Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HAND OF BROTHERS
Tyrone spirit proves key in shock win over Kerry as Ulster men take their place in All-Ireland final for meeting with Mayo
IF there were doubts about Tyrone’s durability following the Covid19 outbreak that forced this All-Ireland semifinal back by a fortnight, they certainly went unfounded.
After suffering a pair of black cards which forced them to play 20 minutes of the second half with 14 players before going all the way to extra time, Tyrone weren’t found wanting in the physical stakes as they ground out a famous win that will rival any of their trio of Croke Park victories over Kerry during the noughties.
Another long winter in Kerry beckons, however, as they failed to fire, albeit they appeared to be in control for much of the game. But their grip on the contest always seemed somewhat flimsy.
By not putting distance between themselves and Tyrone when they had the opportunity, they left themselves open to a sucker punch and Cathal McShane’s goal in the closing minutes might well have done for them before Conor McKenna’s strike - his second of the day - in the first period of extra time effectively finished them.
They battled back gamely from five points down to reduce the deficit to a single point but with David Clifford gone off the field at the end of regulation time with a calf injury, their chances of fashioning an equaliser or better were severely diminished.
Clifford finished the day with 0-8 and Sean O’Shea contributed 0-7 in normal time, all but 0-2 of Kerry’s tally in the opening 70-plus minutes.
Tyrone’s starting attack never caught fire either and while they led 1-7 to 0-9 at half-time, goalkeeper Niall Morgan accounted for 0-2 of that from placed balls.
Mattie Donnelly converted from a mark while McKenna finished the goal after Clifford had uncharacteristically turned the ball over in the 24th minute.
Other than that, the Fossa man was giving Ronan McNamee endless grief while O’Shea had two goal openings that only yielded a point for Kerry. Shortly before McKenna’s goal, Paul Geaney squared to Stephen O’Brien when he himself had the goal at his mercy; it was disallowed after O’Brien handled the ball on the ground as he finished it to the net, while it was also a square ball.
Kerry looked set to kick on in the third quarter and pushed 0-13 to 1-8 as they took command of the Tyrone kickout. Conor Meyler was black-carded five minutes into the second half but Kerry didn’t
maximise on his absence as scatty decision-making and heroic Tyrone defending combined to ensure that they remained within reach.
When Darren McCurry incurred Tyrone’s second black card in the 59th minute, it looked as though it would be decisive but Kerry’s lead was never more than two and it was wiped out completely when the 14 men stormed upfield for their second goal in the 69th minute as sub Cathal McShane pounced on a rebound after Darragh Canavan’s shot was parried by Shane Ryan.
The sides swapped points during nine minutes of injury time but Clifford ensured extra time by converting a free to make it 2-11 to 0-17, which proved to be his last involvement having clearly been moving gingerly for the previous 10 minutes or so.
Into extra time and a pair of points from McShane put Tyrone in front before McKenna struck for another goal as Jack Barry inadvertently booted the ball into his path under pressure as a Kieran McGeary point effort tailed off.
Ultimately, it was too much for Kerry to recover from as, while they pared the deficit back, it’s Tyrone who go on to meet Mayo in a novel final on September 11.