What a pity it would be.
The All-Ireland semi-final and Kerry look beaten. Tyrone are on top all over and the Kingdom aren’t firing. They have Stephen O’Brien though.
The darty Kenmare Shamrock showed moments of that trademark trickery early on but he wasn’t getting the opportunities, the freedom or the service.
The second half was a different story. Paul Geaney dragged Kerry back into the game. David Moran came powering along with him. Tyrone were opened up and it could only mean one thing.
A chance, some space for Kerry’s speed merchant who plays football at a pace that’s equivalent to fast forward mode on the Sky box-set.
He doesn’t need a second one. His first scoring opportunity came on 55 minutes when that man Geaney, the Dingle dynamo took no less than five Tyrone men out of the game with one pass. O’Brien dropped it onto his foot with the confidence of a man who had been having the game of his life. He hadn’t been, he’d hadn’t gotten the chance to be but his finish said otherwise.
Kerry are ALIVE
Paul Geaney takes out FIVE men with a pass
Don't underestimate Stephen O'Brien's classy finishpic.twitter.com/MMK2Bn5heZ
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 11, 2019
That’s what the best forwards can do. What a pity it would be if one of the country’s finest was to miss the All-Ireland final.
He went onto kick two more as the Kingdom surged home in the Croke Park showpiece. Crucially though, his game was ended prematurely when he dragged down a Tyrone attacker cynically in added time.
A black card. Adding to the red card he received v Galway in the League, and the black v Meath last week in Páirc Tailteann, that would be enough to rule him out of the All-Ireland final against Dublin.
In the Kingdom though, they’re confident that decision will be overturned on appeal.
"I think the black card in the Meath game was very harsh. I was running off the ball and it was an accidental clash so we'll certainly be looking to appeal that one"
Fighting talk from Stephen O'Brien, the All-Ireland final wouldn't be the same without him pic.twitter.com/Yr3m29sApO
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 11, 2019
Their grounds? That the black card he was issued with in the final round of the Super 8s was a soft one.
You can be the judge of that for yourself here.
So, Brian Ó Beaglaoich is running with the ball. O’Brien is in support.
While Ó Beaglaoich takes a turn to the left, O’Brien runs straight on towards the Meath defender.
The Meath defender puts his hands up, O’Brien leads with his shoulder.
Alternatively, you can view the clip from Twitter here.
A black card is issued for the following five offences.
- Deliberate body collide
- Deliberate trip
- Â Deliberate pull-down
- Verbale abuse to opponent or teammate
- Remonstrate with a match official
O’Brien’s black card was more than likely issued on the grounds of number one, a deliberate body collide. In the footage however, O’Brien’s collision looks more clumsy than it does deliberate. He had no reason to collide with the Meath player deliberately, therefore it may be deemed as accidental.
