Footballers still feeling blue

THERE was a familiarity to it that stung the Kingdom, stung the players, stung the management and stung the supporters.

Kerry v Dublin. Croke Park. A set-piece occasion – the All Ireland final three months before, the National League opening fixture in the month of January. The same sinking feeling as the game wore on.

A realisation that Dublin are ahead of Kerry right now. In the first half of this January meeting they could have scored twice as much as they did. They could have scored a handful of additional goals at least to their tally. The denizens of the Hill must have been scratching their heads wondering just how precisely the scores were level at seven points each at the halftime break.

It was a case of Kerry – and not for the first time – hanging on by their fingertips, flattered for sure, doggedly determined to hold the line all the same. Whatever else abut their quality or the amount of strength in depth manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice has at his disposal the quintessential Kerry attribute – unbending desire to win – holds them in good stead.

Fitzmaurice travelled to the captital without many of his first choice players – Paul Geaney, Anthony Maher and James O’Donoghue were long term injury absentees – and was therefore able to hand out a couple of starts to players on the periphery of the panel. Most notably Under 21 star Brian Ó Beaghlaoich.

Cordal’s Philip O’Connor also got a first league start and Kerins O’Rahillys’ Tommy Walsh got some valuable game-time. Ó Beaghlaoich was at times under ferocious pressure, but showed enough to suggest that he could have a bright future in the green and gold. Overall he was bested, but in those little moments where a player gets a chance to shine, gets a chance to show he can do the right thing at the right time, he did just that.

Walsh, meanwhile, started at centre field, but eventually, wisely, found himself manning the full-forward berth.

He scored a point and at times had the Dublin full-back line – sans Rory O’Carroll – in a spot of bother. If Walsh as going to have a role to play for Kerry in 2016 it was in the full-forward line or nowhere else many observers felt.

The second half laid bare Dublin’s dominance. Paddy Andrews rammed home a brilliant goal on forty two minutes, then eight minutes later Diarmuid Connolly finished from the penalty spot.

All in all it was a disappointing end to a relatively disappointing month for the senior footballers. For the second year in succession they lost their opening game in the McGrath Cup. Again there was no major need for alarm as Kerry fielded a largely experimental team against Clare in Fitzgerald Stadium.

The Kingdom were defeated by three points 0-12 to 0-9 with players such as Damien O’Sullivan and Jamie O’Sullivan from county championship runners-up Killarney Legion getting some game time.