‘The ball didn’t go into David’

EAST Kerry boss Jerry O’Sullivan felt that the unsavoury incidents throughout the game may have upset the rhythm of his East Kerry side.

“I counted four or five times in the first half where there was what you’d call off the ball incidents, were they [Dingle] as physical when they were on the ball? I don’t know.

“Maybe we lost the ball in the tackle once or twice. There were three or four incidents where there was schmozzles off the ball like, and that slowed down the game. That has no part in the game of football and it was something that I wasn’t advocating anyway to be quite honest about it.

“It’s a county semi-final and you are going to have to be physical at times on the ball, but look it’s a lesson learned, we have another opportunity and we will take it from there.”

East Kerry were six points down at the three quarter stage of the game and was concerned that his side didn’t start the game better.

“I mean we didn’t play football until the 45th minute and it took us 45 minutes to get to grips with what Dingle had put in front of us. That’s disappointing from our point of view that we didn’t adapt quicker.

“It’s a county semi-final so every game is going to be difficult, but after 45 minutes we played a few long balls in and they paid dividends. We got level and then we went up and I thought that we had done enough to secure the win, but in hindsight if you were in the Dingle dressing room you would be saying that it would be injustice if they didn’t get an opportunity again.”

He also felt that his inside forward suffered from a lack of service in the opening half.

“The ball didn’t go into David Clifford in the first half, or Darragh Roche, and when you don’t get the ball you’re not going to score. There was a ball floated in by Paudie and David got on the end of it – goal.

“We won a kick out and got the ball in again and he got another goal.

“You have to remember as well that we missed a penalty to go a point up and they kicked on. If we had scored the penalty would it have been different? I don’t know.

“I looked at the penalty and it was handy enough, it wouldn’t have been a penalty in my day I think.”

O’Sullivan wouldn’t be drawn on what was generally felt to be an indifferent display from referee Seán Joy.

“I don’t like talking about referees, they have a hard job to do. I’ll have a look back on it and comment then. There was one or two calls where the advantage rule might have been given on both sides, Dingle might be aggrieved when once or twice they were down the field and they were called back for a free.

“We were the same. From that point of view I suppose he was equal for both teams. Look the county board appoints the referees, we have no say over that and I mean it’s not an easy job, they are doing the best they can and nobody wants to be a referee.”