the crowd who were baying for blood every time a Kerryman got a shoulder.  Gooch miraculously sprung to his feet two minutes later. 

[clarshack]

Galvin was superb, Cooper was class, Donaghy was effective, Kerry midfield was dominant, Declan played a stormer, hardly any of this gets a mention with a lot of people, o se s were class as per.

With the exception of Cooper, they'll all look their age again when put into battle in Croke. This Kerry team is going nowhere.

Yep Kerry looked good today. But with home advantage and a very helpful referee, this should always have happened. Today they beat a Division II side who were missing their best player.


5 Sams, to he honest, I'm still struggling to give Kerry credit today. Their tactics were shamelessly filthy. In the Tyrone side you can easily handpick the two players of that ilk. You can't do this with Kerry, where every one of them is guilty of systematic fouling, third man tackles, diving, and afters.

For all the abuse Donegal get about being Anti Football, at least they aim to tackle legitimately. Kerry don't, they just want to stop counter attacks before they gain pace, and don't care how.

This is what was most frustrating for me about the sending off. I've no time for what McGuigan did, but O Sullivan committed three deliberate fouls - dragging McGuigan to the ground to stop him gaining momentum, stepping in front of him to prevent him gaining any advantage, then unsporting play acting when McGuigan retaliated - but Tyrone lost out. There is a fundamental problem with our game if cheating can be rewarded as such.

I hate referees.

yep, yer woman from derrytresk didnt hit him hard enough with that handbag.