KERRY SQUEEZE OUT MAYO MEN
Kingdom get their defensive system right to shut door on Horan’s men
THESE two teams may get to know each other pretty well in this footballing year. There’s a prospect of a Allianz National League final next month and even a possible All-Ireland showdown in the summer, should they both negotiate a path through their respective provinces.
If this rivalry does develop into a trilogy over the course of this season, there will be plenty of pointers taken from this game. On a miserable evening in Tralee, 12,000 spectators braved the elements in Austin Stack Park and were treated to a marvellously competitive match.
Kerry were marginally the better side, evident in their narrow victory which extends their unbeaten record in League football to 12 games and over two years. A splendid 17th-minute finish by Tony Brosnan, who was the home side’s outstanding player of an odd opening half, proved to be the decisive score of the game.
Brosnan drafted in as a late replacement for Paul Geaney was an urgent and busy presence in the full-forward line, engineering the move that he swept to the net with some aplomb. It was Kerry football at its best. Sniffing an opportunity and seizing a score that saw them drift into a 1-4 to 0-3 lead.
But within 90 seconds of Robbie Hennelly picking the ball out of the net, Mayo had a gilt-edged goal-scoring opportunity of their own, Aidan Orme dragging his shot wide at the near post. If Mayo are to finally reach the promised land this year, they need to be more clinical when these opportunities present themselves.
Just before half-time, the outstanding Matthew Ruane, who seems to love playing on the Kingdom sod, created another goal chance for Diarmuid O’Connor but Shane Murphy saved brilliantly. Brosnan’s goal was the cushion that ensured Mayo were kept at arm’s length.
What else can we take from this strange game? Ryan O’Donoghue again stood up for James Horan’s side, scoring half of his team’s tally. With Cillian O’Connor’s long-term injury, the corner-forward has been in fine form during this League campaign while Ruane was again immense around the middle of the field.
But there was more to take from the Kerry performance. Paddy Tally is embarking on a journey from one end of the island to the other to add a bit of steel to their defence, and in the final 15 minutes, with the game in the melting pot, Kerry worked like dervishes in a system that had Tally’s fingerprints all over it.
They swarmed the Mayo forwards, swallowed up runners and forced turnovers again and again. Dylan Casey, a new face in the Kerry defence, impressed in the first half while the hard-working Graham O’Sullivan, who shared sweeping duties with Tadhg Morley, also caught the eye.
The work ethic will have been pleasant for the home supporters to see, and they also won this game without Seán O’Shea, their scorerin-chief.
While the Ulster teams are being thrown into a bear-pit of a Championship in a few weeks’ time, it is likely that Kerry won’t have an examination like this until the All-Ireland quarter-final. So, Jack O’Connor will be glad of the test – and even happier that his players passed it with flying colours.
Brosnan’s marvellous goal was the difference at half-time, as Kerry led 1-6 to 0-6, and even though the likes of Ruane, O’Donoghue and Fergal Boland took the fight to the hosts, the Kingdom always had the class to keep the scoreboard ticking over, especially with David Clifford’s classy left peg.
One area of concern for O’Connor and his coaching team was how Shane Murphy’s restarts malfunctioned, especially in the first half as Jordan Flynn, Ruane and Aidan O’Shea all fetched his kick-outs at various points, but Mayo were finding it difficult to make headway into Kerry’s solid and structured defence.
James Horan has been using this League to deepen his options for the summer ahead. He has used 31 players over the course of the spring and again yesterday, he emptied his bench with Kevin McLoughlin making an appearance at half-time.
The play from both teams was riddled with errors in a curious first half. Given the wet and windy evening, and the number of umbrellas in Austin Stack Park, that was perhaps understandable but not all
the mistakes were weather-related.
In the end, the game was decided with a bit of Clifford accuracy, following Stephen O’Brien being fouled by Aidan O’Shea. The referee still gave Mayo time to find an equaliser but Lee Keegan pulled his attempt at a levelling score wide.
Still, there was plenty for both management teams to chew over. Horan will be reasonably happy as he went on the long journey home last night.
And he will have learnt a thing or two for later in the year if, as expected, these two meet again. KErrY: S Murphy; D Casey (G Crowley 53) J Foley, T O’Sullivan; G O’Sullivan (P Warren 70+3), T Morley, B Ó Beaglaoich; D O’Connor (G Horan 64-67 temp), J Barry; D Moynihan, J Savage (K Spillane 47), A Spillane (S O’Brien 48), P Clifford (M Burns 66), D Clifford, T Brosnan. ScorErS: D Clifford 0-6 (4f), T Brosnan 1-2, J Savage 0-2, frees, D Moynihan, J Barry 0-1.
WIDES: (3) 6
YELLoW cArD: P Clifford (39), M Burns (70+7)
MAYo: R Hennelly; P O’Hora, L Keegan, M Plunkett; P Durcan, S Coen (E Hession h-t), O Mullin; J Flynn, M Ruane; D O’Connor (F McDonagh 70+1), A O’Shea, J Carney (K McLoughlin 42); F Boland (C Loftus 66), A Orme (F Irwin 56), R O’Donoghue
ScorErS: R O’Donoghue 0-7 (7f), F Boland 0-3, M Ruane 0-2, A Orme, R Hennelly (45) 0-1.
WIDES: (5) 9
YELLoW cArD: A O’Shea (70+7) rEfErEE: Brendan Cawley (Kildare)