The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Job is done but we have to do better
ON an evening when the result was far more important than the performance, Kerry did just about enough to overcome a wasteful Kildare team and secure their Division 1 status for another season.
With Donegal losing to Monaghan on Sunday, Kerry’s survival was confirmed and they can now head to Omagh this weekend knowing that the meeting with Tyrone is nothing more than match practice.
In a way it’s not a bad position to be in with the management now having the option of giving returning players like David Moran, Johnny Buckley and Stephen O’Brien much needed minutes on the pitch.
Mark Griffin returned against the Lilywhites also so he could be in line for a starting berth up north. Darran O’Sullivan played county league with his club a few weeks back so again it may be an ideal opportunity to ease him back in. It will be Kerry’s final competitive game for a while and even though the result won’t matter it’s important we get as much out of it as possible.
Éamonn Fitzmaurice described the win over Kildare as ‘scratchy’ and it summed it up perfectly. There were periods of the game when Kerry threatened to really hit top gear and run riot.
They enjoyed a real purple patch in the second quarter when they notched seven unanswered points and showed real class up front. Kevin McCarthy, who had a fine game, popped over two of those scores and looked very confident in a wing forward position. He won some vital ball and took the game to Kildare with his direct running.
Dáithí Casey can be also pleased with his night’s work. There is no doubting Dáithí’s ability or class. We have seen him as one of the top club footballers not only in Kerry, but the country. The question mark over him has always been can he bring that to the inter-county scene.
He showed on Saturday that he can. Again, like McCarthy, he was always an outlet along the half forward line and what I most like about his style is that he plays with his head up. His kicking is second to none and the score he kicked in the second half just demonstrated what he can do.
Carrying the ball on the run
down the left, he kicked off his left judging the breeze perfectly to sail it over. It was as good a score I have seen for a long time. Hopefully this game will give Dáithí confidence to push on for the championship squad.
David Clifford was the pick of the forwards for me. We all know what a natural finisher he is but the more he plays at this level it is becoming more evident just what a team player Clifford is.
I had the pleasure of working with David since he was fourteen at development squad level and it’s no surprise at all to see how fast he has progressed into the senior squad. He can score at ease off either foot (believe me, his right is just as good as his left), but it’s his ability to see what’s going on around him that really impressed me.
Early in the game against Kildare he had a chance to pop over a point himself, but saw Barry John open inside. David saw a goal chance when most would have been happy with a point.
Barry John opted to fist it over, but it was a good opportunity to hit the net. Clifford wants to bring other guys into the game and for somebody so young that’s a great trait to have. He can be ruthless when the time comes too, which I have no doubt we will see given time.
The moment of the game for me was in the second half when Clifford won a hard ball with his marker on top of him. While he was on the ground he dropped the ball and kicked it all in one motion and picked out Paul Murphy.
It was the audacity and the skill to pull it off that was brilliant. David didn’t wait around marvelling at what he had just done though.
Up he got, supported the play and took the return pass from Murphy to split the posts. I don’t like comparing players, but it had all the hallmarks of something Colm Cooper would have mustered up in his prime. It was class to watch.
At the other side of the field it was good to see Kerry keeping a clean sheet for the first time in this campaign. In saying that Kildare never looked liked penetrating for a goal and they didn’t create any dangerous moment of note.
They did show again that we are vulnerable when ran at. Jason Foley at full-back obviously had a difficult night on Daniel Flynn, but Jason has had a very good debut league campaign.
To be honest Flynn kicked some fabulous scores and was just in the zone where anything he hit went over. As a forward you get days like that when you feel invincible and Flynn has one of those games.
Jason will probably be disappointed that he didn’t get a bit closer to him when he was kicking at times but it’s another good experience for a promising young defender.
I thought Fionn Fitzgerald had a fine game on his return to the team. Fionn gets criticised sometimes for his conservative play as a defender, but in my opinion I think he is one of best man markers.
He may not burst up the field like Paul Murphy or Peter Crowley, but he is always there to mind the house and pick up any loose ball in front of our goal. It was good to see him back.
All in all it was a case of job done for Kerry. There is no doubt they can play better and will have to in the future. The important thing is that we are still a Division 1 team no matter what happens in Omagh.
Kerry need to use the game wisely.
The more he plays at this level it is becoming more evident just what a team player David Clifford is