“A huge opportunity for the lads to show what they can do in Croke Park against a Dublin side on full points and going very well at the moment”

ONE noticeable feature of Eamonn Fitzmaurice after matches where there might have not been the desired result for the Kingdom is that he is honest in saying whether or not Kerry deserved something from a game.

Last Sunday when asked if he felt Kerry deserved a point from the late rally that saw both David Clifford and Stephen O’Brien denied an equalising goal in the same instance by Galway goalkeeper Ruairí Lavelle he said whether deserved such an outcome (a draw) would be “questionable”.

“The positive I would see from today is that the lads still kept going to the end like they did against Monaghan even when it looked like being one of the those days when things would not go our way,” the Kerry boss said.

He agreed that the second half schmozzle that held up play for a number of minutes might have affected the Kingdom’s momentum but was more specifically disappointed with the direct play after Galway’s second black card when Kerry had a numerical advantage.

“When it was 15 versus 14 in that instance Galway managed to break down the pitch and score from it and we really should have been better organised in that move. At the same time you have to give Galway credit for the way they broke out and scored. They defended with discipline today and their win is down to how well they did that (defend). We struggled with the wind at times but we have something to work on after today,” Fitzmaurice said.

The Finuge native also remarked that while there were aspects of the performance that weren’t great last Sunday the beauty of the League is that there is only a six day turnaround for the Kingdom to make amends with the trip to Croke Park to take on Dublin.

“We never expected to win every game in this campaign, you can only look at what is in front of you at this level because there are plenty of teams that will punish you if you get ahead of yourself,” Fitzmaurice said.

He was more positive however in saying that the back-toback defeats aren’t necessarily cause for Kerry to start getting worried in thinking about the other end of the table.

“We still have four points on the board and are still taking every game as it comes. Saturday night is a huge opportunity for the lads to show what they can do in Croke Park against a Dublin side on full points and one that is going very well at the moment,” he said.

Fitzmaurice was still emphasising a more overall view of the player’s development in the squad despite what the results might have done to Kerry’s more immediate chances of defending their League title.

“I’m happy that the lads are being exposed to this level of football and that the consistency in keeping going in games is still there regardless of the result. We still have remember how much of a steep learning curve it can be for players at this level.”