Keane’s philosophy will be to make Kerry hard to break down

A new empahsis on defence was much needed as Kerry had been conceding far too much

IT was far from pretty but there was something very satisfying about Kerry’s four point win over Tyrone on Sunday.

Yes it was a performance littered with mistakes, but what it lacked in cohesion and fluidity it made up for in heart and steel. Conditions in Killarney were never going to allow for a free flowing, high scoring game. What we saw instead was an edgy battle, a battle that Kerry won through shear hard work.

The tone was set straight from the throw-in. Tyrone gathered possession and looked to attack. Brian Kennedy was immediately bottled up and turned back by young Dara Moynihan making his full debut.

Moynihan immediately got help from another youngster and debutant Diarmuid O’Connor. They put Kennedy under enormous pressure and forced him back. Richie McCaw, the much admired All black rugby player, always speaks of the art of going to assist the first tackler when defending.

It’s no secret that Donie Buckley has studied first hand New Zealand and has been to some of their training sessions. Tommy Griffin also brings huge knowledge and experience when it comes to the tackle. It was a constant theme of this Kerry performance and it’s obvious that it’s something that Peter Keane is hell bent on getting right.

And it certainly needs work. When you build a house it has to be done brick by brick from the ground up. It’s the same with a team. There is no doubt that we have the raw materials to do it, but the process will require time and patience especially from supporters.

It’s clear that the management’s philosophy is that they want their team to be very hard to break down and beat.

It’s an area that has to be a priority and improved on. During last year’s league,

Kerry conceded an average of eighteen points per game. That rate of conceding scores is criminal and won’t win you many games.

On Sunday we restricted Tyrone to seven points with only two coming from play. In fact we were so miserly in our defending that Mikey Harte’s men had to wait until around the thirty fifth minute to register their first score from play.

That is a massive step in the right direction. Was it easy on the eye for the football purists? Of course not, but it was a real recognition from the management that something has to be done to make us more defensively sound and that is their main priority.

It goes without saying that by playing in this way will leave us with limited bodies up front and it means our forwards will have to be really economical when it comes to getting scores but that will come. In fact if we had our shooting boots with us on Sunday the score line could and should have been more comfortable.

And that for me was the most disappointing aspect to what was a good day for this new look Kerry side. We should have tagged on a bigger score. The main culprit was Stephen O’Brien who wasted the only clear goal chance of the afternoon.

Tom O’Sullivan, who was guilty of some poor shot selection himself, did brilliantly to turn the ball over in the middle of the park and set Stephen clear from 45 meters out. If there was one man you wanted in that position it was the Kenmare man.

His searing pace too him away from the chasing Tyrone pack and as he bore down on goal he only had Niall Morgan to beat. In a strange way maybe Stephen had too much time to think about where he was going to put it but he dragged it badly wide.

With the game being the tight affair that it was a goal at that stage would have given Kerry some real breathing space. Yet it didn’t seem to affect them. They stuck to the game plan and even upped their intensity to take a four point lead in at the break.

Other than our wayward shoot- ing however there were plenty positives. The main one was the man wearing the number eleven.

Seán O’Shea was the bright light on a dull afternoon. Yes he kicked some super scores, the pick of the bunch undoubtedly was the audacious point from the sideline, but he typified the attitude of the side in his non stop work rate and movement.

When, especially in the second half with legs getting tired, Kerry needed an out ball it was invariably O’Shea who was the man they looked to. Better still, he went looking for it.

His incessant movement allows him to pick the ball up in space and he makes the right decision most of the time. He’s not shy of hard work, tracking back to block down a certain Tyrone score late in the game.

One particular turn over stood out for me when not only did he dispossess the ball from his opponent but also had the peripheral vision to punch the ball as it was bouncing to his left and into the waiting arms of a teammate.

To think that this guy is only 20 years of age is scary and exciting at the same time. The aforementioned Dara Moynihan and Diarmuid O’Connor can also be very happy with their day out. Moynihan was excellent and, bar some poor wides in the second half, didn’t put a foot wrong.

Our backs as a unit have to take huge credit for these two points. I thought the more experienced guys like Peter Crowley and particularly Paul Murphy were excellent. Both of these lads had an indifferent season last year and it was great to see them put in such commanding performances.

Tadhg Morley put in a good shift considering he is only back in training although he did come off with an injury which may curtail his involvement against Cavan. The jury is still out on Jack Sherwood at full back. He did okay but he always had plenty help back around him. Time will tell.

There will be a positive vibe in the camp as they head to Cavan this weekend. If the attitude and work rate is of the same standard as it was against Tyrone and our forwards can click a bit more then it will be two wins from two come Sunday

evening.