A Kingdom meets a Tribe: match preview

WELL this is it... the proof of the pudding.

This is the day we’ll find out just what this Kerry team is made of. The games in Munster against Clare and Cork told us some things for sure. They told us that if you give this Kerry team an inch they’ll take a mile.

They told us that there’s an intensity and an aggression to this young team. Sit back and they’ll get in your face. They’ll push up and apply pressure on opposing kick-outs. They’ll do their best to disrupt their opponents’ game plan.

They told us that Éamonn Fitzmaurice has probably the most potent set of forwards in the country at his disposal. They told us that Kerry can rip any defence to shreds if given time and space on the ball.

What those games didn’t tell us is how the Kingdom would react to a period of sustained pressure. Clare barely offered any threat going forward and, outside of the first ten minutes of the Munster final, neither did Cork.

Even in those opening ten minutes Cork weren’t exactly rampant. You could even argue that the 2-1 the Rebels scored inside the opening nine minutes were against the run of play.

The Cork goals showed up certain weaknesses in the Kerry defence – there was a vulnerability to a long ball – the trouble was it wasn’t in anyway a sustained barrage. It was the briefest of stress tests for the Kingdom.

Fitzmaurice and his management team would have preferred surely if the Rebels had offered more. The area of the team over which there were the greatest number of questions remains largely untested, that’s not ideal before a trip to Croke Park for what could be and should be a season-defining game.

It is worth pointing out that after those opening ten minutes Kerry looked pretty good in defence. They were alive to the danger, quick to respond to it and strong in getting out in front and cutting out the supply-lines.

The sheer number of turnovers Cork conceded in the game tells you that they were under pressure. Some of that undoubtedly was down to a really below-par performance from the blood and bandages, but more of it was due to how much pressure Kerry were putting on all over the pitch (from Paul Geaney and David Clifford on down).

All that said we would urge a certain amount of caution from the Kerry supporters. There seems to be this notion doing the rounds that all Kerry have to do is turn up and that they’ll easily overcome the Tribesmen this weekend.

That, in our view, greatly underestimates the progress Galway have had and greatly overestimates the value of the Kingdom’s Munster championship campaign. That Galway had to struggle and strive to get over Roscommon in the Connacht final is a good thing, not a bad thing from their point of view. Kevin Walsh would have learned so much about his team from that game and his players would have learned so much about themselves too. They would have learned that they can’t afford to let their intensity levels drop, they would have learned that they have a reservoir of resistance.

Kerry’s Munster campaign was satisfying for supporters – how could it not be with the players who’ve emerged and they way they’ve performed – but Galway’s Connacht campaign, which included a battle with the old enemy in Westport, is worth far more to them than Kerry’s saunter to yet another title. It’s not an outrageous thing to suggest that Galway have done more than Kerry have this year. Galway were the more impressive side in the league for what it’s worth. When they came to Tralee they were by far the better side.

When the Dubs visited Salthill, the Tribesmen dug out a draw and, then, in the league final they travelled to Croke Park – their some time bogey ground – and gave a really good account of themselves.

The Tribesmen weren’t that far off Dublin on that occasion, had a couple of decisions at crucial times of the game gone their way they might even have won it. Compare that with how Kerry performed against the Dubs at Headquarters – there’s no comparison.

Yes, of course, league is league and championship is championship and Kerry have improved a lot since then – and we’re judging that on the basis of the most uncompetitive Munster championship in living memory – it nevertheless needs to be pointed out given the current level of exuberance within the county. Galway are no pub team and Kerry are no Harlem Globetrotters, not yet at any rate. Sunday’s game is going to be a real game. Galway will contest with Kerry all over the pitch.

They’ve got the kind of forwards that Clare or Cork would kill for. Shane Walsh is having his best season so far as a senior and Damien Comer is the type of player who can be an absolute nightmare for a full-back line, especially one like Kerry’s which has questions hanging over it. Galway’s defence, meanwhile, is sure to put up much greater resistance to Kerry’s front six. The space and time in which Kerry revelled in Munster will be at a premium as the Tribesmen filter men back (a likely battle between Seán Andy Ó Ceallaigh and Paul Geaney will be worth looking out for too). Kick-out strategy and midfield will, obviously, be critical. Can Kerry pressure Galway’s the way they did Cork’s and Clare’s? Can Galway pressure Shane Murphy on his first Croke Park day as Kerry number one? Will David Moran maintain the majestic form from Páirc Uí Chaoimh against a possible Galway midfield of Fiontan Ó Curraoin and Paul Conroy? Anybody who tells you with one hundred percent certainty that this is going to be easy for Kerry hasn’t really been paying attention. Look it’s possible Kerry will win this one easily – they were sensational in Munster – but a real battle, a contest, is much more likely.

If Kerry emerge the victors by a point or two it’ll be a job well done. Verdict: Kerry