It’s never good sign when the referee’s name features prominently in the post-match analysis but Maurice Deegan found himself at the heart of some key moments yesterday.
Marc O Sé’s black card after just 15 minutes was the least contentious of the lot, although Kerry fans will argue that Connor McAliskey didn’t help the veteran’s case by going to ground easily.
A yellow card, rather than black, seemed a more appropriate punishment for Ronan McNamee’s tackle on Colm Cooper and Tyrone’s sense of injustice was compounded when Shane Enright escaped with a yellow for pulling down Peter Harte.
The salt in the wound came when Deegan showed Padraig McNulty a yellow card for diving instead of awarding Tyrone a second, possibly decisive, penalty. The replays showed that there was certainly contact from Aidan O’Mahony inside the large parallelogram.
Kerry too will feel aggrieved that Ronan McNabb wasn’t shown red for his incredibly late hit on Cooper but on the balance, it is Tyrone who will have the biggest bone to pick with the referee.
Ronan McNamee's black card was among the talking points after Kerry's four-point win. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
2. Missed chances stack up
In a game that was decided by fine margins Tyrone will rue the three clear-cut goal chances they spurned, as well as a host of missed frees.
Had McAliskey shown a bit more composure in the 26th minute, he would have squared to the unmarked Darren McCurry to score, or least kept his shot low enough to force Brendan Kealy into a save.
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Mark Bradley did little wrong when he drew a smart stop from Kealy in the 45th minute, and on another day, Tiernan McCann’s snapshot would have flashed the right side of the post.
You cannot pass up those chances against a team of Kerry’s calibre but just as frustrating were the three long-range frees Tyrone missed in the second half — two from goalkeeper Niall Morgan and one from McCurry.
3. Kerry kick on – while Tyrone kick themselves
Kerry made no discernible effort to push up and contest Tyrone’s kick-outs in the first half. Instead, they allowed Morgan to pick out a white jersey with relative ease and start to build possession from the back.
Niall Morgan and Brendan Kealy at the end of the game. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
When they changed tack following the restart, it paid immediate dividends and played no small part in the winning of the game.
Morgan’s accuracy suffered when he was forced to kick long, allowing Kerry a lot more primary possession as well as leading directly to two quick scores from Cooper early in the second half.
4. Geaney jump-starts Kerry attack
Kieran Donaghy was Kerry’s Star reborn in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo but the Kerry captain had a much more testing afternoon on this occasion.
Justin McMahon’s in-your-face approach isn’t always the most endearing but it is undoubtedly effective. He reprised the role he used to shackle Michael Murphy in the opening round of the championship and limited Donaghy to a few scraps, and one score, before he was substituted at the break.
The slick conditions didn’t help Kerry’s tactics of kicking ball into the full-forward line, and there were plenty of Tyrone jerseys massed to pounce if the target didn’t gain clean possession at the first attempt. It’s little surprise then that Donaghy’s late point was the only one that Kerry’s full-forwards got from play in that first half.
Paul Geaney’s arrival shifted the focus of the Kerry attack and forced Tyrone to rethink their defensive strategy, helping to free up more space for Cooper and James O’Donoghue.
His first point came just as Kerry were starting to turn the screw, and he added two more in those crucial final minutes just as Tyrone threatened to rally one last time.
5. Tough decisions ahead for Fitzmaurice
Kerry’s bench is the envy of practically every county in the country, maybe with the exception of Dublin. Such is the quality of talent at Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s disposal that he could afford to leave his three top-scoring forwards — Bryan Sheehan, Geaney, and Barry John Keane — on the bench yesterday and still field an intimidating front six.
With four weeks until an All-Ireland final against either Dublin or Mayo, the Kerry boss finds himself facing some tough decisions.
Geaney was a thorn in the side of the Tyrone defence. Andrew Paton / INPHO
Andrew Paton / INPHO / INPHO
Geaney’s introduction changed the game while Keane only needed a couple of moments on the pitch to make his case, curling over a fine score on the stroke of full time.
Fionn Fitzgerald (who replaced O Sé following his black card) and O’Mahony (a late sub) are also trying to force their way back into the increasingly crowded picture.
If nothing else, the competition should lead to some interesting training sessions between now and 20 September.
5 talking points after Kerry win a gripping All-Ireland semi against Tyrone
1. Deegan in the spotlight
It’s never good sign when the referee’s name features prominently in the post-match analysis but Maurice Deegan found himself at the heart of some key moments yesterday.
Marc O Sé’s black card after just 15 minutes was the least contentious of the lot, although Kerry fans will argue that Connor McAliskey didn’t help the veteran’s case by going to ground easily.
A yellow card, rather than black, seemed a more appropriate punishment for Ronan McNamee’s tackle on Colm Cooper and Tyrone’s sense of injustice was compounded when Shane Enright escaped with a yellow for pulling down Peter Harte.
The salt in the wound came when Deegan showed Padraig McNulty a yellow card for diving instead of awarding Tyrone a second, possibly decisive, penalty. The replays showed that there was certainly contact from Aidan O’Mahony inside the large parallelogram.
Kerry too will feel aggrieved that Ronan McNabb wasn’t shown red for his incredibly late hit on Cooper but on the balance, it is Tyrone who will have the biggest bone to pick with the referee.
2. Missed chances stack up
In a game that was decided by fine margins Tyrone will rue the three clear-cut goal chances they spurned, as well as a host of missed frees.
Had McAliskey shown a bit more composure in the 26th minute, he would have squared to the unmarked Darren McCurry to score, or least kept his shot low enough to force Brendan Kealy into a save.
Mark Bradley did little wrong when he drew a smart stop from Kealy in the 45th minute, and on another day, Tiernan McCann’s snapshot would have flashed the right side of the post.
You cannot pass up those chances against a team of Kerry’s calibre but just as frustrating were the three long-range frees Tyrone missed in the second half — two from goalkeeper Niall Morgan and one from McCurry.
3. Kerry kick on – while Tyrone kick themselves
Kerry made no discernible effort to push up and contest Tyrone’s kick-outs in the first half. Instead, they allowed Morgan to pick out a white jersey with relative ease and start to build possession from the back.
When they changed tack following the restart, it paid immediate dividends and played no small part in the winning of the game.
Morgan’s accuracy suffered when he was forced to kick long, allowing Kerry a lot more primary possession as well as leading directly to two quick scores from Cooper early in the second half.
4. Geaney jump-starts Kerry attack
Kieran Donaghy was Kerry’s Star reborn in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo but the Kerry captain had a much more testing afternoon on this occasion.
Justin McMahon’s in-your-face approach isn’t always the most endearing but it is undoubtedly effective. He reprised the role he used to shackle Michael Murphy in the opening round of the championship and limited Donaghy to a few scraps, and one score, before he was substituted at the break.
The slick conditions didn’t help Kerry’s tactics of kicking ball into the full-forward line, and there were plenty of Tyrone jerseys massed to pounce if the target didn’t gain clean possession at the first attempt. It’s little surprise then that Donaghy’s late point was the only one that Kerry’s full-forwards got from play in that first half.
Paul Geaney’s arrival shifted the focus of the Kerry attack and forced Tyrone to rethink their defensive strategy, helping to free up more space for Cooper and James O’Donoghue.
His first point came just as Kerry were starting to turn the screw, and he added two more in those crucial final minutes just as Tyrone threatened to rally one last time.
5. Tough decisions ahead for Fitzmaurice
Kerry’s bench is the envy of practically every county in the country, maybe with the exception of Dublin. Such is the quality of talent at Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s disposal that he could afford to leave his three top-scoring forwards — Bryan Sheehan, Geaney, and Barry John Keane — on the bench yesterday and still field an intimidating front six.
With four weeks until an All-Ireland final against either Dublin or Mayo, the Kerry boss finds himself facing some tough decisions.
Geaney’s introduction changed the game while Keane only needed a couple of moments on the pitch to make his case, curling over a fine score on the stroke of full time.
Fionn Fitzgerald (who replaced O Sé following his black card) and O’Mahony (a late sub) are also trying to force their way back into the increasingly crowded picture.
If nothing else, the competition should lead to some interesting training sessions between now and 20 September.
Originally published Sunday at 8.18pm
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Analysis GAA GAA 2015 Maurice Deegan Kerry Tyrone