O'Connor tips Kingdom to triumph

O'Connor's Kerry side were beaten by Tyrone in the 2005 final

Former Kerry manager Jack O'Connor believes that the current Kingdom side has the "antidote" to beat Tyrone in Sunday's All-Ireland SFC final.

O'Connor's Kerry side were beaten by Tyrone in the 2005 decider while Paidi O Se's squad were humiliated by the Red Hands in the 2003 semi-final.

"Kieran Donaghy is now there at the top of his game and Tommy Walsh has brought a new dimension altogether to Kerry.

"I really think they have the ammunition this time," said O'Connor.

"Also Colm Cooper is always going to be dangerous and I think they are going to be a real handful for Tyrone on Sunday.

"One thing you have to do against Tyrone is kick the ball well because they are great tacklers.

"But Kerry have the ball winners this time and that should be the antidote."

O'Connor is an heroic figure in Kerry football after guiding the county to the 2004 and 2006 Sam Maguire triumphs against Mayo but he insists that his main memory from the All-Ireland final stage remains the 2005 reverse.

"No matter how many you win, it's the ones that you lose that you remember. The pain never goes away.

On kickouts and things like that, I can see Dara O Se and Seamus Scanlon having an edge Jack O'Connor

"That (2005) defeat was devastating. We'd played a lot of good football that year and won our semi-final against Cork by 13 points but we came up against a Tyrone team that was possessed.

"I remember looking at that game in the last 10 minutes and those Tyrone guys were running as much as they had in the first 10 minutes.

"It was a great battle of heavyweights. I didn't think we played particularly badly. In fact, I thought we played well.

"In 2003, we'd scored six points and in 2005 we hit 2-10 but we were beaten by a great set of forwards in particular.

"There wasn't a lot in it at the end but Tyrone deserved to win."

O'Connor believes that Donaghy's emergence has been the main reason for Kerry's dominance on the national stage over the last two years.

"What we were missing most in 2005 was that we didn't have an out-an-out targetman in the forward line.

"In 2004, we had a full-forward line of Colm Cooper, John Crowley and Dara O Cinneide.

"All three of those fellows were on the top of their game in 2004 when Crowley, in particular, brought an awful lot in terms of ball capability.

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"But Crowley had retired by 2005 and Dara O Cinneide, by his own admission, was slipping a bit.

"We were dependent on the Gooch in 2005 and he had a great year.

"Donaghy wasn't on the scene until the next year. It was the middle year. I'd have loved to have had a go against Tyrone with Crowley or Donaghy in there.

"Against Tyrone, we kicked in an awful lot of ball into the full-forward line but it didn't stick in there and when that happens, Tyrone will kill you on the counterattack.

"In terms of Sunday, I believe that we will kick the ball into the forward line and it will stick in there. Kerry will basically kill it or they will get a score."

O'Connor also believes that Kerry will take a stranglehold on the crucial "first phase or primary possession" in the crucial middle-third of the field.

"On kickouts and things like that, I can see Dara O Se and Seamus Scanlon having an edge.

"It's turnover ball that Tyrone will murder you on. There is no better team to counterattack at pace and with support play.

"But I just feel that this year, we have the stuff in the inside line that will give Tyrone serious trouble."