Junior footballers make it four All-Ireland titles in four years

This championship has worked well for Kerry over the years but is in need of a major overhaul before much longer

FINALS are rarely easily won. Even if it appears that way on the scoreboard by the end it’s rarely that simple. All the same of all the finals the Kerry juniors have played on their march to four All Ireland titles in succession this was probably the hardest won of the lot.

Galway’s lack of shooting boots when it mattered was a big factor in Kerry’s win, but there was much to admire about how plucky Kerry were in spite of the Tribesmen’s dominance.

Other teams might have accepted that it was not going to be their day, but Kerry stayed firm for as long as the scoreboard allowed them to in getting their reward.

It’s always a strong indication of the challenge you have faced when the winning team manager praises the opposition so much.

“Definitely the hardest final I have been involved in. I thought that Galway team were brilliant and made us work so hard for the win. Another day they could easily have beat us they had so many chances they didn’t take today.

“Thankfully we just took more of ours when it mattered,” the Kerry Junior boss Jimmy Keane said.

Over the course of the three years that he has been involved in the set-up the Brosna native has detected a character in the ranks when it all appears to be going wrong.

“It’s something that seems to be a part of the Kerry Junior setup in that there is character there when we need it like when we were nine points down against Cork in last year’s Munster Final and five points down in this year’s one in Tralee.

“Our backs were to the wall here today in Ennis but the lads came out the right side so it shows that you have to be able to dig deep if you want to be a part of this set-up,” he said.

Along with being one of shortest campaigns for an All-Ireland winning Kerry Junior side in only three games it was also one of the most difficult with player availability, travel and preparation time all issues that had to be overcome in order for the county to be crowned All-Ireland Champions for the 19th time at this level.

“People have to realise that was the first time that 15 took the pitch together. We didn’t have Andrew Barry and Seánie [Moloney] for the semi-final so to gel a team like that we were delighted to see the respect they had for the jersey in wanting to be involved.

“It proves the depth of talent that is out there in the county and I just want to credit those that came in for trials but didn’t

make the cut. With a bit of luck they could have made it themselves but they contributed to us getting to where we are today by willing to give it a try,” Keane said of those who missed out on the reckoning.

Whether or not those players will get a chance at this level is the hot question as many have wondered if the competition has a genuine future with the lowering number of counties entering every year.

For Keane the situation is simple however.

“I think it’s time for the GAA to either back the competition or get rid of it. It was very disappointing to see an attendance of only 700 or so people (725 official figure) for a very good game of football that would be up there with anything you would see over the weekend at senior level.

“The standard is very high and I think it’s very disappointing that both Galway and ourselves went into provincial finals without any game played. The competition will not keep going if it continues to be treated like this.

“I agree the Under 23 idea is a feasible one because it might encourage more counties to enter and stop a group of players being lost from inter-county level if they don’t make it at Under 20 level.

“It’s something that has to be seriously looked at.”

That is a debate that needs to be had when the dust settles but looking back on the campaign in general, some players certainly put themselves into contention for a spot at senior level.

Darragh O’Shea proved a solid presence in goal, while Paul O’Sullivan and Seán Moloney were very dependable figures in the Kerry defence. Conor O’Shea played an important cameo in the win over Kildare after Patrick Clifford’s injury forced him out of the campaign post Munster Final. Daniel Daly was another to miss out on the All-Ireland series after a pretty impressive Munster Final performance before injury with his club came against him.

His brother Denis has already been involved at senior level, hampered by injury as it has been but it was very encouraging to see him re-emerge at inter-county level this campaign.

Thomas Hickey and Niall

Ó Sé contributed well again to the set-up as they proved themselves to be genuine match winners on form but in the case of Glenflesk’s Lee O’Donoghue it is interesting to note that of the four years of success for this setup either himself or his brother Jeff has been on the winning Kerry side since 2015.

Paudie Clifford has come on to the inter-county horizon this year, not as dramatically as his brother David, but certainly the ingredients are there to develop if given a bit of time.

The re-emergence of team captain Kieran Murphy has been most notable though, after strong displays at Minor and Under 21 level one wondered had the injuries and loss of form ended his hopes of the main stage.

2018 has been good to him thus far with both club and county and his strong fielding and presence that characterised him in younger years has come to light once more.

No racing certainties for senior level overall but something for those involved to believe they can take a further step down the road towards it. Whether we are here talking about the same competition or not in 2019 (it would be nice to finish the decade with a 20th title overall) a serious conversation needs to be had about where the format goes from here.

No racing certainties for senior level overall, but something for those involved to believe they can step towards