The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Job well done against a poor Cork
FOUR minutes. Two hundred and forty seconds. That’s as much time as we needed to realise that this Munster final was only going to end in one way and that was with a comprehensive Kerry victory.
From the moment David Moran won the throw in and powered his way straight down the heart of the Cork defence to set up the first score of the game you could sense that Kerry meant business and were going to boss the game.
And so they did. Four minutes in and four points up. Bossing it and doing it in style.
Two scores in particular coming from the most majestic of touches directing the ball into the run of the oncoming players were worth the entrance fee alone. Kerry were just playing the game on a different level and in numerous gears ahead of their opposition and have been doing so now for the best part of five years.
We had hoped, deep down, for more of a contest. We might not like to admit it, but Kerry need Cork just as much as Cork need Kerry.
I wrote last week about how during the 2000s we knew each other inside out, but by god we earned every win we ever got over them.
It hardened us and prepared us for the road ahead as it did them. Invariably we’d end up meeting in an All Ireland semi or final to go at it again and again nothing ever came easy, but when Eamonn and his management team look back on Sunday’s game they will see that it was easy far too easy.
Kerry were allowed dictate the pace of the game from the get go and when that green and gold juggernaut is in full flow then it’s very hard to contain. I’m sure Peadar Healy and co had been preaching about making a fast start in the lead up to the game. It’s exactly what Cork needed. The explosive start came from Kerry though and Cork could just never get to grips with it and chased the game all day long.
They did have their purple patch but what team doesn’t. A big concern for Eamonn once again will be how Cork ran from deep and seemed to get through the centre of our defence with ease.
Had they been more clinical then they could have hit the net and at least made it nervy for us. Better teams will be looking at that and thinking it’s an area that Kerry can be got at.
For all the good work our half-forward line do from a defensive point of view they found the going tough on Sunday when they were ran at.
The majority of Cork attacks stemmed from the likes of Sean Powter and Tomás Clancy running from their own half back line with fantastic pace which we couldn’t live with.
It is definitely an area that we must look at it again before our quarter-final tie.
Other than that we never looked in trouble. We landed back to the dressing rooms at half time 11-7 to the good and I’m sure the message was to try and replicate the start to the first half and boy did they execute that plan to a tee.
Again it was Cork who needed to come out of the blocks to try and ruffle some feathers but they simply were not allowed. Stephen O’Brien added some real pace to our attack and had two points kicked before the Cork backs had realised he was on the pitch.
He added another late on and can be really happy with his contribution after coming in. Anthony Maher who, despite some poor moments of distribution, had a fine game was really driving us on from the middle along with David Moran. They seem to both be back in form and rekindling their midfield partnership to good effect.
But to win anything or to at least stand a chance you need your inside line operating to its full capacity and you must have quality.
In Paul Geaney and James O’Donoghue, Kerry have the two most potent corner forwards in the country right now.
I was sat down near the scoreboard end for the first half along with an Australian friend who has recently moved to Cromane. He has taken up football and plays with our senior team.
It was his first time going to a Kerry game so I told him to keep a close eye on numbers 13 and 15. He was not disappointed. Their movement and score getting is a joy to behold and a nightmare for any defender.
James in particular was a different class. His balance when he is on the ball and taking guys on is superb and as long as we can keep both these guys injury free and in form then we are in a good place.
Of course they will be the first to tell you that without the hard work out through the lines to get quality ball into them then they wouldn’t be in a position to get the scores.
Here Mikey Geaney, the aforementioned Moran and Maher along with the excellent Paul Murphy must take huge credit. Murphy especially looked really sharp under breaks, his forward runs and he kicked a fine score to boot.
All in all this was a fine performance from a Kerry side that look fit, well drilled and hungry for more. Were the opposition poor?
Yes they were very poor but at times they were made to look that way by a sleek, well oiled machine that were the men in green and gold.
Stiffer tests lie in waiting done the road but for now its job done, in fact, it’s job very well done.
All in all this was a fine performance from a Kerry side that look fit, well drilled and hungry for more