PREVIEW: Depleted Kerry Will Need To Be Tipp Top

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Gavin O’Connor says Kerry’s Munster SFC semi-final against Tipperary on Sunday in Thurles could turn out to be one of the sternest tests of the year…

Barry John Keane will make his first start for Kerry in the All-Ireland championship. Photo by Gavin O'Connor.

Barry John Keane will make his first start for Kerry in the All-Ireland championship on Sunday. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.

A DEPLETED Kerry will face a Tipperary side stocked with players who have no fear of the Kingdom.

Why should they?

In this decade, Tipperary Minor and U21 teams  have put it up to Kerry more often than not.

Only seven of last year’s starting All-Ireland final team will run out on Sunday (throw-in 3.30pm). Grabbing all the headlines is the return of the Colm Cooper at centre-forward, who makes his first appearance in the championship since the defeat to Dublin in the 2013 All Ireland, where he gave a masterclass at No.11.

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Making their full championship debuts are Jonathan Lyne at wing back and – in what may come as a surprise to some – Barry John Keane, who up until now has only been introduced as a sub for Kerry in the championship.

Arguably, the bench looks more impressive than the starting 15, with the likes of James O’Donoghue, Donnchadh Walsh and Aidan O’Mahony poised and ready should they be needed. My guess is they probably will and that might be no harm.

The self-styled ‘Home of Hurling’ is now in possession of a football ‘golden generation’, with medals in their back pockets and eyes firmly fixed on the mother of all scalps.

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Many a Kerry follower was left scratching their head in 2010 wondering how a Tipperary U21 team could come to Tralee and beat Kerry in a Munster final. It was no fluke.

Tipp went on to claim consecutive victories over Kerry at minor level, along with an All-Ireland title for good measure in 2011. The Premier county’s first national football title in over 70 years.

In April, Tipperary were a score away from claiming an U21 All-Ireland title, losing out to Tyrone in the final, but it was manner in which they dispatched of Dublin in the semi-final that was the most eye-catching.

In the lead up, U21 player of the year Colin O’Riordan and outstanding midfielder Stephen O’Brien, have made it known with conviction they are only interested in a win against Kerry.

There is quality in the forward line; Conor Sweeney, who was the second top scorer in the championship last year, Michael Quinlivan and Philip Austin are all men to be feared. These guys could certainly put it up to a Kerry defence that conceded more than anyone else in Division 1 this year.

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The game could well come down to Bryan Sheehan's kicking. Photo by Dermot Crean.

The game could well come down to Bryan Sheehan’s kicking. Photo by Dermot Crean.

I’m relishing a tight battle. Perhaps if Tipperary find themselves a bit too close for comfort I’ll reassess those feelings.

It’s hard to know exactly where both sides are at the moment. Tipperary strolled passed Waterford by 22 points.

Kerry have not played a match in over ten weeks and are bearing the battle scars of the Portuguese training camp, where Paul Murphy and Kieran O’Leary picked up injuries that have ruled them out.

The general rule is Kerry ease themselves into a championship, saving themselves for the big days in September and August. Eamonn Fitzmaurice is far too clever a manager to slip lazily into that mindset. Kerry will respect Tipperary and that means they will look to throw everything at them.

If they match up, Anthony Maher v Stephen O’Brien in midfield could be the key battle. The Duagh man will be facing the current GAA player of the month and a kid full of confidence.

I envisage the game to be close, I can see Tipperary going in with the lead at half time. A key aspect will be Tipp’s foul count. If they are not disciplined, Bryan Sheehan will pick them off from the dead ball and the load will be left lighter for Kerry.

For the first time in a long, long time, Tipp will fancy their chances – a partisan home crowd might well fancy it also.

Kerry’s All-Ireland defence begins here and it could be one of the sternest tests of them all.

Verdict – Kerry by four points

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