All-Ireland Senior Football Final 2005
What
the papers say...
| 04 Oct - HoganStand - "I suppose it came down to unfinished business. Our first reaction was to go leave it to somebody else but then you think there was only a score in it at the end. Tyrone have improved dramatically from 2003, so have we, but the bar has been raised higher every year to the point that I don’t know where it is going to end." | |
| 28 Sept - Independent - "Trying to imitate Tyrone and Armagh is not necessarily the best way forward for squads with different skills, physique, temperament and approach. It's up to every county to bring their own individualism to bear on their particular scene and, rather than imitating Tyrone/Armagh, set about creating a new template for themselves." | |
| 27 Sept - Examiner - "You would be tempted to say, look I've done my stint. We've had two great years. We've just lost our first championship match in two years, which wasn't a bad record, albeit a very important match to lose and a very disappointing one. If you were to ask me now, I would say that I wouldn't be going on." | |
| 27 Sept - Examiner - "Though the perception is that this is an ageing Kerry team, their average age (25.1) is almost identical to that of Tyrone's (25.0) and slightly more favourable than Armagh's (25.3)." | |
| 26 Sept - Examiner - "Though Marc Ó Sé, Seamus Moynihan and Tomás Ó Sé drove out of defence, they were regularly rebuffed and occasionally robbed of possession. Six of Tyrone's nine first half scores came off Kerry turnovers, including Canavan's 37th minute goal. "We turned over ball a few times which cost us scores, but the goal gave them the momentum that we could never quite get back," said O'Connor." | |
| 26 Sept - Examiner - "In terms of tactics we expected everything that Tyrone did today but we didn’t play our normal game today for some reason or other. We started playing the ball laterally, maybe due to the pressure they were putting on us, and maybe that was the winning of the game for them." | |
| 26 Sept - Examiner - "Kerry manager Jack O’Connor was cornered in the room next to the warm-up area, but he faced the microphones the same way his players had faced the Tyrone defence. Head up. Chin out. He was proud of his players, he said, for fighting to the bitter end." | |
|
Quality
not quantity got us our second title, says elated Harte |
26 Sept - Examiner - "In an era where winning back to back titles has proven beyond the abilities of any one team, winning two in three years is an extraordinary achievement for a side, especially one that has had to deal with tragedy as this Tyrone team have in recent times." |
|
Momentous exploits from Harte's charges honours faraway voices |
26 Sept - Independent - "McMenamin with his sinful tongue and cloven hoofs, had a hot time with the Gooch' yesterday and just about survived. He didn't win his corner, actually he didn't come even close. Gooch' played wonderfully, scoring 0-3 from play and having a hand in virtually all of Kerry's coherent moments." |
| 26 Sept - Independent - "We will be back. You don't win 33 flukey All-Irelands. The worst thing now is that we will have to endure lectures from know-all gobdaws on everything from swarm back play to the filling for black pudding." | |
| 26 Sept - Independent - "Again and again their players dispossessed Kerrymen but this had as much to do with Kerry players hanging onto the ball too long as anything else. When all is said and done, it really did appear as though the lack of tough games went against Kerry and they never seemed able to raise their game to Tyrone's level, once Ulster boys upped the ante." | |
| 26 Sept - Independent - "If there is a word to define Tyrone in 2005 it is 'unequivocal'. They were the best team in football for many reasons. No question, they had a 16th man in Cormac McAnallen. And, in Harte, they had a manager of remarkable dignity and prescience. But Tyrone didn't so much reshape football as redefine the concept of team." | |
|
REPORT: |
26 Sept - Belfast Telegraph - "There was to be no reprieve for Kerry, no second bite at the cherry. Tyrone, as comfortable on the ball as they were in the early stages, simply underlined that possession is nine-tenths of the law and eased their way to the second most momentous day in their history." |
| 26 Sept - Independent - "Colm Cooper and Eoin Brosnan were the only Kerry forwards who could feel happy with their performances on a day when three of the starting six were replaced. Dara Ó Cinnéide opened well, scoring a splendid goal in the seventh minute, but faded out after that; wing-forwards, Liam Hassett and Paul Galvin were below capacity while Declan O'Sullivan achieved little despite lots of effort." | |
|
REPORT: |
26 Sept - Examiner - "There was one particular reason why Tyrone emerged victorious in yesterday’s enthralling All-Ireland final. It was how they calmly came to terms with their inadequacies and Kerry’s dominant play for most of the first half and then came back so strongly." |
|
REPORT: |
26 Sept - RTE.ie - "Event by Event match tracker."
|
| 25 Sept - Independent - "O'Brien tells him to stand on the 14-yard line and hit a few shots. The first one flies past his left shoulder into the top of the net. The second one flies past his right. Three more follow in quick succession. O'Brien has had enough. He calls the kid to him. "Gooch, will you ever get behind the goal like a good man," he says. "You're shattering my confidence." | |
| 25 Sept - Independent - "It is also two worlds colliding, the old masters Kerry need to teach the young pretenders a lesson. Otherwise the careers of some of their players will be forever sullied by an inability to deliver against Ulster opposition." | |
| 25 Sept - Sunday Times - "Today Tyrone and Kerry stand toe to toe again at a different time and place. The respect remains, but the fear is long gone." | |
| 25 Sept - Sunday Times - "When Canavan spoke at half-time in the 2003 final of knocking on heaven’s door until it opened Dooher piped up. “We’ll not be f****** knocking it. Start kickin’ boys! We’ll f****** go through her!” Now, Tyrone needed him again" | |
|
Tyrone
may have the measure of Kerry when it comes to the numbers game |
25 Sept - Sunday Times - "but a closer look at his stats from that game proves Cooper still played well. He touched the ball 17 times, which was 14 times more than his markers. The first 11 times he touched the ball, he either created a scoring chance for himself or a colleague. When he is on the ball, he is causing damage and the key to stopping him is limiting his supply." |
| 25 Sept - Sunday Times - "Nothing Kerry have encountered can prepare them for the ferocity which will fuel Tyrone this afternoon, apart from that within themselves. They will have remembered August 2003 — Darragh Ó Sé being buffeted around in a circle of Tyrone players like a bullied child before fly-kicking the ball straight to Dooher; the sight of McMenamin flinging Cooper to the ground like a rag doll. Eleven wides. Six points scored. Four forwards subbed. One point for the Gooch." | |
| 25 Sept - Sunday Times - "Will it take four? Will four be enough? Ask any corner-back how to stop Cooper and the gist of every reply is that your search for the answer is beginning in the wrong place. With the Gooch the key is prevention; cures have been tried and quickly withdrawn from the market" | |
| 25 Sept - Sunday Times - "Two years ago Kerry were stunned. They should’ve been able to adapt to the way Tyrone played but they weren’t. This time they appear to have all the angles covered. Tyrone have been tested far more severely than Kerry, but that’s hardly Kerry’s fault. As it stands, both teams have won five matches. Besides, All-Ireland finals are always stand-alone games." | |
|
Kevin
Kimmage profiles the players while Colm O'Rourke gives his verdict |
25 Sept - Independent - "Gooch: Will have his patience, confidence and nerve tested like never before. May have to lay off ball more than seek scoring opportunities. Capable of adapting. Best forward on show" |
| 25 Sept - Independent - "Nineteen months ago, they re-lived that humiliating experience on video, saw again what was done to them, and began preparing, physically and mentally, to make sure it would never happen again. It culminated in a demolition of Mayo in last year's final which showcased their reinvention: stronger, faster, harder-working, more dynamic all over the field" | |
| 25 Sept - Independent - "They are also, probably, nearing the zenith of their current development. Tomás Ó Sé is playing at the peak of his powers. So is his brother Marc and Colm Cooper's talent is as depressing for those who must mark him as it is thrilling for everyone else to watch. The balance of leadership has shifted to them from the waning powers of Darragh Ó Sé and Seamus Moynihan." | |
| 25 Sept - Independent - "Today, in the greatest era of the GAA, there is a final which dwarfs all deciders of recent years. A magnificent season concludes with the perfect match-up, one so full of promise it's almost hard to think it will actually take place. This is a dream match, it's our Rumble in the Jungle." |
| 24 Sept - The Kingdom - "O’Keeffe just feels that Kerry were taken by surprise on the day by the northerners tactics and that Tyrone, very much like Kerry, have developed their game around their strengths." | |
| 24 Sept - The Kingdom - "Suddenly everyone is an expert. Housewives wonder if Ryan McMenamin can shackle Colm Cooper? Kids question how Tyrone’s forwards will fare against the best backs in the business? High stool pundits speculate to whether Peter the Great will start the contest or be used as an impact substitute?" | |
|
It’s an even match-up but a hesitant vote for the ‘green and gold’ |
24 Sept - The Kerryman - "If they are to win, Kerry must get big performances from every man on the pitch without exception. Leadership must come from the likes of Darragh O Se, Michael McCarthy, Tomas O Se, Liam Hassett and Seamus Moynihan. A few players who shall be nameless but who have been ‘free-wheeling’ through earlier games must now deliver the goods." |
| 24 Sept - The Kerryman - "Tyrone have helped patent the new blue-collar approach by marrying their innate work ethic with a team of extremely talented footbellers.Kerry have always had the talented footballers, but their willingness to work up more of sweat than in the past should carry them to their 34th title." | |
| 24 Sept - Examiner - "You can forget about the line that's often trotted out, that it will be down to whoever team "wants it the most", as if to suggest that any team would ever be half-hearted about their intentions." | |
| 24 Sept - Belfast Telegraph - "Kerry's seasoned attacker Dara O Cinneide has expressed his concern that the Kingdom might have peaked too soon in their demolition of neighbours Cork in the All Ireland semi-final." | |
| 24 Sept - Belfast Telegraph - "We know that we have not performed to our optimum but it's essential that we reach this tomorrow. Kerry are favourites and rightly so," maintains Harte." | |
| 24 Sept - Examiner - "Those who point to the new phenomenon of blue collar half-forward should remember that Kerry's Liam Hassett has been toiling in that role for almost a decade." | |
| 24 Sept - Examiner - "Having survived the semi final we have a better chance that tiredness will not make a serious impact on this final. I don’t think we can point to tiredness and blame it if we don’t succeed.” " |
| 24 Sept - Independent - "Kerry have learned their lesson from 2003, of that there is no doubt. So much so that they themselves now opt for the mass defence when under pressure and are quick to foul opponents in any part of the field in order to stop their momentum. In the semi-final against Cork, Kerry gave away 24 frees while Cork only conceded 13." | |
|
Harte's account of 2003 victory should fuel Kerry's response |
24 Sept - Independent - "A few minutes after Peter (Canavan) went off (injured), there was this passage of play where we just swarmed Kerry for about forty seconds, though at the time it seemed like four minutes." |
| 24 Sept - Independent - "With the obvious help of the six staunch defenders in front of him Murphy has yet to pick the ball from the net in over 350 minutes of championship football this summer." | |
| 24 Sept - Independent - "The great uncertainty from a Kerry viewpoint is whether they can cope for the full 70 minutes with the level of intensity that Tyrone will unleash. They didn't two years ago and learned a mighty painful lesson. Kerry are a different side now but they have yet to meet a side that applies as much physical power as Tyrone." | |
| 24 Sept - Independent - "If Kerry restrict Cavanagh, Dooher and McGuigan, the supply to the Tyrone full-forward line will be limited and even allowing for the frightening finishing power of Canavan, O'Neill and Mulligan, they can't do serious damage without possession." | |
|
Kerry have the resolve to retain their crown and end Ulster jinx |
24 Sept - Independent - "If Kerry were to lose again, it would inevitably lead to claims that for all their success and proud history, the new generation is being blinded by northern lights. That's why there's more than an All-Ireland title at stake tomorrow." |
| 24 Sept - Independent - "back to the famous interview the young 'Gooch' did on the Crokes field in Killarney with RTE's Marty Morrissey back in the early 1990s. He listed three things he wanted to achieve - to play with his brothers, to play with Crokes and to represent Kerry one day. He's done all that and a lot more." | |
|
Same
tactics, same style . . . this is battle of first among equals |
24 Sept - Independent - "For Dooher and McGuigan, read Hassett and Galvin; for Cooper read O'Neill; Philip Jordan and Tomas Ó Sé love to attack and Ryan McMenamin and Marc Ó Sé are two small, fast man markers. Their tactics are also quite similar." |
| 24 Sept - Independent - "Press Day '05. Get Gooch to limp as if he was auditioning for the part of Long John Silver. Have Moynihan assume the gaunt, haunted, run-down demeanour of the seriously hungover looking for a sick note off a cross doctor on the Monday morning." | |
| 24 Sept - Independent - "There's no rule in Gaelic football to say that you can't stand your ground with your arms out, and stop an opponent from going past you. If one man can do it, four or five or six can, so Tyrone's tackling that day was brilliant." | |
| 24 Sept - Independent - "These lads (Kerry team) are very highly motivated. In many cases, I'm trying to under-train them. I'm trying to stop from training." |
|
It's time for Harte's men to walk the All Ireland walk again |
23 Sept - Belfast Telegraph - "Kerry, though, won't be caught with their guard down on Sunday. A passionate desire to become the first side since Cork to win back to back All Ireland titles will ensure that. So, too, will the iron resolve that manager Jack O'Connor has instilled into the side. They may be the high kings of football but Kerry can now engage in bare-knuckle warfare when the occasion demands." |
| 23 Sept - Belfast Telegraph - "I am lucky to be surrounded by so many experienced players, boys who have several All Ireland medals. When I was studying law in Dublin, there was a fair bit of travelling involved to training and matches but all the effort has been well worthwhile." | |
| 23 Sept - HoganStand - "While Mulligan clearly revels in the spotlight, his All-Ireland final opponent is one of the quiet men of the GAA. Hailing from Kilcummin - the same club as GAA president Sean Kelly - McCarthy performs his duties in an efficient and professional matter and has been one of Kerry’s most consistent players in recent years." | |
| 23 Sept - HoganStand - "It’s history now, the same as the 1986 All-Ireland final between Kerry and Tyrone is. This is a different year, a different game and all our preparations have been geared towards this." | |
| 23 Sept - HoganStand - "Arguably the two best midfielders in the business come face to face on All-Ireland final day in what is a fascinating duel. Apart from being superb footballers and athletes, both men bring tremendous leadership to their respective teams." | |
| 23 Sept - HoganStand - "A physically stronger and tactically more astute Kerry bounced back to win the All-Ireland in fine style last year and are now just 70 minutes away from becoming the first team since Cork in 1989-’90 to put titles back-to-back." | |
| 23 Sept - Independent - "Cavanagh scoffs at suggestions that Tyrone's long season may have left them mentally tired, a condition that could prove fatal against a fresh and determined Kerry side. I'm certainly not tired and I don't think the other lads are either. We're in the best shape of our lives." | |
| 23 Sept - Examiner - "We took it easy during the week. Mickey had us well prepared. Maybe the talk about being possibly tired was in the mind rather than the body. I think it showed that we were ready, the way we finished." | |
| 23 Sept - Examiner - "In his book, “Kicking Down Heaven’s Door”, Harte revealed how he studied a tape of Kerry’s League game against Dublin - and how he decided on their tactical approach." | |
| 23 Sept - Examiner - "I had great admiration for what Mickey Harte did. It’s always very hard to get over the line and win the first one. There’s fantastic credit due to him." | |
| 23 Sept - Examiner - "If Tyrone manage to manacle Colm Cooper at Croke Park, at least two other forwards must fill in the missing blanks on the scoreboard. And centre-forward Eoin Brosnan appears the most likely candidate beyond Dara Ó Cinnéide." |
| 22 Sept - HoganStand - "Eugene expects Kerry to be super confident going into the match. Kerry teams have always had an almost arrogant, cocky swagger about them in Croke Park, he avers. "They’ll be a robust team and won’t be pushed around though," McKenna adds." | |
| 22 Sept - GAA.ie - "Kerry are attempting to become the first county since Cork (1989-90) to win the title in consecutive years and are also on a revenge mission after losing heavily to Tyrone in the 2003 All-Ireland semi-final." | |
| 22 Sept - GAA.ie - "Everyone is fit, so I guess we have no excuses in that respect. That's the remarkable thing about it. There isn't a catalogue of injuries while usually we have had to deal with hamstring strains and knocks." | |
| 22 Sept - Belfast Telegraph - There's no doubt that tens of thousands of GAA supporters will remember Cormac on Sunday. "I'd say he'll even be in the Kerry men's minds," Brendan beamed. "Cormac will be there in spirit and he would want us to be there too." | |
| 22 Sept - Belfast Telegraph - "When it comes to All Ireland football success, Kerry simply leave Tyrone in the shade. The Kingdom have 33 titles, Tyrone just one. But Kerry manager Jack O'Connor is the first to admit that tradition will count for little when the sides square up on Sunday." | |
| 22 Sept - HoganStand - "McMenamin is, without doubt, Tyrone’s best marker and would relish the challenge of attempting to shut out Cooper, who is arguably the top forward in the game at present." | |
| 22 Sept - HoganStand
- "We’ve had too many draws this year. We’ve had three
already and we don’t want to be part of a fourth. "Having said that, I might be happy to take a draw when the final is drawing to a close." |
|
| 22 Sept - HoganStand - "Ladies at Home: What chance had we-sure, look how good Gooch was in one corner and with the other fella Cooper opposite him our goose was cooked from an early stage …." | |
| 22 Sept - Independent - "Brosnan, now 25 and a solicitor in the Killarney-based family practice, feels Kerry are being backed into a 'no win' situation by the public's desire for a gladiatorial-style confrontation with the north's two superpowers." | |
| 22 Sept - Independent - "Tyrone's response to adversity was typically defiant. With O'Neill re-instated immediately after the referee admitted his error and Canavan also avoiding a ban when the Central Disciplinary Committee ruled that his dismissal was also unwarranted, Tyrone set about re-building the campaign via the qualifiers." | |
| 22 Sept - Examiner - "At the end of the day you can’t just go out with a cavalier attitude and try and outscore the opposition. You are going to try and stop them from scoring as well. " | |
| 22 Sept - Examiner - "For Flanagan, it's been "a great adventure." From the outset, he realised how lucky he was to be working with "a very good squad of talented players." It was, he says, a great start even before he started working with them." | |
| 22 Sept - Examiner - "AT 6’4” he lords it over Mickey Harte’s Tyrone panel. One look at Pascal McConnell and you sense there was never any doubt that he would be a goalkeeper." | |
| 22 Sept - Examiner - "Where do you go after scaling the highest peak? Last year Dara Ó Cinnéide captained Kerry to an All-Ireland victory, scoring eight points for good measure. He talked to Michael Moynihan about giving another year to the green and gold." |
| 21 Sept - Examiner - "I’d focus more on winning the game, not who we beat in it. Doing a double would be more important than beating any particular county. Supporters and the media like to stoke this up for the build-up, but it’s a game like any game. It will start, take a pattern and someone will win." | |
| 21 Sept - Examiner - "Pat keeps the training interesting and varied. He's a very positive guy. Every time he comes to training he has a smile on his face and that rubs off on the players. He has been fantastic." | |
| 21 Sept - Examiner - "The latter clashes mean investors are unsure as to the strength of the Kerry option in adverse financial conditions. Are the reserves in place to ward off a run on the share price? Has the brand become flabby and complacent in the absence of a rigorous challenge, something Tyrone are well used to?" | |
| 21 Sept - Examiner - "We sent Hollywood über-producer Harry Burnstein some footage and asked him to cast Sunday’s All-Ireland finalists from Kerry and Tyrone." | |
| 21 Sept - Examiner - "They’ll meet at dawn on Sunday for the pilgrimage to Croke Park - not that the roads of Ireland are anything new to one fanatical band of Kerry supporters." | |
| 21 Sept - Examiner - "We've plenty of scores to settle with Kerry ourselves, we went down there in a league match, got hammered, lost by six points but it could have been 16. It felt like being beaten in a championship match. We walked off the field demoralised." | |
| 21 Sept - Examiner - "There is a great sense of anticipation in the county but this is mellowed with the realisation that we are taking on the All-Ireland champions and that it will take a special performance to dethrone them." | |
| 21 Sept - Independent - "They haven't lost a championship game since we beat them two years ago, so they're obviously a much different outfit now. They have won an awful lot of their games very comfortably over the past two seasons." | |
| 21 Sept - Independent - "I look at Declan now and see him as the team captain at the same stage of his life as I was in '97. But I would acknowledge he is a better footballer than me and he has that assured presence. I think he will be a huge influence for us on Sunday." | |
|
Ó Cinnéide makes the final cut as Kerry boss opts for experience |
21 Sept - Independent - "But this is a markedly different Kerry team, with Tomás and Marc Ó Sé now replacing John Sheehan and Fitzmaurice in defence, Kirby in midfield instead of Eoin Brosnan who is now at centre-forward and All Star Paul Galvin replacing Russell in the forwards." |
| 21 Sept - Times - "The brute force Tyrone had to exert against Armagh in the semi-final was arguably the ideal preparation for the final. Kerry hardly needed to break sweat to beat Cork, not that McGuigan is about to underestimate Kerry ." | |
| 21 Sept - Times - "I remember in January we were away and one of the Sunday papers had a wish list - to see Kerry versus one of the big northern teams. I remember being here at a press night this time last year and thinking that if I won an All-Ireland medal I couldn't have cared less. When the hullaballoo dies down though, then you start hearing these things. If we beat Tyrone, people will say how would they have got on against Armagh." |
| 20 Sept - HoganStand - "Kerry and Tyrone have met just once before in the Bank of Ireland football final. That was back in 1986 when Kerry were bidding for a three-in-a-row and their 8th title in twelve seasons. Underdogs, Tyrone led by 1-8 to 0-4 ten minutes into the second half but Kerry battled back with typical courage." | |
| 20 Sept - Independent - "The prize of a fourth All-Ireland medal is a huge one in the current climate of competitiveness for Dara Ó Cinnéide, who is one of four Kerry players - with Darragh Ó Sé, Seamus Moynihan and Liam Hassett - bidding for the distinction." | |
| 20 Sept - Examiner - "After a poor season, Eoin Mulligan was being written off — now he’s back." | |
| 20 Sept - Independent - "Suddenly, every half-forward from Gneeveguilla to Dingle was - reputedly - being educated on the value of double-jobbing. The new game in town? Turn the middle third of the field into a kind of Spaghetti Junction at rush-hour." | |
| 20 Sept - Examiner - "Everybody thinks that maybe a good game must be a high-scoring game and have lots of good fielding. I think there is a lot more in the game. I think there is a lot of high quality defending, and defenders never got the credit that they deserved throughout their games." | |
| 20 Sept - Independent - "So then Mickey, how are Tyrone going to cope with Gooch? "Kick his little ass from Hogan to Cusack." Any plans, Jack, to curb Dooher's road-running? "Well, he can't run too good if his laces are tied together." | |
| 20 Sept - HoganStand - "Everyone wants a piece of the action and I suppose that’s the best way to have it. In my case, Mossy Lyons has been putting me under a lot of pressure and that’s what has been driving me on." | |
| 20 Sept - Independent - "I have no doubt that this game will come down to the last 10 minutes so we will have to be ready for it. We have worked hard to simulate situations where things are very tight, " said O'Connor." |
|
Tyrone versatility and ability to adapt makes pre-match plans redundant |
19 Sept - Independent - "I have no doubt both Harte and O'Connor and their respective brains trusts have many plans for Sunday. But the big test, and what will in my opinion decide this game, is the range of alternative tactical and personnel options each manager has." |
| 19 Sept - Independent - "We haven't come up against that attrition before (this year). We've been trying to simulate that as much in training as possible. That's the great imponderable on the day - whether we can match Tyrone's intensity." | |
|
Canavan call wide open but happy Harte can still take healthy option |
19 Sept - Independent - "The flexibility in the Tyrone squad has been hugely important in a long championship season that will have taken in ten championship games by next Sunday evening." |
| 19 Sept - Belfast Telegraph - "a full-scale practice match, but with a subtle difference. Two teams were picked from the squad with one being handed green and gold jerseys and the other being given the red and white of Tyrone." |
| 18 Sept - Times - "Nineteen years have passed since Kerry and Tyrone last met in an All-Ireland final, a game that transpired to be my last and one that I’ll never forget..." | |
| 15 Sept - Independent - "Barely four months ago, Tyrone started the campaign with more questions hanging over them than any of the other main contenders." | |
| 18 Sept - HoganStand - "Tyrone are a very formidable team and have to be the favourites after a very good summer." | |
| 18 Sept - Independent - "Both Jack and Mickey are high achievers who are understandably haunted by factors outside their control which could prevent them from attaining their goals." | |
| 15 Sept - HoganStand - "Whoever will beat him will have to do so playing football and it’s as simple as that." | |
| We're not going to target Gooch, says Gormley | 14 Sept - Independent - "Tyrone centre-back Gormley argued that the threat from the Kerry attack is far from being confined to 'Gooch." |
| This year means so much more to Moynihan | 14 Sept - GAA.ie - "You can only look forward. I think that is what this team has done. Whatever happened in the past year is irrelevant." |
| ’Competition makes perfect’ - Cooper | 08 Sept - HoganStand - "We are probably getting the maximum out of every guy at training at the moment. You never know what team Jack will put out for the final." |
| Monaghan gets ‘pleasant surprise’ with football final date | 08 Sept - Examiner - "he admits his job would be made easier if the two teams approach the game in a positive frame of mind. "It makes all the difference,'' he added." |
| Tyrone face a whole new ball game to topple the Kingdom | 06/Sept - Examiner - "Mickey Harte accepts Tyrone will face a 'different' Kerry in the Bank of Ireland football final in three weeks to the one they easily overcame in the 2003 semi-final..." |
| Baby-faced assassin gunning for Ulster's finest | 30/Aug - Independent - "His feet are a blur, his hands quicker than a snake's strike. He's Gaelic football's great assassin, yet he looks about as menacing as Garfield" |
| Defence key for the Kingdom | 30/Aug - Examiner - "It's official. Gaelic football is changing when Kerry devise a game-plan that relies heavily on smother defence." |
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