No one getting carried away with result

Jason O’Connor was in Thurles to see an imperfect but solid start to the defence of Kerry’s Minor titles

THE result generally tends to be the most important thing when looking back on a match. However looking a bit deeper into last Wednesday’s 14-point win over Tipperary would give some cause for being a bit cautious in the grander scheme of things. Yes, 1-15 is a decent total and only conceding four points at the other end makes great reading as well. Yet there was a lot in general play to suggest this Minor side has a bit to do yet if they want to replicate the historic success of their four immediate predecessors. Team manager Peter Keane acknowledged that the Kingdom didn’t quite get everything they wanted out of last Wednesday night’s trip to Semple Stadium.

“Tonight was really about being a stepping stone to making a Munster semi-final but I would agree that there were aspects of the performance that weren’t great. There is a settling in period for players that you have to take account of as well but I would be very disappointed that we didn’t take the three goal chances that we had in the first period,” the back-to-back All-Ireland winning Minor manager said. Keane was encouraged though by such chances being created and that the team stayed the course they were set despite it being fairly obvious they would win early on.

“Maybe learning when to take on a point as opposed to going for a goal would be something you would like to see going forward but we are happy with the effort they put in overall,” he said.

In using all six substitutes Kerry managed to give game time to 21 players with Paul Walsh’s efforts probably the big positive in what was a lifeless contest at times during the second period. Keane knows full well that while it is not entirely certain yet that Cork will be Kerry’s opponents in the Munster semi-final (depending on whether Limerick can advance from the Losers Round Playoffs or not) the stakes are still high at that stage with two extra games on offer to the winner.

“You have a situation now where it could all be over for us if we lose our next game so we know we have to be better the next day. There rae Minor County League games to be played but we look forward to getting a bit more work done with the players in the build-up.” It’s wrong to say that Tipperary had no interest in trying to win on home turf last Wednesday evening. What is probably truer is that Kerry’s start to the second period meant there was hardly no way back for the Premier County in trailing by 1-11 to 0-3 at the three-quarter mark.

Again a great sign of any defence to say they only conceded 0-4 but last Wednesday was not the night to judge Kerry on in this area as tougher tests are going to come. Brosna’s Walsh aside Kerry’s forwards were more workmanlike than outstanding. Saying all starting forwards (and a further two from the bench) scored sounds well but there wasn’t the verve expected in scoring the way they did. We might run the risk of being too critical for a first outing of a younger age group now at Minor level but the scoreline from the Cork and Waterford fixture alone (4-20 to 0-5 the Rebels won) gives an indication about what lies ahead for Kerry this year.

Only Limerick defeating Tipperary and Waterford to make a Munster Semi-Final can prevent a third ‘all-or-nothing’ meeting in four years between the old rivals at this stage of the Munster Minor Championship as Limerick would be precluded from having to face Clare for a second time come the Semi-Final stage. Even if a Kerry vs. Cork meeting is averted for now you feel a meeting between the two will go a long way towards telling us whether one of the great success stories in Kerry GAA history will continue or not in 2018. Last Wednesday was never going to be the end of the line by the very nature of the competition’s format but maybe with the stakes a bit higher the next time they line out hopefully the Minors can rise to the occasion and let us know whether they can go deep into another underage campaign.

Twenty-five consecutive victories at this level was ensured last Wednesday night, something not too many senior inter-county sides can say they achieved and despite there being a change of personnel with every one of the five years since the run started it has come in a large part because of the similar seeds sown at Development Squad level in bringing players to this point in representing their county.

Plenty to ponder as we await for final confirmation of who Kerry’s Munster semi-final opponents will be but no harm to have things to work on as the intensity will step up big time come May 8.