Kerry show early promise

Munster SFC Semi-final: Kerry 0-25 Tipperary 1-10 They officially opened the summer season in Kerry yesterday, and it looks promising. Out of the long, long grass emerged a football team that clearly has intentions of stretching the season towards those Indian sunsets. And definitely make some amends for last season.

It was the sort of performance that had all hallmarks of a team fine-tuning their preparations for over two months now, but also one to set the tone for the weeks ahead. Every man razor sharp and eating up the Tralee ground. In the end 11 different Kerry players made the scoresheet - including substitutes - each one equally deserving, and almost equally impressive.

And it all made for a scorching afternoon for Tipperary, and not just because of the sizzling sun. Any hope last summer's display against Cork might be repeated quickly disappeared as each Kerry player in turn started turning the screw. All six Kerry forwards that started had scored before half-time.

Even Tipperary's great hope Declan Browne struggled to get his hands on the sort of possession he can normally turn into scores. Although he ended up with 1-5, Kerry allowed him only paltry amounts of breathing space. A minor concussion later in the game ended any chance he might have had of at least leaving the scoreboard a little more respectable.

No such problems for the Kerry forwards. After watching Liam England put over the game's opening score they got down to business. Full forward Declan O'Sullivan, Kerry's sole championship debut on the day and still only 19, started operation free-flow after four minutes with his first of three confidently-taken points.

Within minutes there was danger coming from all angles, and Tipperary just couldn't cope. Seán O'Sullivan was setting out on a series of charging runs down the left wing that no defender, let alone in Tipperary, could possibly match. If there is a faster forward in the country right now no one in 10,000-strong crowd yesterday has heard of him.

On 15 minutes one of those O'Sullivan runs was awarded with a point, and in the meantime his namesake had scored his second, adding to that of John Crowley (two), Seamus Scanlon, and a Darragh Ó Sé free.

So Kerry were up 0-7 to 0-1, and after a quarter of an hour the game was heading in only one direction. Tipperary had made some alterations before the start, rearranging their entire defence and starting Bernard Hahessy and Pat Hally, but it was a futile exercise. For the remainder of the game they would carry out running repairs to similarly meaningless effect as Kerry refused to reveal any cracks.

The younger O'Sullivan had added his third point on 16 minutes and though he wouldn't score again, his influence hardly wilted much, until he was replaced 10 minutes from time. Though not the largest of the Kerry forwards, he has the pace to match any of them, and is sure to grow in confidence.

All the while team captain Declan Quill was providing the necessary security of a reliable free-taker, putting over two in the first half. Last to shine but still the most dazzling was Colm Cooper, who on 25 minutes sent over two points in quick succession that immediately dismissed any talk of last summer's All Star display being a freak.

Tipperary, in stark contrast, were only getting possession to their forwards in trickles. Fergal O'Callaghan and Eamon Hanrahan had the size but not the ability to match Darragh Ó Sé and Scanlon at midfield. And with Browne's game practically smothered, it took points from O'Callaghan and Aidan Fitzgerald to close out their half.

The problem was there was still a good five minutes to play, and all of which belonged to Kerry. Quill, Seán O'Sullivan, and Liam Hassett added points before the break and so they turned with Kerry breathing easy and leading 0-15 to 0-5.

For a while in the second half Kerry did start to doze a little, but under the conditions who could blame them. After four minutes Browne delivered a short free to Tony Doyle, then regathered the ball to score the game's only goal. It wasn't the most poetic, and a lucky bounce helped, but it did prove what he can do with even the smallest of opportunities.

It also showed whatever cracks might yet emerge in this Kerry team, they are most likely to be defensive. Mike McCarthy had swapped the full-back responsibilities with Eamonn Fitzmaurice after 10 minutes, not because manager Páidí Ó Sé sensed any real problems in the area, but because McCarthy was deemed the better man to handle Browne in the one-on-ones.

The truth is Declan O'Keeffe wasn't needed for one other save all afternoon. But perhaps under greater pressure, which clearly Tipperary weren't capable of exerting on the Kerry defence, the cracks could yet open a little wider.

Instead the only story for the rest of the half was the introduction of the five Kerry substitutes, four in the forwards. Mike Frank Russell added 0-4 in his 20 minutes, Eoin Brosnan and Dara Ó Cinneide each added one and Aodan MacGearailt will contribute more as the campaign develops.

On the day it was an embarrassment of riches, but the sort of thing a team needs if it wants to stick around until September.

KERRY: D O'Keeffe; T O'Sullivan, E Fitzmaurice, M McCarthy; T Ó Sé; S Moynihan, J Sheehan; D Ó Sé (0-1, a free), S Scanlon (0-1); D Quill (0-3, two frees), L Hassett (0-1), S O'Sullivan (0-3); C Cooper (0-5), D O'Sullivan (0-3), J Crowley (0-2). Subs: E Brosnan (0-1) for Hassett (41 mins), MF Russell (0-4, one 45) for Quill (49 mins), D Ó Cinneide (0-1, a free) for Crowley (53 mins), J Cahalane for T Ó Sé (57 mins), A MacGearailt for D O'Sullivan (60 mins).

TIPPERARY: P Ryan; S Collum, N Kelly, D Byrne; B Hahessy, D Fanning, R Costigan; F O'Callaghan (0-2), E Hanrahan; N Fitzgerald, L England (0-1), A Fitzgerald (0-2); T Doyle, D Browne (1-5, two frees), P Hally. Subs: D O'Brien for Hahessy (29 mins), L Cronin for Kelly (31 mins), P Cahill for Collum (44 mins), B Hickey for O'Brien (65 mins), S Maher for Fitzgerald (66 mins).

Referee: J McKee (Armagh).