Last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists Kerry flattered to deceive at Semple Stadium this afternoon as they struggled past hosts Tipperary, 0-16 to 0-10, in this Munster senior football championship quarter-final.
Jack O’Connor’s men were strangely off-colour in Thurles and have just a fortnight to improve considerably for the meeting with Cork in the provincial semi-final.
The Munster champions led by just a single point – 0-10 to 0-9 – early in the second half but eventually won through by six to set up a last-four meeting with their old rivals.
And with Tipp trailing by just two points, 0-9 to 0-11, young debutant Michael Quinlivan struck an upright with a free that he should have converted.
Kerry moved three points clear when Bryan Sheehan pointed a 50th minute free but it was only in the final ten minutes that the Kingdom could truly relax.
This was a gritty display from Tipperary, who had lost by 12 points against the same opposition in the 2010 championship, and by 11 in Killarney last year.
But Tipp have had a very good underage record against Kerry in recent seasons and in blistering sunshine, they aimed to prove that they could mix it with the game’s aristrocrats on the senior stage.
Sheehan, who finished with 0-6, kicked the opening score of the game with less than a minute on the watch but Tipp hit back to lead by 0-3 to 0-1, with scores from Quinlivan, Alan Moloney and Peter Acheson.
But Tipp failed to score for a 15-minute spell and that allowed Kerry to edge a point clear, before Premier County captain Philip Austin levelled proceedings.
Kerry soon moved up a gear and by half-time, they were 0-9 to 0-6 clear and much more economical with the possession that came their way.
Tipp were mixing up the long ball with the aerial route but long deliveries were being comfortably dealt with by the Kerry full-back line.
In the second half, however, Kerry goalkeeper Brendan Kealy produced two fine saves to deny Hugh Coghlan in the 43rd minute, and Austin in stoppage time.
Kerry never hit the heights of which they are capable but afterwards manager O’Connor insisted that there is more to come.
The Kingdom supremo refused to discuss his decision to omit Kieran Donaghy from the starting line-up, however, after the Austin Stacks man attended last weekend’s Champions League final in Munich.
Donaghy did come on with 24 minutes remaining and played well in the time that he was on the pitch, operating around midfield while also dropping deep to fetch possession in front of his own goal.
Tipp were wasteful in the second half and a team of higher class would have caught Kerry in this form.
But O’Connor’s men will feel that they have bigger fish to fry and they don’t come much bigger than Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Kerry featured two championship debutants in their ranks today – Peter Crowley at wing back and corner forward Patrick Curtin.
But it was a day when Kerry failed to click – with a normally lethal forward line managing just five points from play during the entire game.
TIPPERARY: P Fitzgerald; A Morrissey, P Codd, C McDonald; B Fox, R Costigan, A Campbell; G Hannigan, H Coghlan (0-1); S Scully, P Acheson (0-2), L Egan; A Moloney (0-4, 3f), M Quinlivan (0-2f), P Austin (0-1).
Subs: D Leahy for Costigan (26), R Ryan for Scully (48), D Lynch for Egan (60), B O’Brien for Quinlivan (64), A Matassa for Hannigan (70+1).
KERRY: B Kealy; S Enright, D Bohan, K Young; T Ó’Sé (0-1), E Brosnan, P Crowley; A Maher (0-1), B Sheehan (0-6, 5f); P Galvin, Darran O’Sullivan (0-1), K O’Leary (0-1); C Cooper (0-4, 2f), Declan O’Sullivan (0-1), P Curtin.
Subs: K Donaghy for Galvin (46), B Maguire for Young (48), BJ Keane for Curtin (50), J O’Donoghue (0-1) for O’Leary (50), A O’Mahony for Brosnan (62).
Referee: M Duffy (Sligo).
