Tyrone vs Kerry: Looking back on their championship rivalry ahead of All-Ireland quarter-final

Saturday's opening All-Ireland Football quarter-final at Croke Park will be the ninth championship meeting between Kerry and Tyrone with the tally currently four wins apiece.

The GAA was 102 years old when the counties finally battled at championship level in the 1986 All-Ireland final.

That day, Kerry fought back from seven down with just over 20 minutes left to win by eight as the Red Hands were left to rue Kevin McCabe scooping a penalty over the bar during a vital period of the contest as well as injuries during the game to key performers Eugene McKenna and John Lynch.

But it took a further 17 years for the Red Hands' rivalry with the Kingdom to be truly spawned.

That was when Kerry were utterly spooked by the swarm defence tactic adopted by the Red Hands as Mickey Harte's side won the 2003 All-Ireland semi-final 0-13 to 0-6 in his opening year in charge before they went on to clinch the county's first Sam Maguire Cup triumph a few weeks later against Armagh.

Infamously an indignant Pat Spillane, who had scored Kerry's first goal moments after McCabe's penalty miss in the 1986 decider, dubbed Tyrone's method as "puke football" in the RTE television studio after the 2003 game.

In that very moment, an intense rivalry was born and in truth, it has never gone away.

Pat Spillane (left) scored Kerry's match-turning goal in the 1986 All-Ireland final after Tyrone's Kevin McCabe (right) had kicked a penalty over the bar moments earlier

1986 ALL-IRELAND FINAL - KERRY 2-15 TYRONE 1-10

Kerry's 1986 triumph proved the last hurrah for Mick O'Dwyer's legendary band of Kingdom players as they clinched an eighth Sam Maguire in 12 years but they were already creaking that day as Tyrone's inexperience saw them contrive to lose a seemingly insurmountable seven-point advantage with just over 20 minutes left.

Granted, McCabe's skied penalty over the bar was the obvious turning point but it shouldn't necessarily have been as his point had increased the Red Hands' advantage to seven.

McCabe, who was Tyrone's first All-Star in 1980, later said that Tyrone had factored in every possible scenario that day apart from having to hold onto a big lead.

Sam did indeed seem on his way north of the border for the first time since Down's 1968 triumph as Paudge Quinn's goal helped the Red Hands take their big lead.

A successful McCabe penalty past Charlie Nelligan would have put Tyrone nine ahead but within seconds that man Spillane has palmed the ball to the net past Aidan Skelton at the other end to cut the Red Hands' advantage to four.

Mikey Sheehy, finally given room to express himself after the injury-enforced departure of teak tough Tyrone defender Lynch, soon blasted in Kerry's second goal as the Kingdom outscored their shell-shocked opponents 1-11 to 0-2 in the closing 20-odd minutes of action.

Tyrone's swarm defence tactic against Kerry in the 2003 All-Ireland Football semi-final was described as "puke football" by RTE analyst and Kingdom great Pat Spillane

2003 ALL-IRELAND SEMI-FINAL - TYRONE 0-13 KERRY 0-6

A year after squandering a half-time lead to lose the All-Ireland Final against Armagh, the Kingdom were to endure an even more chastening afternoon as the Red Hands dominated the 2003 All-Ireland semi-final from the start despite losing talisman Peter Canavan to injury early on.

Tyrone's insatiable desire saw them hit the opening six points and the lead was 0-9 to 0-2 at half-time as the Kingdom had no match for the Red Hands' running game and ferocity in the tackle.

One lengthy sequence of play in the first half saw Kerry's firstly Dara O Cinneide and then Eoin Brosnan, while in their own half, become surrounded by a posse of Tyrone players as they fruitlessly attempted to gain ground with ball in hand.

A furious Pat Spillane delivered his verdict to the TV audience afterwards but there had been no doubting Tyrone's superiority on a day when Paidi O Se's side had no answer to the game plan devised by Mickey Harte.

Peter Canavan helped Tyrone clinch a second All-Ireland title in three seasons in 2005 before announcing his inter-county retirement

2005 ALL-IRELAND FINAL - TYRONE 1-16 KERRY 2-10

After regaining the All-Ireland title in 2004, Kerry faced up to Tyrone again in the 2005 decider but once again the Red Hands proved too good as Peter Canavan's classy finish for his first-half goal ultimately proved the difference between the sides.

Dara O Cinneide's early goal helped the Kingdom lead 1-2 to 0-2 but Harte's side dominated the second quarter with Canavan's precise low strike past Diarmuid Murphy after an Owen Mulligan pass contributing to the Red Hands' 1-8 to 1-5 half-time lead.

A couple of Stephen O'Neill points kept Tyrone in control despite Kerry's best efforts and while Tomas O Se did blast in a second Kingdom goal in the 56th minute to cut the margin to one, scores from Canavan, O'Neill, Brian McGuigan and Philip Jordan helped the Red Hands close the game out.

After notching his first-half goal, Canavan was substituted but the Errigal Ciaran star was introduced again during the closing stages of the second half in what proved his final inter-county appearance before his retirement.

Tyrone clinched the title after a remarkable 10-game campaign which saw them requiring replays against Cavan and Armagh in the Ulster semi-final and final, with the Orchard men winning the provincial title, and then having two contests against Dublin in the quarter-finals.

2008 ALL-IRELAND FINAL - TYRONE 1-15 KERRY 0-14

Tommy McGuigan's goal a minute after half-time helped Tyrone maintain their winning championship sequence against the Kingdom in the 2008 All-Ireland decider with man of the match Sean Cavanagh's five points also proving crucial for Mickey Harte's side.

Tyrone's build-up to the match had been dominated by Stephen O'Neill's return to the squad for the decider although he was relatively subdued after being introduced for the injured Colm McCullagh on 23 minutes.

Kerry led 0-8 to 0-7 after a first half which included an astonishing score by Brian Dooher moments after a superb save by Finbarr McConnell as the Tyrone skipper burst down the right-hand sideline, brushed off three challenges, before arrowing the ball over the bar.

McGuigan's goal put the Red Hands ahead immediately after the resumption and while a Colm Cooper point saw the Kingdom regain the advantage in the 56th minute, Tyrone finished the stronger to clinch their third title in six seasons.

A Kieran Donaghy goal helped Kerry earn their first championship win over Tyrone in four attempts as the Kingdom beat the Red Hands in an All-Ireland qualifier in Killarney

2012 ALL-IRELAND QUALIFIER - KERRY 1-16 TYRONE 1-6

Kerry's euphoric celebrations after their comprehensive win in the 2012 round-three qualifier in Killarney indicated redemption of sorts after what had transpired before before although it was to prove an ultimately unsuccessful campaign for them as they lost to eventual champions Donegal in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

The Kingdom led 0-8 to 0-2 and while a Conor Gormley goal reduced their advantage to just two following the restart, Kieran Donaghy replied with an immediate goal as Brian McGuigan's red card summed up a disappointing day for the well-beaten Red Hands.

2015 ALL-IRELAND SEMI-FINAL - KERRY 0-18 TYRONE 1-11

The turning of the tide in the Kingdom's favour continued in the 2015 All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park as they edged a 0-18 to 1-11 win which wasn't without controversy, with the Red Hands feeling they had been denied a second penalty not long after Peter Harte had successfully slotted a spot-kick which had helped bring them level.

However referee Maurice Deegan instead booked Red Hands substitute Padraig McNulty for play-acting which allowed Kerry to remain a point ahead before they notched three late scores to close out victory.

Tyrone were also left to reflect on earlier missed goal chances with Kerry keeper Brendan Kealy brilliantly denying Mark Bradley and Connor McAliskey also having an effort blocked by Marc O Se in addition to blasting over the bar when a pass to the unmarked Darren McCurry appeared the better option.

2019 ALL-IRELAND SEMI-FINAL - KERRY 1-18 TYRONE 0-18

Tyrone looked in a good position to secure a second successive All-Ireland Final place when they led Kerry 0-9 to 0-5 at half-time in the 2019 semi-final but a Stephen O'Brien goal gave the Kingdom a lead which they never relinquished as they set up a final against five-in-a-row seeking Dublin.

Cathal McShane scored three first-half points as the Red Hands appeared in control but Sean O'Shea's two frees helped Kerry half the deficit before the key moment of the match as Paul Geaney set up O'Brien to net past Niall Morgan.

Peter Harte did have a Tyrone goal chance minutes later but could only produce a weak palmed effort as Kerry held on despite a late Red Hands rally.

Cathal McShane's two goals helped Tyrone stun Kerry in the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final

2021 ALL-IRELAND SEMI-FINAL - TYRONE 3-14 KERRY 0-22

After losing their three previous championship contests against the Kingdom, it seemed like we were suddenly back in the noughties two years ago as the Red Hands, with Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher having taken over Mickey Harte, earned a truly epic semi-final victory after extra-time.

A couple of weeks earlier, it looked as though Kerry were going to be handed a bye to the decider following the Tyrone county board's announcement that it wouldn't be able to fulfil the fixture after close to 20 members of the Red Hands squad tested positive for Covid-19.

However, the Kerry county board agreed to delay the semi-final by a week and Tyrone somehow summoned up the energy to produce arguably the county's greatest ever win.

A Conor McKenna goal helped the Red Hands lead 1-7 to 0-9 at half-time and while Kerry forced extra-time after Cathal McShane had notched Tyrone's goal late in normal time, McShane's second goal proved decisive as the Kingdom were forced to play the final 20 minutes of action without injured David Clifford.

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