McGrath Cup

Tipperary 0-5 Kerry 1-23

Templetuohy

A depleted Kerry squad made light work of Tipperary on Wednesday night to top Group A and set up a McGrath Cup final against old rivals Cork.

That preseason decider will take place on Saturday, January 22 in Killarney’s Fitzgerald Stadium. Supporters will be hoping that The Rebels can offer some kind of resistance; so far Kerry have faced very little.

The visitors totally dominated Wednesday’s match in Templetuohy, racing into an 8-0 lead in the first quarter. With the team’s best passers – Paudie Clifford, Seán O’Shea and Tom O’Sullivan – pinging long, accurate balls into the full forward line, and that full forward line well on top of their markers, it was easy pickings for Kerry in the opening minutes. Killian Spillane (0-6) and Paul Geaney (0-2) looked particularly sharp on the night, while Darragh Roche (0-1) was involved in a number of scores on his first start for the seniors.

Kerry led by 10 points (12-2) at half-time and in truth the second half was pretty much a non-event. Both sides made a slew of changes, although the lack of numbers available to Jack O’Connor was noticeable. With several players unavailable due to club and colleges commitments, he named just eight subs.

Three of those players – Tony Brosnan, Jack Savage and Paul O’Shea – played earlier that same day in MTU Kerry’s win over UCD. Brosnan and Savage made second-half appearances for Kerry, and the Crokes man popped over two points to add to the 1-4 he registered in Sigerson action.

Paudie Clifford scored the only goal of the game in the final quarter after good interplay between Éanna Ó Conchúir and Geaney.

In the end the 21-point margin of victory didn’t flatter Kerry one bit. It was an easy day for the backs in particular, although Spa’s Dan O’Donoghue still managed to give a good account of himself at corner back.