Kerry’s Paudie Clifford has been voted GAA.ie Footballer of the Week after a fantastic performance against 2020 Munster Senior Football Championship winners Tipperary in the provincial semi-final.
The forward received 5,923 votes from the public, over 1,000 more than Tyrone’s Darren McCurry and Mayo’s Ryan O’Donoghue.
The older brother of fellow inter-county star David Clifford made his first start for Kerry earlier this year and has performed brilliantly so far in 2021.
His performance against Davy Power’s Tipperary continued this trend with the Fossa native leading the Kerry attack to an impressive 1-19 (22) to 1-8 (11) victory.
He controlled Kerry’s attacking tempo with 34 possessions underlining his importance as a playmaker in the final third, the most in the Kerry side.
His work allowed his brother David and Killian Spillane to shine, with the former grabbing a goal on the day to help Kerry gain control of the tie.
Sean O’Shea also benefitted from the East Kerry forward’s movement in the final third as he moved into scoring positions because of it.
Paudie’s point is the icing on the cake for a spectacular performance that earned him the Man of the Match award and solidified Kerry as one of the top sides in GAA this year.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Clifford acknowledged the strength of Ronan McCarthy’s Cork side, who beat them in last year’s Munster semi-final.
“These two games are going to give us a good template to go on but, obviously, we’re going to have to lift it another bit for Cork.”
Kerry will play Cork in the 2021 Munster Senior Football Championship Final, a repeat of the 2019 final which saw the Kingdom edge a tight game.
Cork will want to go one step further than they have been able to go in the past nine
The final will be held on Sunday, July 25th at 4 pm in Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney.
