Kerry start Munster SFC title defence against Clare in Killarney

LAST Saturday morning Eamonn Fitzmaurice outlined some of the reasons why the current Clare football team is not one to be trifled with, and added up and written down it makes for a decent thread of form for the Banner county over the last three or four seasons.

“They’re very close to being a Division One team,” the Kerry manager suggested. “They’ve really put it up to us a couple of times over the last couple of years. They put it up to Mayo in Ennis last year in the Qualifiers. They beat Roscommon in the Qualifiers. They were in an All-Ireland quarter-final two years ago. So, listen, we know all about them, we’re not going to take them for granted at all.”

Of course, Fitzmaurice’s Clare counterpart, Colm Collins, could offer a similar audit on Kerry and it would go something like this: “they’re an ever-present Division One team, winning the League last year. They’ve had the upper-hand on us over the last few years, in Killarney, Ennis and Croke Park. In fact, as a county we have beaten them once in the Championship since 1949. They’ve never lost a Qualifier. They’ve only lost two All-Ireland quarter-finals out of eighteen. They were All-Ireland champions four summers ago. So, listen, we know all about them...”

You get the point: for every sound argument made as to why Clare could come to Killarney next Sunday and cause a seismic shock by beating the reigning Munster champions, there are five much stronger reasons to be made why that won’t happen. History, sure, is one of them, but most of the water-tight arguments are founded in much more tangible things than history or tradition or ‘that’s the way it’s always been’ logic.

It’s true that Clare pressed Kerry hard for most of their Munster semi-final last year in Ennis, but Kerry played the second half with 14 men after Donnchadh Walsh’s sending off) and the 14 men still came away with a six-point win. The previous year the counties met twice in the Championship with Kerry winning the two games by a total of 23 points.

Until such time as Clare actually run Kerry really close in a Championship game - never mind even threaten to win a game - it’s almost impossible to make a case for anything other than another comfortable Kerry victory without resorting to patronising platitudes about the great strides Clare football is making. Of course, Clare have made very decent progress under Collins these past five seasons and an All-Ireland quarter-final appear- ance was a fine achievement in 2016 but on all known evidence how can anything other than a Kerry win next Sunday be countenanced?

That being so, Fitzmaurice is right: he nor his players can take Clare for granted at all. They have to prepare for Sunday as they would for any Championship match and if they’re “not at it” as the manager says, they’ll be in trouble. But if we assume that Kerry are plugged in to the job at hand and barring some freakish catastrophe (there’s always a chance!) then we should be looking forward to a first visit to the newly developed Pairc Ui Chaoimh on June 23.

It’s what Kerry do to get there that will interest whatever few thousand make their way to Fitzgerald Stadium next Sunday. Who starts, what teams finishes, who plays well and how the team is set up is what will really interest Kerry supporters, and it’s the last of those points that will determine the levels of satisfaction or otherwise come Sunday evening. There was growing disquiet throughout the League with how the team performed within games, particularly the defence, which seemed to operate to no particular structure.

There was an interesting exchange at Saturday’s press conference with Fitzmaurice that went like this:

Journalist: Do you take a hands on role in working on defensive shape, strategy and personnel? Fitzmaurice: Yes.

Journalist: Is the defensive shape and performance something you’ve worked on since the League?

Fitzmaurice: I think we’ve been working on it throughout the year...it’s a work in progress. Journalist: Has it been getting gradually better? Fitzmaurice: I hope so (laughs)...it has to.” It’s probably wise not to read too much into the manager’s succinct answers either way (it was a light-hearted exchange), but the “I hope so...it has to” answer hints at Fitzmaurice’s clear understanding that those defensive problems manifest in the League have, quite simply, had to be addressed. To that end we really haven’t a clue what personnel or system Kerry will employ in their defence on Sunday. Jason Foley (below) played every minutes of the League with no.3 on his back but there’s no guarantee the Ballydonoghue man will wear that number on Sunday, if he starts at all. Paul Murphy and Peter Crowley are certain starters, and Tadhg Morley should be too. With Shane Enright ruled out with an ankle injury there should be room for Fionn Fitzgerald and Ronan Shanahan in the starting six, with Mark Griffin, Gavin Crowley, Brian Ó Beaglaoich and Tom O’Sullivan also pressing hard for a jersey.

But it’s how Kerry defend as a unit, more than the individuals parts, that could define their summer. Fitzmaurice spoke of the talent Clare have in their attack and, yes, Tubridy, Malone et all can hurt Kerry, but the Kerry management will be, understandably, looking ahead to bigger challenges (we mean Dublin) and Sunday will be a first step towards getting that defensive structure right.

At the other end we can expect to see David Clifford, Sean O’Shea and Micheal Burns making their Championship debuts, as starters or substitutes, while Paul Geaney, Stephen O’Brien, Kevin McCarthy and James O’Donoghue to feature also.

Of the 33 teams in the All-Ireland Championship Kerry will be the last to kick into action, and while it isn’t a case of keeping the best ’til last Kerry are, arguably, the biggest threat to Dublin’s four-in-a-row bid. It might take until September before the Kingdom even get the chance to play the Dubs but that journey starts Sunday against Clare. Whatever else the summer has in store, we can expect at least expect a winning start to Kerry’s Championship campaign.