Trouncing such a poor Cork side won’t do Kerry any good
WHEN this game started, looking at the Cork line-up, I expected Kerry to get a test. They were plenty of good players — from Jamie O’Sullivan to Ian Maguire and Aidan Walsh in the middle of the field up to Ruairí Deane and Luke Connolly. That test never materialised. I can’t remember ever seeing as poor a Cork side.
They had no plan at all. There was no method or cohesion to their game. They got two early goals — which were sloppy goals to concede — and Deane was at the centre of both of those. He was the one player for the length of time that he was on the field that tried to put it up to Kerry. But they lost him to a black card, at the same time that Kerry lost Stephen O’Brien, who scored a fantastic goal himself, showing where he is at his most dangerous, running in with his blistering pace from the wing.
Pace is the theme of this superb Kerry performance. Éamonn Fitzmaurice now has pace all over the field when compared to the side that I played in. And that might have been Éamonn’s main point of focus when he decided to re-build this team. He was looking for fast players. He has found them in abundance.
In Gavin White, we witnessed the new Jack McCaffrey last night. The way he can tackle, the way he sprints up the field. He was excellent all evening and I was impressed by every facet of the Kerry half-back line.
I had concerns about the Kerry defence, especially given that Luke Connolly had scored 10 points against Tipp. But Jason Foley, the new kid on the block in the full-back line, didn’t give him a sniff. Foley is a real North Kerry defender. He plays on the edge in a style they appreciate up there. There’s a real teak-toughness to him like Liam Flaherty, Tim Kennelly or Eamon Breen.
Kerry were outstanding. David Moran set the tone in the secondhalf, controlling things in the middle. Jack Barry was very industrious beside him. I have already sung the praises of the half-back line. It’s full of pace, if not physicality. With the exception of Tadhg Morley, Peter Crowley and Foley, the other defenders aren’t as physical. But they have pace to burn.
The forward line was superb. Sean O’Shea is a fantastic footballer, who just took Cork on every opportunity he got. David Clifford showed last night that he is the real deal in terms of temperament that he showed, early on when Cork were giving him loads of stuff off the ball.
I was very impressed by Kevin McCarthy, whose brother Michael I soldiered with for years. He was very influential when he came on and will now push for a start.
It doesn’t do Kerry any good that Cork are so poor. And the worrying thing is that they have ran up two cricket scores in Munster as they head into the Super 8s. Everyone talks about the lack of competition for Dublin in Leinster, but it is the exact same for Kerry in their province.
A trouncing like this certainly does Cork no good. Ronan McCarthy has a lot to ponder. I was really shocked by how poor Cork were, especially in a first Munster final at their new stadium. It is hard to see how he can repair the damage and lift them to get into the Super 8s.