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Tyrone 1-6 Kerry 1-16…
Saturday 21.07.2012
It’s all over and Tyrone have lost to Kerry for the first time in the championship in 26 years. We always knew it was going to be very tough in Killarney but we were hoping for a much closer game and, for a few minutes after Tyrone had registered that early second half goal, it looked on the cards, but the Kerry goal moments later and the sending off ended our hopes. As it turned out, Tyrone mustered just three scores in the entire second half, and just one from a forward, and they couldn’t match the home team’s hunger on the day. Once again, the Tyrone defence outscored the forwards and there can be no complaints about this ten point reversal on a day when we could only record seven scores in seventy minutes and really missed the firepower of Sean Cavanagh and Kyle Coney, but all the credit has to go to Kerry for producing a classy power-packed display which makes them serious contenders for Sam. It was pointed out before the game that all the pressure was on Kerry, but they rose to the challenge in a big way. Tyrone are still rebuilding and we’ll be back stronger next year!
Tyrone team v Kerry: Pascal McConnell; Aidan McCrory, Conor Clarke (0-1), Dermot Carlin; Ronan McNamee, Conor Gormley (1-0), Sean O’Neill (0-1); Joe McMahon, Colm Cavanagh (0-1); Mattie Donnelly, Mark Donnelly, Peter Harte; Martin Penrose (0-1, free), Darren McCurry (0-1), Owen Mulligan. Subs used: Ryan McMenamin, Damian McCaul, Aidan Cassidy (0-1). Stephen O’Neill, Brian McGuigan.
We’ve had fourteen evenly distributed yellow cards today, which is not a reflection of the closeness of the exchanges. Kerry are now coasting into the next round with their first victory over Tyrone since the 1986 All-Ireland final. They had to beat us eventually! Glad it wasn’t any of those three big games in ’03, ’05 and ’08. Joe McMahon is now picking up the 15th yellow card of the day…
Kerry surge into a ten point lead with five minutes remaining as Kieran Donaghy fists the ball over the bar to cement the home side’s superiority, which is followed by a superb long range point from Patrick Curtin, who is extremely lucky to stay on the field a short time later. The only thing left to decide now is the margin of victory as the home supporters cheer every pass in these closing stages. Tyrone 1-6 Kerry 1-16…
Eight minutes left now and this is turning into a clear cut Kerry win as Cooper sends the home side into a commanding eight point lead with a bit of style. As Stevie O’Neill’s first chance of the match sails wide moments later, there seems to be little doubt about the eventual outcome. Tyrone 1-6 Kerry 1-14…
Tyrone’s hopes are fading fast as Brian McGuigan gets a harsh red card just after coming into the action. Brian catches Declan O’Sullivan off the ball and is ordered off before he gets a chance to contribute anything meaningful to the Tyrone cause. Disappointing for Brian and for Tyrone, especially with worse challenges only earning yellow cards earlier. Ten minutes remaining in Killarney and Tyrone appear to be heading out of the championship…
With fifteen minutes to go, Tyrone have it all to do. They have lost the momentum they temporarily gained from the goal and Kerry look comfortable again with a six point cushion. It’s going to take something special in the final stages of this match to turn things around as Brian McGuigan becomes Tyrone’s fifth substitute…
As Stevie O’Neill enters the fray in place of Martin Penrose, Kerry go five clear once again as James O’Donoghue puts the ball over the bar, and Cooper soon makes it a six poiint game with a neat finish after being fed by substitute Darren O’Sullivan. Kerry have regained control here, widening the two point gap to six very quickly. Tyrone 1-6 Kerry 1-12…
GOAL FOR KERRY! As we were still celebrating Tyrone’s goal, Kieran Donaghy puts the ball in the Tyrone net to leave five between the teams again, but a great point from Sean O’Neill is a good response from the visitors with 46 minutes gone. Stilll all to play for. Tyrone 1-6 Kerry 1-10…
GOAL FOR TYRONE!!!! Tyrone are remarkably just two points in arrears as the first goal of the proceedings arrives. It’s not pretty but that means little, Conor Gormley getting the final touch to prod the ball over the line after Joe McMahon’s shot is saved. The next few minutes will be crucial. Tyrone 1-5 Kerry 0-10…
Declan O’Sullivan delivers another cool finish to increase his personal tally and send Kerry back into a five point lead with 40 minutes gone. Tyrone have been very open in defence today but they will soon have to abandon defensive duties and go on the offensive as Darren McCurry is unlucky to see his fine shot caught on the line…
Bryan Sheehan converts another free on the restart to extend Kerry’s lead to five points but right away Aidan Cassidy cancels it out as he gallops towards the Kerry goal and thumps the ball over the bar. Tyrone 0-5 Kerry 0-9…
Tyrone have done well to hold Kerry to a four point margin as we reach the halfway stage, after being bombarded for long periods of that first half. Those two points from McCurry and Penrose before the interval have certainly changed the complexion of this contest because Kerry had threatened to surge clear after going into a 0-8 to 0-2 lead. Hopefully those two scores will provide the same kind of boost that the team got in Roscommon last weekend when they slotted over three late points in the opening half to lay the foundations for an impressive second half display. Tyrone have certainly played second fiddle for a big chunk of this game so far but this is not over. The Red Hands can still make a game of it but it’s clear that they will need to raise their performance level quite significantly. Here’s hoping they can find another gear. We need to see Mugsy on target and we’ll also need Stevie involved here if we are to trouble the home side…
Darren McCurry, fresh from hitting four points against Roscommon last week, gets a very welcome Tyrone score as he rifles over a sweet left footed point and within a few seconds Aidan Cassidy is fouled after getting his first touch (he just replaced Mattie Donnelly) and Martin Penrose gets Tyrone’s second point in a row from the resulting free. Things looking a little better here now as we head into injury time. Tyrone 0-4 Kerry 0-8…
This is not going well for Tyrone, to put it mildly! Gooch Cooper shows his class once more with a sublime point, Kerry’s sixth from play and their fifth score without reply. Tyrone now have a big hill to climb. Tyrone 0-2 Kerry 0-8…
Make that a five point deficit as Kerry continue to impress right now with two excellent points in quick succession from Declan O’Sullivan and Paul Galvin. The way things are going with 32 minutes gone, the Red Hands will be glad to hear the half time whistle. Tyrone 0-2 Kerry 0-7…
With nearly half an hour completed, Tyrone’s forwards are finding it difficult right now to penetrate this Kerry defence, and Owen Mulligan sends a shot wide from the right to record Tyrone’s fifth wide of the match. The Red Hands have work to do in order to turn this match around but they are still hanging in there and this three point deficit is manageable…
The Kerry lead is extended to three points in the 25th minute as James O’Donoghue knocks over a fine long range point. The home side have certainly shaded the exchanges so far and they are again denied by the woodwork as Tyrone await a first score in fourteen minutes…
Good effort from Mattie Donnelly who tries his luck from out on the left flank but is narrowly off target. Tyrone haven’t scored for a while now as Colm Cooper fists the ball against the upright in a dangerous Kerry breakaway. Still two points between them with 24 minutes gone…
The match finally resumes with a second pointed free from Bryan Sheehan in the 21st minute, making it 0-4 to 0-2, and within seconds the freetaker is penalised for a challenge on Conor Gormley. Tyrone 0-2 Kerry 0-4…
Tyrone still trail by a point as we reach the end of the first quarter but they will be happy enough with how things are going, Kerry having failed to score since the sixth minute. The match is getting very tense here with plenty of exchanges off the ball. There are now seven players on yellow cards and there’s not much action right now but this is certainly developing into an intriguing battle…
Magnificent score from Conor Clarke who is having a wonderful first season in the county team. Clarke has started impressively again today and drills a beauty between the sticks after being set up nicely by Peter Harte, with 13 minutes on the clock. Tyrone 0-2 Kerry 0-3…
Ricey is on already as Tyrone suffer an early blow with the departure through injury of Dermot Carlin. We’ve now had six minutes without a score after witnessing four scores in the opening five. Plenty of sparring going on here at the moment. Still 0-3 to 0-1 in favour of Kerry, Tyrone having gone nine minutes since that solitary Cavanagh score…
Two more points for Kerry gives the home side a 0-3 to 0-1 advantage after five minutes of play, Gooch Cooper’s polished left footed strike promptly followed by a Bryan Sheehan pointed free, which was awarded rather harshly against Tyrone. Kerry’s appetite is definitely not in question. TYRONE 0-1 KERRY 0-3…
First blood to Kerry in Killarney as Declan O’Sullivan lobs over a classy left footed point from out on the left wing, but Tyrone are level very quickly as Colm Cavanagh fires over a superb equaliser. TYRONE 0-1 KERRY 0-1…
McCurry and McNamee start! What a day this is for Aghyaran’s Ronan McNamee and Edendork’s Darren McCurry who have been drafted into the Tyrone team in place of Cathal McCarron at right half back and Stephen O’Neill at full forward. Hopefully we’ll see Stevie at some stage. Good luck to the new boys and the Red Hands!
Tyrone v Kerry will be coming to you live on teamtalkmag.com. This could be a classic! And all the pressure is on Kerry of course! For example, if they were to lose today, they would be suffering a first championship defeat in Killarney since the 1995 Munster final, plus they would become the first Kerry team to lose a championship game at home to anybody other than Cork. It would also be a first qualifier defeat ever, and they would lose their record as the only county not to have lost a qualifier. On top of that, it would be the first time they would fail to qualify for the All-Ireland quarter-finals since the current championship system was launched in 2001, and it would be their first exit from the championship in July since 1999. No pressure then on Jack O’Connr’s team! It also shows what Tyrone are up against when you look at Kerry’s fantastic record in Fitzgerald Stadium and their championship record in general…