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29th Aug 2021

“God forbid someone would lay a hand on Kerry” – Sean Cavanagh and Pat Spillane’s half-time spat

Lee Costello

“Kerry have came into the game on the back of cake walks.”

Sean Cavanagh and Pat Spillane were at each others’s throats yesterday evening during the Tyrone v Kerry game.

They argued before the game about Tyrone’s COVID outbreak, they argued about the black cards, the manner of Tyrone’s victory and at half-time they really got into it.

Cavanagh had been saying from the start of the season that Kerry were untested in Munster, and that whoever the Ulster champions were, would be much more battle-hardened, because it’s a tougher competition.

Spillane had argued if that was the case then why have Tyrone not beaten Kerry, Mayo or Dublin in recent years?

Yesterday the Moy man saw his opportunity to bring it up again, when Spillane raised a familiar point.

“We were asking beforehand about Kerry not being road-tested, and it’s most obvious,” said Spillane.

“Tyrone have played with greater intensity, they have played on their terms, while Kerry have came into the game on the back of cake walks.

“Now they’re into a game with intensity, and when you see Kerry losing almost 70% of their possession in the first half, that’s so unlike Kerry, Tyrone have been the better team.”

Now cue Sean Cavanagh who had clearly had enough.

“It’s only when somebody goes ahead of Kerry, then the Kerry man starts agreeing that they beat nothing every year in Munster, and come to a game somewhere down the line in Croke Park.

“‘God forbid someone would lay a hand on Kerry and actually tackle them, and that’s what Tyrone have done. Tyrone have brought intensity and they have forced Kerry into making mistakes.”

 

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