Hennessy insists team will improve

WITH their successful, but ultimately unconvincing victory over Down at the weekend, Kerry manager John Hennessy has three weeks to undo the silly mistakes that nearly cost them a chance for five All-Ireland titles in a row.

Cutting start to the heart of the matter, Hennessy replied immediately after the game that he wasn’t impressed with the way his side performed overall.

“We sat back and played as individuals. When we were up five or six points, players were shooting from ridiculous positions. But the only thing is we’ve three weeks to rectify that now. We have individuals that can do the damage but we’re not getting the ball to them,” he said.

Scorer of 1-5 in the first-half, Barry O’Mahony, was oddly sacrificed in the second-half to play as sweeper. Hennessy explained their decision to move a player who single-handedly scored their eight-point margin at half-time.

“We had to [drop him back] to counteract the eight [R. McCrickard] and fourteen [A. Mee]. They were two big men in the middle of the field. Our two lads who were there in the first half, Galway and Goulding, worked hard but physically they weren’t strong enough.”

With a 54th minute goal when the sides were only separated by four points, Eric Leen, was influential in the second half.

“Leen was the man, but it must be remembered that thirteen of our players are seventeen years old. They were naïve and negative. But three weeks will bring them on,” suggested Hennessy.

Second half substitute and minor footballer, Tomás O’Connor, was crucial addition early in the second half.

“Tomás would be originally starting,” offered Hennessy “but he’s been training three and four nights a week. We felt he was a bit rusty on Tuesday night. We’d planned to start and I’m glad we didn’t because he came in and sewed up the half-back line. He’s a big, fit young fella. That’s what we need, a bit of power.”

Despite the issues that nearly saw Kerry give away a win, essentially Hennessy summed the game up as “a win, a performance of sorts with a lot of work to do over the next three weeks” before Kerry meet Meath in the All-Ireland final.