Defence is first building block of
If this Kerry team is to have any chance of catching up with Dublin they must start by putting down a near impenetrable defence, writes Paul Brennan
WHERE to from here? That was the question on every Kerry supporter’s lips leaving Croke Park on Sunday evening and it has dominated the discourse since. There have been understandable grumblings with several aspects of last Sunday’s (non)-performance against Dublin but it’s important that some context is put into the mix. That’s not to say Sunday wasn’t a chastening experience for all concerned, or that there aren’t serious issues to be addressed by the Kerry management immediately, but the babies, as it were, that Eamonn Fitzmaurice is looking to develop into the next serious Kerry team shouldn’t be thrown out with the bath water.
Whatever about taking a 12-point beating at the hands of the All-Ireland champions who are still very much a team in their pomp, it’s the last three results and performances that is concerning. While there was some redemption in the second half fight-back against Monaghan above in Inniskeen, that first half against the Farney men, along with the whole game against Galway, and all but the first 20 minutes against Dublin, just hasn’t been acceptable for a team that surely harbours All-Ireland title ambitions.
The goals and goal chances being coughed up by a chronically porous Kerry defence, the lack of goals scored at the other end - none in the last three games -, the long stretches in games without any score (29 minutes last Sunday), and the apparent lack of any discernible style or game plan, are all, by any metric, a real concern. We’ve been here before, of course, with poor League form and relegation worries in March and things have righted themselves later in the year and come good in general terms.
In his first year in charge, Fitzmaurice lost his first four League games but Kerry still worked their way to an All-Ireland semi-final. The following year the first three League games were lost and Kerry won the All-Ireland later in the year. All-Irelands aren’t won in March but the foundations are put in place at that time of year, and there are many who will look back to those 2013 and 2014 seasons as a lighthouse in these darkish days.
The concern, however, is that back then Dublin were still very much a team amongst equals but now they have accelerated light years ahead of the rest, including Kerry. Quite what Kerry have to do to reel them back in, and how exactly they go about it, is the pressing question and task for all concerned. Persevering with the new crop of young players is absolutely the right way to go, even if there might be a temptation to default back to the more senior players in the panel. And that’s no criticism of players such as Kieran Donaghy, Donnchadh Walsh, Darran O’Sullivan, Anthony Maher, Killian Young and David Moran. And that’s certainly not saying there’s no place for many, if not all, of those men. With the Super 8s coming this summer and the probability of three ‘last eight’ games and then an All-Ireland semi-final in the space of five weeks, a deep and wily panel of players will be required.
But if there is a general acceptance that Kerry won’t win the All-Ireland this year (or if they do it will be against all known form) then surely the longer-term view needs to be taken. That means using the rest of the League and the Championship to further bring players like David Clifford, Sean O’Shea, Jason Foley, Gavin Crowley, Micheal Burns, Jack Barry and others up to senior inter-county pace. The stark reality is that Donaghy, Walsh, Darran O’Sullivan and Maher in all likelihood won’t be Kerry footballers in 2019, and if they couldn’t get Kerry to an All-Ireland Final in 2017 what chance is there that they will in 2018?
In the meantime, issues in defence need to be addressed immediately or else what should be a smooth run through the Munster Championship in June could become a very uncomfortable one. There’s no doubt the return of Tadhg Morley will improve matters, while his Templenoe team mate, Gavin Crowley, showed plenty of promise in the early rounds of the League before picking up an injury that is likely to sideline him for the rest of the campaign. Whether Killian Young or Mark Griffin can force their way back in the defence for the provincial championship remains to be seen, but right now the problem seems to be more about structure than personnel.
Compared to Dublin and Mayo in last year’s All-Ireland semi-finals, Kerry just don’t tackle very well. They don’t stand up opponents they way those other two teams to, and they don’t turn over enough possessions in defence.