Kerry 2-16 Tipperary 0-11
Reigning Munster Champions Kerry opened their 2011 campaign with a double scores victory over a dogged Tipperary side in Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney today.
The winning scoreline was rather flattering to the home side and Kingdom manager Jack O'Connor will be concerned that the disciplinary demons that marred their 2010 campaign re-surfaced again with the sending off of wing back Tomas O'Se.
The visitors were well drilled by manager John Evans and with his inside knowledge of the Kerry football scene they took the game to their more illustrious oppenents from the off. Midfielder Goerge Hannigan imposed himself on the game from the first whistle, wing back Cathal Dillon did a man marking job on Kerry danger man Declan O'Sullivan and the Grogan's, Seamus and Barry, were causing plenty of problems for Kerry defenders Marc O'Se and Tom O'Sullivan with their intelligent running and effective use of posession.
The home side seemed to be unsettled by the re-shuffle of their midfield which they were forced in to before throw in when midfielder Anthony Maher had to cry off with what appears to be a re-occurence of a knee injury. His replacement, Seamus Scanlon, failed to make an impact in his battle with the aforementioned Hannigan. They did however have flashes of brilliance from the ever dangerous Colm Cooper and with centre back Eoin Brosnan driving forward at every opportunity and the hard work of Declan O'Sullivan and Donncha Walsh they overcame their early difficulties and had stretched their lead to 0-9 to 0-5 heading to the half time whistle.
It was at this juncture that O'Se was involved in an off the ball incident with Tipperary wing forward Hugh Coughlan, and after a discussion with his linesman, the referee produced a straight red card and this now means that the talismanic defender faces the prospect of an eight week suspension. This would be a major blow to Kerry's hopes of provincial success.
Spurred on by a home crowd feeling a sense of injustice for the dismissal, the home side raced out of the blocks in the second half and Tipperary's hard work in the first half was undone within minutes when Kerry were awarded a penalty when Kieran Donaghy was hauled down in the square. The spot kick was expertly dispatched by Bryan Sheehan and further scores from Sheehan and the dashing Darren O'Sullivan had extended the home sides lead to nine points.
The Kingdom had moved Kieran Donaghy out to midfield at this juncture with the aim of winning more primary posession which he did to good effect. This complemented the hard working Bryan Sheehan and also meant the deployment of Declan O'Sullivan to full forward where he continued to pull the strings from then until the final whistle.
Tipperary were very unlucky that they did not add a green flag of their own when Barry Grogan's effort was disallowed for a square ball before Philip Austin's rasping effort cannoned off the crossbar. They did add on scores from corner forward Conor Sweeney and subs Brian Mulvihill and Peter Acheson but these were cancelled out by the stylish Cooper and the ever running Donncha Walsh.
The home side eased home in style with Sheehan pouncing for their, and his, second goal in injury time. Kerry now go forward to a semi final meeting with Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds on the 4th June. Manager Jack O'Connor will be happy that their campaign is up and running but he will know that they do not seem to be any closer to solving their midfield quandry and also that a further dismissal will attract more unwanted media attention. For Tipperary, they will take heart from a solid game plan that worked effectively in the first half and will hope now that they will get a favourable home draw in the first round of the qualifiers.
Man of the Match: Declan O'Sullivan (Kerry)
Team and Scorers: Kerry
Brendan Kealy, Killian Young, Marc O'Se, Tom O'Sullivan, Tomas O'Se, Eoin Brosnan (0-1), Aidan O'Mahoney (0-1), Seamus Scanlon, Bryan Sheehan (2-1, 1 penalty, 1 free), Darran O'Sulliavn(0-3), Declan O'Sullivan (0-3), Donnchadh Walsh (0-1), Colm Cooper (c) (0-5, 2 frees), Kieran Donaghy, Kieran O'Leary (0-1)
Subs used:
Michael Quirke, Paul Galvin, Barry John Keane, Daniel Bohan, Shane Enright, Adrian O'Connell
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