History on Tipp’s side as they look to take another big scalp
In 1984 (the GAA’s centenary year) they defeated Kerry in the final; 11 years later they did the same to Cork, and now yet another 11 years on they are back in Killarney again looking to make it a hat-trick of victories.
And they are not without hope.
Earlier in this year’s championship, Tipperary ran Kerry very close going under by three points in a game which they had plenty of opportunities to win.
Running Kerry so close was a warning to others not to take the Premier County lightly, and it came as no surprise to their coach Peter Creedon that his charges claimed a notable scalp in Cork in the semi-final last week.
Creedon, from Rosscarbery, Co Cork, said that at the start of the year reaching the final was the furthest thing from his mind.
“We set out to do the very best we could, got a bit of momentum going early in the campaign and it’s been as case of so far so good for us,” he said.
“Kerry provided the opposition early in the campaign and we put up a great display in that game and were a bit unfortunate not to have won it. It gave us the necessary confidence to have a go at Cork.
“Few people outside our own circle would have given us much chance against the Leesiders, but we got another tremendous performance from the lads and if they have a similar one for Sunday, we’ll be in there with every chance.
“Since we last met back in April, Kerry have made five changes, we have made three, so it remains to be seen which of us has improved the greater. We certainly have come on leaps and bounds, and provided the occasion doesn’t prove too big for the lads, we’ll give a very good account of ourselves.”
Kerry coach John Kennedy was in Limerick the night Tipperary beat Cork and came away with plenty of food for thought.
“There was only three points between us (2-10 to 2-7) when we met earlier in the championship. We went into that game knowing we had a reasonably good team but the type of football they played that night against us showed they also had a good team and would be very difficult to beat.
“I wasn’t too surprised that they defeated Cork last week, because they showed a huge improvement since we played them. They play to a particular pattern and we’ll have to show a big improvement on our form against Limerick in the semi-final if we are to succeed.
“We are under no illusions about the task we face against Tipperary. If you drop your guard against them you’ll be in trouble. This is a Munster final, we are at home and there is an expectation within the county that we should be good enough to beat Tipperary, but everyone in our camp knows this game is going to be a battle and will go down to the wire.”
The fact that Tipp have given a vote of confidence to the team which beat Cork suggests they are more than happy with their side while Kerry have made two changes, bringing in Mike Moloney to midfield and Paddy Curtin who put down a marker in the semi-final against Limerick where he scored 2-1.
Having been forewarned about how good Tipperary are, Kerry won’t take anything for granted, but they must put the shackles on Timmy Dalton, Stephen Browne and Sean Carey if they are to win their 39th title at this level.
Kerry, with home advantage, get the vote, but it won’t come as any surprise if the result goes the other way.
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