Tralee treat has restored my faith in football
IT HAS been difficult not to get carried away by the style and quality of football we witnessed in Tralee last weekend. A full house turned out to watch the All-Ireland champions against the most likely pretenders to their crown.
Viewing figures suggested that the television audience was more in line with high summer than a League game at the start of February.
There’s no mystery to why it made such an impact. It showed how good a game Gaelic football can be when the teams play with such high intensity and are willing to attack and run at the opposition. The unfortunate thing is that the match only acted as an antidote to the negativity across the rest of the weekend.
Both managers played down any consequences of the result, but Peter Keane’s body language said a lot more than any of his words. There was a real sense of satisfaction in taking this scalp so early into his reign. He did it by blending the old and the new.
Kerry’s more experienced players like Peter Crowley, David Moran, Stephen O’Brien and Tommy Walsh responded to the gauntlet being thrown down by the new kids on the block, the likes of Tom O’Sullivan, Jack Sherwood, Dara Moynihan, Sean O’Shea and Gavin O’Brien.
O’Brien is a particularly interesting case as he didn’t play on any of those minor teams that won five All-Ireland titles in a row. It just goes to show the Kingdom remain the masters of spotting football talent even when it comes to those passed over at underage.
It is worth noting that when Eamonn Fitzmaurice took his leave of the Kerry job last August, one of his reasons for doing so was that he didn’t want any antagonism directed towards him by supporters to dilute any of the goodwill that was felt towards this crop of gifted youngsters. He proved correct in that parting shot and, again, shows how dignified Fitzmaurice was in the role.
Given that Keane has yet to welcome back the likes of David Clifford and James O’Donoghue, he has to be pretty pleased with the opening three games of the League campaign.
And Kerry beat Dublin last week by going man-to-man on them, rather than attempting to play the sweeper, a tactic that had failed in recent years. As Mayo proved, the only way to play this Dublin side, even when they are under-staffed as they were in Tralee, is to take them on man-for-man.
With such a large television audience tuning in, and with the handbags at the end, there was a real sense that this match was only a taster for a much more explosive summer sequel. And perhaps that is why Jim Gavin looked comfortable with the defeat. It means that Mayo in Croke Park next weekend becomes a must-win game for his team but Gavin won’t mind that. It will sharpen and re-focus minds.
However, the match did point up one area of concern for Dublin on their drive for five. The concession of 1-18, their vulnerability under the high ball into the fullback line and the general wear and tear within their defence may be their one weakness.
The defence looked unnerved for most of the game and it did look like they were missing Stephen Cluxton’s presence as a security blanket. When Kerry pressed high on Evan Comerford’s kick-outs, the defenders weren’t making the same kind of runs to give him an outlet.
As well as Cluxton, they were missing Cian O’Sullivan, who has been the glue that has gelled the whole defensive structure together under Gavin. O’Sullivan has a lot of miles on the clock, and he had injury troubles. He may not be the force of old come the summer. Philly McMahon and Mick Fitzsimons have plenty of mileage too while John Small has his discipline issues.
Dublin’s defensive issues offer a small glimmer of hope for the chasing pack, but teams will need to change their attitude.
One of the reasons last Saturday night was so memorable was that it became a tonic for all the other negative football we saw over the rest of the weekend.
Galway’s win over Monaghan was practically unwatchable on Sunday afternoon, with both teams retreating behind their own 45, even when they had the advantage of the wind.
A Monaghan mistake and a moment of magic from Shane Walsh secured a valuable away victory for the Tribesmen but both teams need to be more adventurous if they hope to challenge Dublin.
But the virus of negative football has infected every level. Down and Westmeath scored just 19 points between them in Newry last weekend.
I was talking to someone about Carlow’s rising progress and they said that the Leinster side were camped inside their own 45 last Sunday, even though they had the benefit of a gale force wind.
It’s not the type of football anybody wants to watch.
No, that was in Tralee last Saturday night, as the viewing figures indicated.