Mid Kerry reached the Kerry Senior Football Championship final for the second time in three seasons after a 0-15 to 0-9 victory over Feale Rangers in Tralee on Saturday night.
The win for Mid Kerry was never in doubt. They led by nine points at the break, and extended that lead to 12 in the second half. Feale Rangers, a divisional team like their opponents, only came back into the game when Mid Kerry took their foot off the gas.
"We were talking about before the game, Peter (O'Sullivan) was saying that Feale Rangers had ferocious momentum coming into the game," Beaufort forward Liam Carey, scorer of three points, told RTÉ.
"That's why we played with the wind, get a good start, try to get ahead, put the noses in front, and stay ahead then. We did a great job of it.
"We had a few patches there, where we left things slip, a bit sloppy. You're going to see that in the second half when you're comfortable."
The Mid Kerry team is made of players from intermediate and juniors clubs. Saturday's victory featured individuals from Beaufort, Glenbeigh/Glencar, Milltown/Castlemaine, Laune Rangers, Cromane and Keel.
This year's championship had a group stage, giving divisional teams more to gel as a unit. Mid Kerry have bonded, though that was not the case at the beginning of the championship in September.
Eanná O'Connor's sweetly struck free made light of the windy conditions in Tralee...#RTEgaa
📻 https://t.co/OsPEO5O1Dp pic.twitter.com/cEAsIBu3Y7— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) October 15, 2022
"When you're a district team, you're not really used to each other; you might be afraid to give a fella a shout," said Carey.
"I think we're getting good at it now, we're more of a club at this stage. We're talking better, and we're doing a bit better. It definitely worked there in the first half.
"It's not like we don't know each other. We've played with a lot of these lads. A lot of us have been here seven or eight years. We all know each other. We all went to school together.
"You can see in the first few games, especially against West Kerry when we down by seven points... Sometimes, you don't know half the other fellas' names at the start. It can be a bit dodgy at the start.
"We've got a great camaraderie. Hopefully, we'll all meet up this evening and go for a few."
'When I was playing, it was all Club Mid Kerry'
Darran O'Sullivan, a four-time All-Ireland winner with the Kingdom who won the county championship with Mid Kerry in 2008, added:
"Once the county championship stars, the individual clubs in Mid Kerry take a backseat. We all buy into it.
"The Mid Kerry Championship draw was during the week, and there's not much interest in it now because the boys are going so well. All the little rivalries we have are put to one side.
"When I was playing, it was all Club Mid Kerry once you got together. You can see with the group there, they worked really hard today."
Mid Kerry will player either East Kerry, who defeated them in the 2020 decider, or Dingle, in the final.
"Sometimes you don't know half the fellas names so it can be a bit dodgy at first!"
Mid Kerry marksman Liam Carey has been shooting the breeze with @LawlorDamian #RTEgaa
📻 https://t.co/OsPEO5O1Dp pic.twitter.com/9FyjmhsImC— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) October 15, 2022
Quiz: Can You Identify These 12 Club GAA Teams From Their Jersey
