Kerry rattled by battling Premier

KERRY had their expected victory over Tipperary in the opening round of the ESB Munster MFC in Tralee last night but it was a close-run thing in the finish as Tipperary banged in two late goals to leave the home side hanging on with just two points to spare.

In truth the final scoreline is not a true reflection of the game as Kerry were always in control of a game that rarely reached the heights. However had the visitors not wasted a gilt-edged goal chance in the opening half, the result might have been different.

Judgment on this Kerry team will be reserved until later but the majority of the 2,002 spectators went home happy in the knowledge that there are a couple of excellent players on the horizon.

Full back David Culhane, centre back Laurence Bastible and wing back and captain James Walsh excelled in defence; Damien Somers and George Durrant did well at midfield after a shaky start while up front the pace of Mark Reen, and the excellent point scoring of Eanna O’Connor and Gavin O’Grady ensured the home side advanced to the semi-final.

Playing an excellent brand of direct fast football, Kerry hit Tipp early and often with scores to lead 1-4 to nil after just eight minutes and the signs were ominous for the visitors.

Mark Reen began the scoring burst with a point after 40 seconds and when the same player took a delightful pass from Gavin O’Grady before slipping home a goal, Kerry got the best possible start.

Eanna O’Connor who was the only survivor from the starting 15 which won last year’s title, landed a point from a sideline kick and to confirm just how dominant Kerry were in that opening period, Gavin O’Grady pointed a 40-metre free to put his side seven points ahead.

Kerry were totally on top in most sectors of the field but strangely, struggled at midfield where the tall Kevin Seymour and John O’Callaghan were dominant, and it came as a surprise when Tipp took off Seymour in the 20th minute.

Tipperary switched full forward Billy Hewitt out onto the 40 for the remainder of the half and it had the desired effect. They finally got on the scoresheet with a Liam Boland point and two more by Hewitt had them back in the game.

Hewitt lost a glorious chance of a goal when Liam Boland put him through, but with only the keeper to beat, he blazed wide. It was a huge let off for Kerry who had gone eight minutes without a score before Barry Dwyer landed a point which gave his side a 1-6 to 0-3 half-time lead.

Kerry maintained their strong grip in the second half and the scores continued to flow. By the end of the third quarter they had stretched their lead to nine points, 1-11 to 0-5 and looked on course for a comprehensive victory.

However Tipp finished strongly with two goals in the closing minutes, and were made to rue that costly miss by Billy Hewitt in the first half.

Scorers for Kerry: M Reen, 1-2; G O’Grady, 0-4, (2f); E O’Connor, 0-3, (2f); B Dwyer, 0-2; T Hickey, 0-1.

Scorers for Tipperary: L Boland, 1-3 (0-1f); S Leahy, 1-1; B Hewitt, 0-3, (1f).

KERRY: P McCarthy; P Kilkenny, D Culhane, F McNamara; J Walsh, L Bastible, J Hickson; D Somers, G Durrant; M Reen, T Hickey, M Mangan; B Dwyer, G O’Grady, E O’Connor.

Subs: J Moynihan for Dwyer, 42; T Morley for O’Grady, A Thompson for Hickson, both 50; E Kiely for Somers, 55; C Cox for O’Connor, 58.

TIPPERARY: P Nolan; P Dalton, J Ryan, S Taylor; M Murphy, N O’Meara, P O’Meara; K Seymour, J O’Callaghan; D Leahy, B Harkin, B Maher; L Boland, B Hewitt, L McGrath.

Subs: M O’Sullivan for Murphy, 9; S Leahy for Seymour, 20; K Kennedy for N O’Meara, 35; C O’Sullivan for J Ryan, 44; S Power for B Maher, 45; L Treacy for D Leahy, 50.

Referee: Roy Hickey (Clare).