Danielle O’Leary points tentative Kerry ladies to victory in Munster Championship opener against Tipperary

Kerry 2-14

Tipperary 0-5

They took a while to get going, but when they did Kerry had way too much for a very limited Tipperary outfit and eased to a 15-point victory in glorious sunshine at Fitzgerald Stadium in this first round of the Munster SFC.

Danielle O’Leary was at her imperious best for the Kingdom and hit eight points, every one of them from play, and the Rathmore sharpshooter looks fit, sharp and very hungry, which is good news for Kerry’s championship campaign.

The contribution of the Kerry bench cannot be understated either though, with Lorraine Scanlon, Aoife Dillane and Niamh Ní Chonchúir contributing points while Emma Dineen also got on the scoresheet with a very good goal.

They may have triumphed by 15 points but Kerry won’t look back at the first half with any sort of fondness as time and again they turned over the ball in good positions. They can point to a Tipperary side that kept things pretty stacked at the back as the premier counties mantra was to hit Kerry on the break.

O’Leary got the ball rolling for Kerry in the sixth minute – the assist from Niamh Carmody – and a minute later she added her second when Mary O’Connell did well on Tipperary’s kick-out.

O’Leary added her third, in between Aishling Moloney (free) and Emma Morrissey scores for Tipperary but there was no great fluidity to the game as it was played in fits and starts. Another brace from O’Leary pushed Kerry 0-5 to 0-2 ahead by the twenty eight minute and the game certainly seemed to be turning in Kerry’s favour.

The visitors kicked back though and points from Anna Rose Kennedy and Emma Morrissey brought them to within a point, 0-5 to 0-4, with the clock going into added time. There was to be one more bit of drama before the short whistle though and it is one that Tipperary will look back at with both hands over their eyes.

It started when their goalkeeper Lauren Fitzpatrick joined in the open play but her intended pass was intercepted by the tenacious Niamh Carmody. The Kerry skipper found Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh off the shoulder and with an empty goal at her mercy the 2023 Footballer of the Year was not going to miss and the hosts took a 1-5 to 0-4 lead in at the half time break.

Both sides hit bad wides at the start of the second half before Kerry corner back Ciara O’Brien popped up in the forward line and hit a sweet point. The Kerry defence was in mean form with Deirdre Kearney giving an exhibition in a sweeping role and Aishling O’Connell showing both strength and finesse at different stages.

Whilst there was some notable individual defending from Kerry, with an interception by Ciara Murphy particularly noteworthy, their defending as a unit was hugely impressive throughout the game and the quality of their tackling was top class.

Goalkeeper Mary Ellen Bolger also had a top class outing with the majority of her kickouts on the money and finding a player. She was helped by the Kerry players willingness to make the hard runs to secure possession and move it forward at pace before Tipperary could get bodies back.

The majority of the second half really belonged to Kerry as they limited Tipperary to a single Anna Rose Kennedy point whilst the kingdom hit 1-9 with the unstoppable O’Leary adding another three.

Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh got on the scoresheet with a nice score and when Niamh Carmody got her deserved score in the 49th minute they had pushed into a 1-9 to 0-4 lead.

O’Leary hit a beauty on the run, then Lorraine Scanlon got in on the act before Aoife Dillane punched over in the fifty fifth minute. It might have been a goal but Lauren Fitzpatrick made a good save from Lorraine Scanlon. Dillane collected the rebound and did the sensible thing by punching over the bar.

Kerry were really flying now and looked to be a side that was enjoying themselves. The tension and uncertainty that they had showed in the first half was now well gone and they played with the speed and control that they are capable of.

The icing on the cake came when Emma Dineen goaled in the 56th minute and then Niamh Ní Chonchúir put another dent on the scoreboard. Fittingly, it was Danielle O’Leary that got the final score of the contest, a superb effort as she cut in from the sideline for her eighth, and Kerry had cruised to a facile but important first round victory, with Cork to come to Brosna next weekend for what should be s sterner test for Kerry.

KERRY: Mary Ellen Bolger; Ciara Murphy, Eilis Lynch, Ciara O’Brien 0-1; Aishling O’Connell, Kayleigh Cronin, Cait Lynch; Mary O’Connell, Deirdre Kearney; Anna Galvin, Niamh Carmody 0-1, Amy Harrington; Katie Brosnan, Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh 1-1, Danielle O’Leary 0-8. Subs: Hannah O’Donoghue for K Brosnan (38), N Ní Chonchúir 0-1 for C O’Brien (42), E Dineen 1-0 for A Harrington (45), L Scanlon 0-1 for A Galvin (48), A Dillane 0-1 for C Murphy (52).

TIPPERARY: Lauren Fitzpatrick; Elaine Kelly, Lucy Spillane, Emma Cronin; Cliona O’Dwyer, Maria Curley ,Sarah English; Laura Morrissey, Anna Rose Kennedy 0-1; Emma Morrissey 0-2, Angela McGuigan, Aishling Moloney 0-2 (1f); Neasa Towey, Katelyn Downey, Emer McCarthy. Subs: Clara English for N Towey (38), Sarah Ryan for E McCarthy (56), Heather Spillane for K Downey (58), Anna Downey for A Moloney (60).

Referee: Patrick Smith (Waterford)