Leaving the result and the implications of another two dropped points aside for the moment, Kerry’s performance in Omagh on Sunday will have certainly left the management team with more questions than answers this week.
he concession of goal chances is again something that Kerry won’t have been too happy about. Against Mayo a few weeks ago, the Kerry defence looked vulnerable when they were ran at. On Sunday it was high balls in that caused havoc for the Kerry defenders. The first was a line ball driven into the square where Conn Fitzpatrick outfielded Jack Barry, worked a good chance for himself and was only denied a goal by a great save by Shane Ryan with his hands. The second was a high ball that hopped, Tyrone won the break and again Ryan saved expertly with his feet this time to save Kerry.
To be fair, I felt Tadhg Morley was fouled after the ball hopped on that occasion but the referee, who made quite a few very dubious calls against Kerry throughout and had a poor game overall, let the play go on.
Kerry certainly don’t seem as watertight at the back as they were last year though which is a worry, and something they will have to work on in training over the next few weeks if they are to be in with a chance of retaining the Sam Maguire.
Kerry actually started the game brilliantly with Seanie O’Shea’s well taken goal coming after just two minutes, and they led by five points after a quarter of an hour. It looked like the visitors were cruising and a Kerry win was inevitable at that stage. However, a freak goal from Tyrone, where Shane Ryan won the ball, went to turn away from the Tyrone player putting pressure on him and inadvertently spilled the ball into his own net when tackled, turned the game on its head and gave Tyrone the confidence to claw their way back into the game. It was an unfortunate moment for Shane who otherwise had a fine game, making those two vital saves in the first half when Tyrone goals looked certain.
Another big concern for Kerry – and another question for the management as to why this was – was that they only scored 1-2 in the second half on. The funny thing is while watching the game I felt that the second half was a lot more open than the first but that certainly wasn’t the case on the scoreboard. In the first half both teams decided to give up kick-outs for the most part and retreat back into a defensive system to make it hard for the other team to score.
It’s tough to watch such negative football but it is the way the game has gone unfortunately and makes for grim viewing at times. The old school purists who watched the golden generation winning All-Irelands playing catch and kick football in times gone by would be pulling their hair out looking at today’s game.
However, as much as we would love to see open free flowing football, Kerry have had to move with the times and adopt a similar game when playing against a packed defence. Jack O’Connor is not naïve enough to think you can beat these types of teams by leaving yourself open at the back while being crowded out and turned over at the other end of the field. Tyrone did decide to push on the Kerry kick-out just before half time, won the last two kick-outs and kicked two good scores which saw the teams go in level at half time, rather than Tyrone being two adrift.
One would wonder why they waited so long to adopt this approach as they certainly reaped rewards from it. It must be so frustrating this time of year for gifted forwards like David Clifford been double and treble marked every time he gets on the ball due to the sheer velocity of numbers the opposition have back. At times on Sunday he was starved of possession and had to try and come out around the half forward half line to get on ball and ended up taking pot shots from distances that as we have seen in the past are well within his radar but didn’t quite come off against Tyrone bar one beauty in the first half.
I felt sorry for Darragh Roche. He was taken off at half time but to be fair to him little ball came his way in the first half and when it did there were two or three bodies around him each time. Credit to Tyrone though, they got their tactics right. After a poor start they began to gain control in most areas of the field. They tackled with ferocity, held up the Kerry player on the ball and turned it over over on countless occasions. This was highlighted in the 60th minute when David Clifford won a ball and was immediately met by four Tyrone men and Kerry were caught for over carrying. It visibly lifted the Tyrone team and set them up for a strong finish that Kerry could just not match.
You would have to question Kerry’s decision making throughout the game. On numerous occasions they carried the ball into the tackle or took the wrong option. Their build-up play was too cumbersome and lateral and they didn’t have that injection of pace off the shoulder that can cause defensive systems trouble. The one occasion in the second half that Donal O’Sullivan went at his marker and a Kerry player did come off his shoulder at pace it led to the Kerry goal, with experienced defender Paul Murphy being the man to apply that injection of pace and a wonderful finish.
Gavin White, who is back in training, and Brian O Beaglaoich, when he returns, should add that extra bit of impetuous that Kerry need in this regard.
Again on Sunday you would have to question Kerry’s lack of leadership when the game was in the melting pot and there to be won in the last ten minutes. Which Kerry player was going to be the man to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and drag his team over the line? Unfortunately nobody stood up. Instead Kerry allowed Tyrone to drive on and finish with a flurry. One might say their need was greater given the fact that a loss would have pretty much ended their hopes of survival in Division One.
As I stated last week, Tyrone were always going to be reinvigorated by the sight of a Kerry jersey coming up the road as All-Ireland champions and they will be hoping to use the win as a catalyst to get their year up and running. They still have class all over the pitch. Both the man of the match award winner Mattie Donnelly, who rolled back the years kicking three points from play, and the classy Darragh Canavan caused the Kerry full back line serious problems.
Conn Fitzpatrick and Brian Kennedy form a strong midfield partnership and the team is dogged at the back and hard to break down. Unfortunately at the moment they seem to be this Kerry team’s bogey team. They seem to match up well with our big players and have now defeated Kerry in their last two league campaigns as well as the All-Ireland semi-final in 2021. Hopefully if Kerry meet them later in the Championship they can set that record straight.
It is hard to single out too many of the Kerry performances for praise on Sunday. I thought Seanie O’Shea started brilliantly, had 1-1 kicked from play in the opening 15 minutes and looked sharp and industrious. As the game went on he tired, however, which had to be expected with little football under his belt this season. In fact, most players visibly tired as the second half progressed and I hope that it is that Kerry are still persisting with a heavy block of training that will benefit them later in the year, rather than still being that much off fitness-wise in March, only a few weeks out from the Championship.
Tom O’Sullivan did a good job in marshalling Darren McCurry and keeping him quiet. Paul Murphy had another decent outing and Donal O’Sullivan was a bright spark when he came on, kicking one great score and setting up the goal. His willingness to turn and take on the opposing defender when he gets on the ball is very refreshing.
I felt Tony Brosnan had a good first half also, kicking a point from play and also a good mark after a great ball from Paudie Clifford, and was a bit bemused to see him being hauled off so early in the second half.
Jack O’Connor has spoken a few times about being a bit behind the curve ball in terms of preparation this year. He won’t be too upset about the result on Sunday but the one thing he will be concerned about is the lack of consistency in Kerry’s performance.
Last year, barring the loss to Tyrone in Killarney, Kerry were super consistent and kept improving as the year went on. This year it has been very up and down so far. With only two games left in the league the time for experimentation has probably passed. Some lads have taken their opportunity, others have not.
Jack’s thoughts will now start turning towards getting everyone back fit and getting as close as possible to his Championship 15 on the pitch for the next couple of games. Roscommon coming down to the Kingdom in two weeks times will be another good test and one Kerry need to overcome to stave off any threats of relegation and build up a bit of confidence within the group leading into the business end of the year.
