Kerry will be the opposition tomorrow as Tyrone make our first return to Croke Park since the All Ireland final triumph over Mayo in September 2021. It’s always a long summer without a big day out in Dublin and 2022 was one to forget. An emphatic win over Donegal in Ballybofey last Saturday means we will play our 41st championship match at Croke Park since the turn of the century. Of those 40 games, we have won 25 and drawn two, a win rate of 62.5%.
Our championship record against Kerry is a formidable and simple statistic. Four wins apiece. Not many counties put the fear of God into Kerry quite like we do. Our four wins all preluded us lifting Sam Maguire, in 20003, 2005 and 2008 and 2021 respectively. Kerry won the first championship encounter between the sides in our first All Ireland final of 1986, breaking many hearts in the process. Tyrone led at half time but fell apart in the second half. Tyrone reset everything in the 2000s with three convincing wins over Kerry, an All Ireland semi-final in 2003 and All Ireland finals in 2005 and 2008. As our successful team of the noughties faded in 2012, Kerry extinguished the dying embers with a huge win in Killarney. Mickey Harte successfully built a new team capable of challenging for honours but Kerry again proved too much for us in the 2015 and 2019 All Ireland semi-finals.
The 2021 All Ireland semi-final is still a huge talking point. Tyrone were forced to pull of the championship due to a large contingent of the panel suffering from Covid. Kerry, very nobly, forced the GAA hierarchy to delay the game and Tyrone were reinstated – a fact we should never forget. Fair play again to Kerry for this great display of sportsmanship. Ultimately Tyrone were sensational that day and prevailed. We had chances to win the game in ordinary time but it went to extra time. David Clifford was forced to exit after the initial 70 minutes and we ran into a five-point lead ahead of the second half of extra time, eventually holding on by the skin of our teeth to gain a one-point win and a berth in the All Ireland final against Mayo. The rest is history.
Kerry got over this heartache and lifted Sam Maguire in 2022 but tomorrow they will have their first chance at avenging 2021. Tyrone have won two league matches against Kerry since that day but that will count for nothing in the raw heat of championship battle. Kerry’s form all year has been similar to ourselves – largely indifferent. An average league campaign was followed by another handy Munster Championship title. They lost in Killarney to Mayo in the group stages before recording wins over Cork and Louth.
The key men to watch will inevitably be the brothers David and Paudie Clifford. Conor Meyler will likely match-up again against Paudie while Pádraig Hampsey could be given the tough task of shackling David. Ronan McNamee marked David Clifford in 2021, keeping him to eight points, which was significant for Tyrone and as good as any mere mortal could have done that day. Stemming the flow of ball to the David Clifford and keeping top talents like Sean O’Shea and Paul Geaney quiet will be crucial. Kerry’s weakest line is their midfield, having failed to replace the superb David Moran. This is where the winning of the game could be. Tyrone have height and power in the partnership of Brian Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick and if Niall Morgan can go long and find them more often, we have a big chance.
Fearghal Logan and Brian Dooher will turn to the experience of Kieran McGeary to put pressure on Kerry’s best ball handlers. Kieran is starting to show some glimpses of why he won Footballer of the Year in 2021. However, the biggest asset Tyrone have nurtured since 2021 is the development of the Canavan brothers. Darragh only entered the field in 2021 as a sub but since then has probably been our best player. Ruairí is in the infancy of his senior intercounty career but is a wildcard that may be ready to light up Croke Park. On the other hand, Mattie Donnelly is at the other end of his career but his performances this year have been nothing short of incredible and deserve immense credit. It is sure to be a tough battle and while it is the hardest draw we could have gotten; it focuses minds and that is no bad thing given how we have failed to string together decent performances in recent times.
Drumcondra is sure to be buzzing tomorrow. It’s perhaps unfortunate that Tyrone and Kerry have to serve as a warm-up act to Armagh and Monaghan. It will be a long evening for those of us who stay for the second match if we have bowed out of championship. Our neighbours will be keen to point that out to us and rub it in. Safe journey to everyone travelling down. Beware of traffic on the roads and congestion on public transport. It’s also worth noting how many pubs in the area around Croke Park have closed down in recent years, leaving those left to be completely thronged hours before throw-in. Pinting a little further out will aid enjoyment.
Finally, Tyrone are understandably underdogs tomorrow, but we prefer it that way. Let’s hope we can give a good account of ourselves and if we do, a win is far from impossible.
Unofficial Tyrone 