The boys of Tralee aren’t here for the craic.
They may be without their star turn David Clifford but they’re far from one-trick ponies and in the host of similarly talented footballers attending the Kerry college, they’ve an Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup team who are capable of putting it up to the best and the rest of them.
On Sunday, they did just that.
Ulster University, with Paddy Durcan, Ryan McHugh, Lee Brennan, Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Michael McKernan and co. in their ranks went down to John Mitchels GAA grounds as unbackable favourites.
They came home with the win, but only after being tested to their absolute limits by a dogged bunch of Kerry footballers who held a three point lead at half-time.
And three days on, they were similarly rampant.
Captains @ITSligoGAAClub v @ITTraleeGAAClub #FirstClassRivals #sigersoncup @itsligo @oceanfmsport pic.twitter.com/dcEUFj3SRk
— ATU Sligo GAA Club (@ATU_SligoGAA) January 23, 2019
This time around, they were the favourites but they took off like scalded cats and had their clash with Sligo IT as good as sewn up by the time the clock struck 12 minutes.
They held a 3-4 to 0-3 lead at that stage with their staring 15, which includes 14 Kerry men and one Wicklow man all on song.
Listen, having lost narrowly to the Garda College in the first round, Sligo are without doubt one of the weakest teams in this competition but the complete disregard with which Tralee strode over them from start to shows these boys are ready for bigger things.
Conor Keane, a former Kerry senior panellist meant business from the word go. The Killarney Legion forward scored the game’s first two goals and was lively the whole game through, ending his afternoon with 2-1 from play.
Jack Savage kept on chipping away while last year’s Kerry under-20 half forward Dara Moynihan and 2015 Kerry minor James Duggan, who kicked 1-1 from play were all similarly prolific.
By the game’s end, they held a 6-20 to 1-9 lead, the 26 point winning margin the third highest the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup has ever seen in its history, as documented by the brilliant GAA Stats Twitter page.
SIGERSON CUP 2019: Round 2
It’s all over here in @johnmitchelsGA1
With a score line of
@ITTraleeGAAClub 6:20 @ITSligoGAAClub 1:09@radiokerrysport @Kerry_Official @ittralee— MTU Kerry Campus GAA Club (@MTUKerryGAAClub) January 23, 2019
Next up for them is 2017 champions St Mary’s this day next week and even though the Belfast men will be fancied, it’d take a brave punter to bet against these lads.
