Championship

Kerry fall to Tyrone in the 2008 All Ireland Final

September 23rd, 2008
by Weeshie Fogarty

 This past year for me will be remembered as one of Kerrys most controversial, turbulent and memorable both on and off the field. And it all culminated in anguish and despair in Croke Park last Sunday as Tyrone raced away from Kerry in the final fifteen minutes to record their third championship win over the Kingdom. Many were calling this final the game which would decide the team of the decade. Fifty five minutes into the game Kerry were a point down. Then we saw a magnificent exhibition of ball control as Colm Cooper produced a passage of pure magic, dribbling, ducking, weaving and dodging around several Tyrone players to set up Darragh o Se who split the posts to tie the game. The sides were level for the eight time in a final which produced some wonderful passage of play. One minute later Gooch and Donnaghy teamed up and the Killarney man put Kerry ahead. However from now on the game began to swing to the men from the North. Owen Mulligan is introduced and sets up the superb Sean Cavanagh for his fourth point of the day. The sides are level once again and the crowd is transfixed by the drama unfolding before them. Its unbelievable stuff.  Now the game would be decided and it was Tyrone who took the initiative. And it was their ability to win the breaking ball around the middle of the field which set them up for that final push to victory. Five times the ball broke from the reaching hands of the cluster of players around the middle of the field and four times it was a Tyrone man who emerged with the vital ball. Paul Galvin gained possession just once in this crucial area for Kerry.

I have always maintained the side that win the breaks are the side that are that one little degree fresher, sharper and more alert and capable of producing the quicker reaction time when the ball is there to be won. Now Tyrone were answering these question and Kerrys appearance in their fifth All Ireland final in a row as they attempted to win the three in a row in my estimation was a bridge too far. That tiny little degree of freshness and razor sharp reaction which decides a game such as this final which was now balanced on a knife edge was absent and Tyrone took full advantage. They simply surged to victory from here on in. We were now in the sixty fourth minute of the game and once again it was Sean Cavanagh, now operation on the forty who put Mickey Hart's men in front. Holding the ball and selling dummies all over the place this magnificent athlete kicked a superb point to put Tyrone ahead, 1=12 to 0-14. It was his fifth point and all came from play. Then came one of the defining moments of this unforgettable final. And if we have learned anything about this bunch of Kerrymen it is that when all seems lost they can produce a move that can often turn defeat into disaster. Declan o Sullivan probably Kerrys best player on the day was at the end of a great move and from inside the big square unleashed a shot which had goal written all over it. Pascal McConnell the Tyrone goalkeeper had been called up between the posts at the last minute under the most trying of circumstances.

John Devine the man in possession had cried of late on Saturday when his father died suddenly and the six foot four inch tall McConnell holder of two All Ireland medals was to prove his side's savior. He brilliantly defected o Sullivans shot out for a 45. There was feverish activity on the Kerry bench as the umpire signaled the free. Brian Sheehan, Kerrys recognized free kicker was been substituted. It was decided to keep him on the field to kick the free, however the St. Mary's man having a bad day generally pulled the ball wide and Kerry's last chance of victory was well and truly buried. This save for me together with another in the first half when Tommy Walsh saw his shot for goal also superbly blocked decided the game. "McConnell's saves send Tyrone on their winning Way" could well be the heading for any report on this final. They were crucial and it's amazing what a score at such vital periods can do for a team.  Then we had the winner's goal direct from the throw in after half time. It was what can be described as a messy goal and Tommy McGuigan was on hand to tap the ball to the net as Padraig Reidy lost his footing and failed to clear. Tyrone had also scored direct from the throw in at the start of the game in some what similar circumstances. Were these two scores pre planned?  The big problem for Kerry from the word go was the failure of the high ball into the full fordward line to pay any kind of dividends. The long high ball was rained in on top of Kieran Donnaghy, Tommy Walsh and Colm Cooper. However it was coming in too straight and high and not diagonally which gives the advantage to the fordward and the Tyrone full backline were very alert to what was happening.

On the other hand it must be said that the two Gormley brothers and Justin McMahon got away with murder and were constantly getting in that little pull or push and that certain degree of marking cynicism necessary to upset the tall men as the Garryowns came into the goal area. I have mentioned here on a previous occasion the role Colm Cooper now plays on the team. One of the two best forwards in the country, (Sean Cavanagh is the other), I believe that he functioned much better with just one big man inside and while he was superb again last Sunday I wonder if his natural gifted instincts as a born goal scoring corner fordward are been blunted that little bit? There will now be other areas of the field where either Tommy Walsh or "Star" can operate with great benefit to the county. Tyrone were that bit better over all and their style of "all fordward together" play wore down the Kingdom. We are all wise after the event but on this occasion I have stated previously that Darren o Sullivan was the best Kerry fordward in the league campaign and if started with Donncha Walsh that little bit for freshness, (that word again) might have added to Sundays display.

Pat o Shea and his men have given us memorable moments and we are grateful for that. Kerry's greatest gift down the decades is their ability to learn from a defeat and learn they will from this harsh latest set back. While one loss is not the end of the world losing to Tyrone for a third time in the championship will prove a hard pill to swallow by Kerrymen all over the globe. Am I exaggerating? I don't believe so. I was present in Croke Park when we suffered those three championship losses to Down in 1960-61-68 and we are constantly reminded of this fact when ever football is discussed. The players are there and the re-building will begin for the league.

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