Munster SFC semi-finals: All you need to know rte.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rte.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Cranky Seán O’Shea the leader Kerry need to drive high standards
We have plenty of footballers in Kerry but to beat Dublin, we need all of them to be leaders also
Sean O’Shea celebrates scoring the first goal against Clare at Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Sun, 27 Jun, 2021 - 19:00
Saturday in Killarney was a classic Munster Championship situation for Kerry.
Regardless of the nature of the performance or the result, it will be explained away. Win well, and Clare were useless. Win without shooting the lights out, and Kerry were off it. That is why it is so important for the inner circle to shut out all that noise. The only thing that counts is winning, advancing to the next round, and honouring the standards of the group.
Twenty years on, Dublin and Kerry staged a revival of the 2001 Trip to Tipp and came up with the same outcome. That day was tied up by a timeless line-ball point from Maurice Fitzgerald and if a penalty is a more prosaic means of scoring, it was Fitzgeraldâs modern-day heir apparent, David Clifford, who converted it to level up matters in the fifth minute of injury-time.
Times have changed and the relationship of the counties has come full circle with Dublin now dominant partner. There was great anticipation coming into the match, as Kerry had dismantled Galway on the opening day of the league and looked fit to put it up to the champions.