Manager Tomás Ó Sé knows there is plenty to improve on ahead of tricky trip to face Cork

THERE would, understandably, have been a certain amount of competitive trepidation in the Kerry under-20 football camp as they headed to Kilmurry-Ibrickane’s home ground in Quilty on a stormy evening ´last Wednesday to open their provincial campaign.

After all, Tomás Ó Sé’s charges were a bit of an unknown quantity, even to themselves, having had to rely on the challenge match circuit to fine-tune their championship preparations. Opponents Clare, on the other hand, had three Phase One Munster outings already under their belts.

Then, when one factors in how close the Banner came to lowering the Kingdom’s colours at Austin Stack Park last season, and the vagaries of the difficult weather conditions, this was, without a doubt, your proverbial banana skin. Therefore, after an 11-point win, the Kerry boss was entitled to be satisfied.

“We had to play against a serious wind in the first half, and I think it was difficult playing with the wind as it was against it, because any ball that you kicked was basically gone,” he said.

“The surface of the field was excellent, it was a credit to the club here to have a surface like it, when you consider nearly every other field in the country is mud.

“The conditions were very hard, fellas were going to make mistakes, and that goal in the first half was a huge cushion for us. Most of the scores that Clare did get were from simple turnovers but, on a night like that, you’re going to have that.

“I think the lads worked extremely hard in the first half, and worked extremely hard in the second half, so there’s a lot to build on.”

There were some very impressive individual Kerry performances on the night, in what was a very solid collective display. Acknowledging the influence of half-time substitute Luke Crowley, the An Ghaeltacht man was also very pleased with the way the youngsters in the side showed up.

“Luke did very well when he came in. He has that energy about him, he has that directness about him that will cause problems. It was great to have him back because he’s after a lay-off with injury as well.

“Paddy Lane also came in, and I thought the young lads did extremely well. Daniel Kirby had a fierce game, Tomás Kennedy had a fierce game. I know they’re very young, but if they’re good enough, they’re good enough.

“Their honesty shone, and I

think it spread with the lads. The work-rate Tomás Kennedy put in there tonight was outstanding.”

With Charlie Keating’s early goal allowing Kerry to go in at the interval on level terms, 1-2 to 0-5, after playing against the elements in the first half, the visitors took almost complete control on the resumption, driven on by the likes of captain Rob Stack in the middle of the park.

“The advantage we had in the second half was that, if you could squeeze on their kick-outs, and keep the pressure on them, you were going to create enough chances, and I thought Cormac Dillon was outstanding as well inside, and he took his opportunities very well,” added Ó Sé.

“I think we could have been more direct, we could have released players quicker, we did it at times very well, but that’s what you want. Sure no team wants speed, we were the same, any time Clare moved it quickly, we were in trouble.

“The good thing about it is that there is an amount of work still to be done. This was vital for us, you’re heading down to Páirc Uí Chaoimh [to play Cork], so it was vital to get a good start, and we did. With the weather coming in, you didn’t know what was going to happen.

“Sure we all saw what Clare did to us last year in Tralee, so there’s always a fear. They’ve had their three games in the qualifier, we had no challenges in the last month, and it was difficult for us to prepare, but the lads showed great honesty inside in training, and it was good to get the result there.”

On the injury front, the Kerry manager admitted that Dr Crokes defender Maidhcí Lynch had been ruled out of the trip to Quilty with an injury. Looking ahead, the competition for places within the fold has enthused Ó Sé to a great degree.

“Maidhcí is carrying a knock. He was going very well in training, and it’s just a pity that he picked up a knock. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any more [injuries], but we’ve a big squad. There is fierce honesty inside there, there are lads there tonight that weren’t togged out that should be.

“I think it’s a disgrace that they’re not able to tog out with their team, because they’ve done everything else asked of them. They’re very unlucky that they’re not playing, not to mind not togging out. That’s the beauty of having a competitive squad.

“People might say that we don’t have any superstars, but there’s huge honesty there, and that’s what took us out of tonight.”