To be sucker punched

waiting to see who we would face. When Monaghan came out of the hat it didn’t ruffle us. Were we a little complacent? I think so.

We were definitely over confident. We just never got going that day and were lucky men to survive and edge through to a semi-final.

In all my time with Kerry the dressing room at half-time that day was a tough place. In fairness our leaders really stood up and we found a few extra gears to get us over the line. Looking back I don’t think we even did that much analysis on Monaghan.

We may have been given a DVD of a few of their games but if I’m to be honest I don’t think too many of our guys even took it out of the case. We just felt that if we show up and play to our potential that we’ll blow this crowd out of the water.

It didn’t work out that way though and a big part of that was the four or five week lay-off that we had after the Munster final. It took us 35 or 40 minutes against Monaghan to find that level again and we were just lucky that they didn’t put us away in that period.

Fast forward to 2017 and Kerry find themselves in the exact same position. They have had a long break and will face a team who are coming off the back of a huge confidence-boosting performance.

What if Kerry take 35 or 40 minutes the next day to find their feet might it be too late? Galway have the aces in their pack to take advantage of any Kerry performance that is not to its usual high standard.

They have a set of forwards who are now becoming household names. Flynn, Daly, Armstrong (who looked particularly dangerous against Donegal) and Comer are all a handful for any defender.

Shane Walsh on his day is a match winner all by himself so Kerry will have to be aware that if they are any way off the pace especially at the back then they will be punished.

Any side who can rifle in four goals against a side like Donegal who pride themselves on their defensive set up must be marshalled. I expect the Kerry rearguard to be really tested on Sunday.

Going back to that Monaghan game in 2007 and I mentioned that it was experience that played a big part in us edging the win that day.

I think the same will apply on Sunday and it’s a major advantage for Kerry.

This group have won five Munster titles in-a-row and so are well used to getting ready for a quarter-final against a side who have a bit of momentum coming into the game. I have no doubt that man for man Kerry are a better side than Galway and if play to their potential will win.

It’s vital that they hit the ground running though. By all accounts training has gone well and Eamonn can report a full bill of health with Bryan Sheehan the only doubt.

There is a huge amount of experience throughout the squad and I’m sure the leaders of the group will be getting the message across this week of how important it is that they settle into the game as quickly as possible.

Over the past few seasons we seem to have stuttered and stammered against the likes of Clare, Cavan and, indeed, Galway a couple of years back. We never looked like losing the games, but we found it hard to play with fluency and pace we know we possess.

If we can start quick and let Galway know that we are ready to take whatever they might have to throw at us I feel that overall we just have too much quality.

Galway have the aces in their pack to take advantage of any Kerry performance that is not to its usual high standard