Ó Sé and Kerry brace for 'tricky' All-Ireland semi-final after cruising past Cork

Tomás Ó Sé said Cork's late revival in the Munster U20 final, closing the gap from 15 points to right, left “a sour taste in your mouth”.

Kerry U20 football manager Tomás Ó Sé. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

For Tomás Ó Sé, mission number one is accomplished. A fourth Munster U20 title on the trot is packed away. Now comes the tricky business of going one step further and capturing an All-Ireland title.

They will face the Ulster champions, Donegal or Tyrone, who clash on Wednesday, in their semi-final as they bid to atone for last year’s final defeat to the Red Hand County.

“The aim at the start of the year was to retain a Munster title, which we have,” said Ó Sé.

“Now, the second part of it, which becomes a lot more tricky when you're facing into whoever comes out of Ulster.

“We know all about the lads from the North. They socked it to us really last year. They were a way better team, and they have a good amount of those players back again.

“I don't know who's going to come out of there, is it Donegal or Tyrone, but at the same time, what we played here tonight I don't think will carry you through against a team (like that).

“Every game they've had above is a fierce, intense battle. Whoever comes out of Ulster will be finely tuned and ready to go.

“In terms of the competitiveness of the game, we would have loved to have the intensity that maybe other teams have. I have a feeling we'll get plenty of it down the road.” 

Having missed this final, star forward Cormac Dillon gains an extra fortnight to work his way back to fitness.

“We'll do everything we can to make sure that he has an opportunity. Whether he will be able to make that or not, I can't give a definitive answer,” said Ó Sé.

“He's back training but he's not in contact or anything like that. We'll have to see what the boys say about that.” 

Ó Sé was pleased how his team put the shackles on Cork for 54 minutes. The late revival to trim the lead from 15 to eight left “a sour taste in your mouth”, he added.

“We were expecting a tough battle from Cork. We knew they'd have players back but I'd say looking at the players, I'm not sure were they fully right.

“They were battling that all year long, which was tough on them, but we still had to prepare. The lads worked very hard in the first half, won a lot of possession, and used it well. We missed a couple of chances up front.

“In the second half, for some reason, it happened in Tralee as well, we lost a bit of shape, made a couple of mistakes. There was a couple of silly wides, silly turnovers.

“Look, we've been down this track before and we know that won't do us going forward. So delighted with the win, but at the same time, work to do if we want to stay in the competition.”