Bragging rights still matter in diminished rivalry
There might not be anything vital on the line but Kerry and Tyrone can still learn plenty from each other in Omagh on Sunday writes Paul Brennan
IN the end it worked itself out pretty easily. Kerry beat Kildare as expected, Donegal couldn’t get anything out of their visit to Clones, and a fine thumping of Mayo by Tyrone ironed pretty much everything out by Sunday evening. Kildare make a swift return back to Division Two, either Dublin or Galway will relieve Kerry of their League title, and Mayo travel to Donegal for a winner-takes-all fixture, or a loser-takes-the-fall game to be more accurate. Meanwhile, Kerry head north to Omagh for a rare ‘friendly’ game with the old nemesis, Tyrone.
Of course it won’t be friendly at all, but one wonders just how much animosity now exists between these two counties, given that they haven’t really had a meaningful joust in almost a decade. Yes, there was that Qualifier in Killarney in 2012, which Kerry won by 10 points, and the 2015 All-Ireland semi-final that Kerry won by four points, but neither game really had the snap and snarl associated with those All-Ireland finals of the Noughties. Indeed, both teams would admit that they have a greater rivalry with Dublin now, if only because both are in the same place in trying to catch and match the Dubs.
Three of the last four meeting between Kerry and Tyrone have been Round 7 fixtures, and while the Ulster county hasn’t won any of those games that doesn’t quite tell the full story. In 2013 Kerry engineered a one-point win in Omagh against a Tyrone team already qualified for the League semi-finals, and it took Dublin to craft a late draw against Donegal to send them down and inadvertently, perhaps, save Kerry from the drop. Tyrone, incidentally, reached the League Final that year only to lose to Dublin by a point.
The following year Kerry dished out a 3-15 to 0-9 defeat to Tyrone in Killarney, but Mickey Harte’s team still finished one place above Kerry in the division in fifth place, with Kerry just one place above the relegation zone. The next year brought the teams together in Omagh again in another Round 7 fixture, and this time Tyrone needed to win in order to save their Division 1 status. Crucially, however, that victory would have sent Kerry down to Division Two, so with everything on the line Kerry dug out a desperate draw, 1-14 to 0-17, to consign the Red Hand men to the drop.
Last year’s Round 7 meeting in Killarney, and 1-21 to 2-11 win for Kerry meant nothing to Tyrone, although the result – and crucially the margin of victory – was good enough to catapult Kerry into second place in the final standings and a League final against Dublin, which, of course, Kerry won.
Next Sunday’s game will have no such ramifications for league finals or relegations: both counties will finish up in mid-table mediocrity, and we shouldn’t expect any fireworks or animosity between the teams. Perhaps that’s a reflection on how both teams have slipped from the cutting edge of winning Championships, replaced by Dublin and Mayo as the Championship ‘top two’ of recent years.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice has some way to travel before he gets even close to Harte’s longevity in management, but it was interesting that both men were given extensions to the managerial terms last year at a time when both could have been said to be under some strong pressure from some quarters in their counties. Both men clearly feel that given the extra time they can at least start to build a new dynasty, even if the Dublin one doesn’t look like tumbling just yet.
Speaking after the win over Kildare last Saturday, Fitzmaurice hinted at that work.
“The positive thing was we got the result. It wasn’t our best result by any manner of means but it was just a case of getting the job done, which we did,” he said. “I didn’t think we were a million miles away (in previous league games), there were periods in games where we were doing things well. We were making probably costly errors ourselves and that was something we felt this week if we tidied up would give us a good chance of winning the game. Not conceding a goal was a positive, kicking good scores ourselves was a positive, we could have even got a few more scores. Overall a lot of positives but there’s still plenty to be working on for next weekend.
“There are plenty of things we can be working on again this week and going forward after next weekend. [There’s] a lot of things that we have tried throughout the league, some things have worked, some things haven’t, so we will definitely have to polish up to a much higher standard for the Championship, but tonight is a night about being positive, getting the win, getting ourselves back on track and looking forward to another huge game next weekend.”
Results the next day might have taken the “huge game” element away from Kerry’s trip north, but the point remains: there are plenty of things Kerry can be working on and working towards a polished Championship team merely continues next Sunday. And no better team that Tyrone to ask questions.
Lee Brennan showed some brilliant movement in attack last weekend against Mayo and it could be another instructive 70 minutes for Jason Foley if the Trillick player brings that A-game to Healy Park on Sunday. Likewise Mattie Donnelly who remains one the best attacking players in the game. Brennan’s Trillick club mate kicked four brilliant scores from play against Mayo and would be a great test for a returning Mark Griffin or Tadhg Morley in the Kerry defence.
There’s no need for these old adversaries to go hammer and tongs at each other on Sunday but it would be useful for both to give of their best, if only to see – on the basis of last year’s Championship – which is the third best team in the country and which is fourth.
(There’s) a lot of things we have tried throughout the league, some things have worked, some things haven’t, so we will definitely have to polish up to a much higher standard for the Championship