Bearded boys can topple Kerry

By Shaun Casey

KERRY, be warned. The beards are back. Niall Morgan. Peter Teague. Mattie Donnelly. Pádraig Hampsey. Rory Brennan. They’re all engrossed by the spirit of ‘08 and that can only spell danger for the men in green and gold.

In 2008, a host of Tyrone stars grew their facial hair and swore not to shave until they had Sam Maguire in their grasp. History may be repeating itself 17 years on as the Red Hands once again target a triumph over their foes from the Kingdom. Back then, the McMahon brothers, Joe and Justin, shut down the fearsome threat of Kerry’s ‘Twin Towers’ in Kieran Donaghy and Tommy Walsh. A Tommy McGuigan goal, along with 0-5 from Man of the Match Sean Cavanagh, helped Tyrone to a 1-15 to 0-14 win.

That was in the All-Ireland decider and this time around, it’s the last four battle where Tyrone will have to see off the Munster champions. And to do so, Malachy O’Rourke will have to plot the downfall of the modern day ‘Twin Towers’ Sean O’Shea and David Clifford.

The pair hit 0-19 between them in Kerry’s quarter-final win over All-Ireland champions Armagh. That combined tally would beat most teams. For context, 0-19 would have been enough to win the last two All-Ireland finals.

So, how do Tyrone go about toppling their old adversaries? Padraig Hampsey is one solution. He picked up O’Shea in the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final and the Coalisland defender will relish the opportunity to shut him down.

But what of Clifford? Doubling up is largely impossible now with the extra space the new rules have provided. Is Peter Teague the man? He’s shadowed Michael Murphy already this year so he could get that gig.

Tyrone need no reminding of the devastating destruction the Fossa giant can cause. A superb hattrick back in February left Tyrone reeling in Pomeroy as the boy wonder dragged Kerry over the line by three. Tyrone have really shored up the defence since then though.

In the nine games post that Division One league tie, Tyrone have conceded just four goals. Two of them came in their off-day group stage loss to Mayo. Those are the only two majors scored against Tyrone in the championship.

There’s also Paudie Clifford to worry about and the likelihood is that he’ll be back to full sharpness after an injury-ravaged season. The responsibility of taking him out of business for the day could fall on the young shoulders of Niall Devlin.

Armagh showed the last day that there’s joy to be had in pressing the Kerry kickout, as demonstrated via Rory Grugan’s first half goal, although Jack O’Connor’s side completely dominated the middle third.

One thing is for sure, that won’t happen on Saturday. Brian Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick are a fine midfield partnership and that middle ground will become a war zone, with Kieran McGeary, Peter Harte, Mattie Donnelly and co all willing to put their bodies on the line.

A note the Tyrone management team may have taken from Kerry’s last appearance is how Armagh, particularly Oisin Conaty, hurt them with his pace. That head-down, run-towards-the-goal approach staggered Kerry back on their heels at times.

Tyrone may not have anyone with that same blinding pace as Conaty, but the instruction will be the exact same. When Darragh Canavan or Darren McCurry get the ball, go at your man. Go for the throat.

If stopping O’Shea and Clifford at one end is half the jigsaw, then making sure their own deadly duo of Canavan and McCurry are on song is the other. The pair didn’t have their best day out against the Dubs two weeks ago.

And yet, without their key men really standing out, Tyrone still posted 0-23 and ran out seven-point winners. The impact off the bench was one of the reasons for that final result, with Eoin McElholm, Ben McDonnell and Ruairi Canavan all pointing when introduced.

Outside of Paudie Clifford, none of Kerry’s other six substitutes (including a blood sub) registered a score after entering the fray against the Orchard County. It would seem Tyrone have the upper hand in that regard.

Both sides have their injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s showdown, with neither Michael McKernan or Paul Geaney seeing any action in the quarter-finals. Both will provide their teams with huge lifts if they’re tog out this weekend.

Kerry at Croke Park often brings the best out in Tyrone. The sight of that green and gold jersey makes the red blood boil. Motivation won’t be required when O’Rourke leads his men into battle.

Kerry couldn’t beat the noughties team when it mattered. The hunger. The intensity. The skills. Tyrone bettered them in every way. This current Kerry side are flying and many people’s tip to go all the way. That’s just how Tyrone like it. That’s how it was in the noughties. Kerry be warned. The beards are back, and so are Tyrone.