VIDEO: Five Reasons We’d Love To Beat Tyrone

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The greatest rivalry of the Noughties will be renewed again on Sunday and Kerry fans will be praying they’ll finally get the better of Tyrone in Croke Park for the first time since 1986. Gavin O’Connor looks at why a win over the Red Hand county means so much…

1. They’ve beaten us when it has mattered 

Let’s get this one out of the way first; losing in Croke Park to Tyrone in 2003, 2005, 2008, was heartbreaking.

The three games took on a life of their own; 2003 was an ambush, 2005, Tyrone were the much better side and in 2008 they stopped us doing a three in a row, with Sean Cavanagh the instrumental man in the end.

If Declan O’Sullivan’s late goal chance in 2008 hadn’t have been saved…a kick of a ball was all that was in it. Ouch, that day really still stings.

Fortunes have changed since. Tyrone have not beaten Kerry since 2010, twice in the league and once in an All-Ireland qualifier.

The worst aspect of the beatings in the last decade is we can never go back to them. They are set in stone and no amount of wins over Tyrone in the future will ever change what happened.

If you’re in the mood for torturing yourself…

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2. They can rub it in like no other

Any Kerry person who’s had to run the gauntlet of sneering Tyrone supporters after a defeat will know what we mean, unfortunately these are the ones you remember.

The majority of their supporters are good GAA people, the likes of which can be found the length and breath of Ireland, but there is an element there that really wants to ram home a win.

The hostility perhaps, comes from Kerry being held up as the perceived bastion of purity when it comes football, despite some ammunition to poke holes in that theory.

Tomas O’Se got a superb now almost forgotten goal in the 2005 All-Ireland final

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3. The Tactics

When Pat Spillane produced the line “puke football” during the 2003 game, he attracted the ire of an entire county.

This could be seen as the opening salvo in the rivalry. Though Spillane having a county at his throat was no surprise, his beliefs on ‘moddren football’ have not changed one bit since.

Swarming blanket defences, the liberal definition of the tackle and 13 men inside their own 45, are aspects of the game that, let’s face it, Kerry have taken on board when necessary. This doesn’t sit well with many fans, despite the success.

The great Mick O’Connell had this to say recently in an interview.

“I think the game as it is being presented is something that doesn’t please me anyway, and that’s just a very personal opinion. They talk a lot about speeding up. There was a friend of ours here, he was a great sprinter, I don’t think he was a good footballer.”

The famous passage of play in 2003, that arguably changed Kerry football forever. 

4. The Antics 

Not to be confused with tactics, which are done within the rules of the game, the antics, are just cheating.

Tyrone feel they are the victims of a witchhunt following the Tiernan McCann affair and his subsequent eight week ban (overturned last night).

The Red Hand do have cause to feel aggrieved over the severity of the ban – and they will point to Aidan O’Mahony’s tumble against Cork in the 2008 semi-final – but they and their followers must face up to the fact that they are the common denominator when it comes to a lot of the controversy we have seen this year.

When it comes to meetings between our two counties, some of things our players faced, will not be forgotten easily.

You best not mess with my do…

5. We love when they eat their words

In February 2014, former Tyrone player Brian McGuigan had this to say about Kerry football…

“Kerry need to forget about success or All-Irelands for the next six or seven years and instead just concentrate on getting their underage structures and development squads right. We all know Kerry pride themselves on their naturally gifted footballers but the modern game has such an emphasis on intensity and work rate, which means so much time needs to be spent on strength and conditioning.”

Fast forward six months, Kerry are All-Ireland Champions.

One Comment

  1. Well in 2005 the gooch nearly lost his eye when tackled full on by the tyrone corner back and goalkeeper in front of the umpire at canal end that changed rest of that game as no free bookin or nothin given against them..tyrone are what they are role on sunday lets stuff them.

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