Culture of excellence is well established
Jason O’Connor reflects on the Kingdom’s sixth successive Munster minor football championship title
ALTOUGH one point shy of matching what the Kerry Under 20s registered the previous evening in Tralee against Waterford, the Kerry Minors showed there is much the same desire to match what their immediate predecessors have done in their own time as minors themselves.
The only real sense of contest was in the first quarter before the expected procession started in earnest. To be fair to this Clare side, there appeared to be more drive about them that the 2017 class who pretty much threw in the towel early in Killarney twelve months ago.
Far too many things had to go their way however for a shock result to accrue as they could not cope with point after point when Kerry got their early wake-up call from Thomas Kelly’s goal.
What was more striking about a run of 1-12 was that it was not all centred around a figure head like David Clifford last year in Fitzgerald Stadium.
This time it was all about a more collective effort with the amount of different players that scored and, while Paul Walsh was the stand-out performer in general, Clifford’s first cousin and current team captain Paul O’Shea gave a glimpse of the promise that has been spoken about him by more seasoned underage observers.
Given a bit more freedom to attack than his role in the win over Cork, O’Shea looked very much at ease in imposing himself on the game until injury forced him off.
Walsh has been Kerry’s best performer in the Munster campaign over the course of the three games, as while he probably did not mean for the two goals that Dylan Geaney scored to be converted in the way they were, there is a good ability to find a man for a score as much as take one himself.
The man he picked out for the pass that won the nerve-racking encounter with Cork, Jack O’Connor of Beaufort, scored Kerry’s very first point on Saturday after getting the very last score in the previous game but to have a double digit total in terms of scorers is something to enthuse any side at any level in Gaelic football.
The Kerry defence might not have been under the microscope as much as they were against Cork but the fact they were opened up for three goalscoring chances did not escape Peter Keane’s thoughts after the game.
There never is an ideal time to find out that work needs to be done in any given area but such attention being required arising out of last Saturday might be no
bad thing ahead of what is now a ‘straight knock-out’ phase.
Having said that one should not discount goalkeeper Marc Kelliher rising to the challenge when he was called upon three times, an experience that might prove vital in more critical junctures of tighter games down the road.
Centre-back Dan McCarthy took a fairly hefty shoulder in the opening minute, but regrouped and looked the part again in much the same way he did in the semi-final with Cork while the midfield of Darragh Rahilly and Darragh Lyne did little wrong when on the pitch last Saturday.
With a 45th Munster Minor title and a 27th consecutive win for the county at this level now achieved the discussion will turn to possible All-Ireland chances. The change of age means we have no form guide to go on (as much as we ever had at Under 18 level), but Connacht opposition in the quarter-final will sharpen Peter Keane’s mind to last August in Ennis in the once-off Under 17 competition to compensate for the drop in age this year hence.
The Kingdom lost to Roscommon in the All-Ireland semi-final and, while totally different players are involved now, Keane will now well what to expect from western opposition.
If Ennis is the venue again at the end of July it will be poignant but with a Round Robin to assess possible opposition, the Minor management will not be short of briefing notes in preparing for the last eight.
The players will fill the time with County Minor Championship matters, a slight anomaly in it being still an Under 18 competition, but at this stage everyone involved knows who’s who and who is or isn’t eligible for inter-county level.
Come what may at All-Ireland level one hopes that a consensus will emerge to rid the Munster Minor Championship of the controversial format that has drawn fierce criticism in recent years.
Munster Council Chairman Jerry O’Sullivan is on record as saying a review is in the pipeline and while a full ‘Round Robin’ might not be the answer as the Kerry minor boss highlighted in his pre-match comments, let’s hope whatever is introduced doesn’t punish teams for winning as has happened in recent times.
All that aside the county’s underage structure and personnel can savour a historic achievement as further reward for all their efforts nurturing the county’s brilliant young footballers.
One hopes that a consensus will emerge to rid Munster of the controversial format that has drawn criticism