1. Size of the task facing Tipperary
WHEN THE SMOKE cleared after Tipperary’s stunning win over Cork in the Munster semi-final, it became apparent just how rare it was for the Premier county to experience a provincial final with the big ball.
Tipperary are featuring in their first Munster football final since 2002 and only their fifth since 1944. They are aiming to bridge a gap that stretches back to 1935 without a provincial title, and hoping to beat the Kingdom in a Munster final for the first time since 1920.
Then you factor in that Tipperary are without automatic starters like Colin O’Riordan to the AFL, and Steven O’Brien and Seamus Kennedy to the hurling squad. Add in the few lads who headed off to the States for the summer, and the daunting task facing Liam Kearns and his team is apparent.
“I have always said that a key strategy in Kerry when playing Tipperary is to give them a good reason every once in a while to stick to the hurling,” Darragh O Sé wrote recently in his Irish Times column.
“People think it’s patronising to talk about the great work they do keeping the game alive as second-class citizens within their own county but that’s not it at all. Given half a chance, Tipperary will put together a decent football team. It’s important to stop them getting notions.”
Make no mistake about it, this is a Tipperary teams starting to get notions. They are back-boned by underage success at minor and U21 level in recent years. Of the eight Munster football finals played at both grades since 2013, Tipperary have contested six. Ending the duopoly in Munster is now the target.
2. Kerry aiming for direct route to All-Ireland quarter-finals
Kerry are chasing their fourth Munster title in-a-row. They haven’t been beaten in Munster since 2012, the year before Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s reign began. Realistically, you’d expect them to beat Tipperary by 6+ points on Sunday.
The paucity of the challenge in Munster won’t do Kerry’s chances of winning the All-Ireland any good. But interestingly, when Kerry last brought home All-Ireland in 2014, they strolled to a 12-point win over Cork in the provincial final.
Win this game and they’re on a collision-course with Dublin in the last four of the All-Ireland series. Unless they face decent opposition in the All-Ireland quarter-final (which they didn’t last year when demolishing Kildare), Kerry might run into the Dubs having not played a decent side since the league final between both teams in May.
3. Importance of goals
The Kingdom eased their way past Clare in the semi-finals largely thanks to a couple of goals from Colm Cooper and Stephen O’Brien inside the opening five minutes. That pretty much ended Clare’s hopes of a victory, and for the remaining 65 minutes Kerry cantered home.
As remarkable as Tipperary’s victory over Cork was, they leaked 2-10 in the second-half while the Rebels realised their lives were on the line. Tipp must find a way to prevent Kerry from finding the net if they are to make a game out of this.
At the other end, Conor Sweeney, Michael Quinlivan and Brian Fox are all well capable of raising the green flag. If they manage a goal or two, they’ll run Kerry close.
