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You are > Home > Have Kerry lost their chance?
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Thursday, June 10, 2010
Have Kerry lost their chance?
BY SEÁN COUNIHAN
THE crowds came, the sun shone, and there was colour and banter in plentiful supply in Killarney on Sunday as those two old rivals, Kerry and Cork, treated supporters to yet another exciting match in Fitzgerald Stadium.
While Kerry will be happy to have earned another game with the Rebels, thanks to those two late scores from Barry John Keane and Colm Cooper, the GAA will also be rubbing their hands in delight at the thought of Sunday’s replay.
Maybe a draw was the fairest result though both sides were guilty of missing goal chances while they also had to deal with a fussy referee that gave Cork everything in the last 15 minutes of the first half and did likewise to Kerry in the second half.
The foul on Colm Cooper for Kerry’s late equalising free was debatable and put it like this, if it was given against us then we would be up in arms.
But it was given as a free and Cooper was cool under pressure with that late great kick.
It all means that Kerry and Cork must meet again in Pairc Uí Chaoimh this Sunday, and I feel that Conor Counihan’s men will benefit more from Sunday’s game than we will.
I don’t believe that Kerry would have settled for a draw before this semi-final but we were lucky to come away from Killarney and still be in the provincial championship.
Cork were the better team but once again they failed to put us away. And that’s a theme that has run through recent championship meetings between the two.
Alan O’Connor and Aidan Walsh, after a poor start, dominated the midfield and we even struggled to get to the pitch of the breaking ball.
Kerry’s tactic of short-passing the ball across the field and backwards was appalling to watch, and particularly when we were scrapping for possession.
Remember the last few sentences of my column last week. I backed Kerry to win by two points but we would need help from the management around the midfield area.
Kerry nearly got it right. But it took them over 55 minutes to do so. We did not win one breaking ball until Paul Galvin arrived on the scene after 55 minutes.
Galvin brought the leadership and then Declan O’Sullivan, who was well marshalled by Michael Shields, Colm Cooper and Kieran Donaghy all upped their game for the last quarter.
But Cork must now be sick of leaving games slip against Kerry.
That said, if one was to watch their demeanour after the game, one could see than an extra quality game will benefit the Rebels.
But the same can be said for Kerry because now the management team will have to do some thinking again.
Anthony Maher was, by far, the most impressive of Kerry’s four midfielders that played on Sunday, even if Seamus Scanlon did quite a lot of work in his own back line in the first half when we were playing with the wind.
Moving Kieran Donaghy out the field in the first half was not a smart move. He is a full forward. That’s where he should be played. And he should not be moved around the field.
Donaghy is also better when the ball played into him is fast and chest-high, not the high ball that spends an eternity in the air before it lands in and around him. His teammates should know this by now.
Another factor in that type of ball was down to the poor reading of the game by the Kerry forwards in trying to pick up anything that was knocked down by Donaghy.
No Kerry player was reading the breaking ball properly.
Cork’s Paudie Kissane, who is a wing back we must remember, tormented Kerry all day and he kicked 0-3, yet how long did it take for Kerry to make a change? The answer: 60 minutes. The damage was done by then.
I couldn’t believe that Kerry didn’t make a change in the half forward line sooner than they did because we were well off the pace there and we weren’t even competing for the breaking ball. It was too easy, at times, for Cork.
I know that this is a good Cork team and that we had a fair few lads that were off the pace but I feel that we stood off them far too much during the game.
Graham Canty and James O’Sullivan did good marking jobs on Donaghy and Cooper respectively.
Indeed, Cooper had to come very deep to get the ball and while he did orchestrate a few scores – including a glorious ball to Barry John Keane for his point – it says a lot that he had to go looking for the ball.
I have often said that these particular Kerry players owe the county nothing and owe the footballing public nothing, and they don’t need fellas like me writing about them because they know themselves that what was offered up on Sunday just wasn’t up to the standard that they aspire to.
One of the Kerry half backs had, what I felt, was his worst game in a Kerry jersey but there are always going to be days like that.
But like I said, this is a very good Cork team. And if they could get the Kerry monkey off their back then they could be a very good team. They too, like Kerry, need to be more direct with the play. They also have the Kerry problem of ball retention.
So have Kerry lost the chance of going through the front door in this year’s championship? Based on what I saw on Sunday, I would have to say yes.
But perhaps those final ten minutes on Sunday when the management achieved a good balance and pace with the team will stand to Kerry in Pairc Uí Chaoimh.
Kerry will put it up to the Rebels again this Sunday but will it be good enough? The jury is out on that one.
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