Kerry got away with sloppy display but they might not be so lucky again later in the year

Some of Kerry’s sloppiness can be easily excused, and the handling errors can be easily rectified before the Munster Final, but a much greater improvement is obviously needed before Kerry get into the thick of the All-Ireland Championship

KERRY got the result that was anticipated on Saturday evening in Killarney but not before they were given a good test by a spirited Cork performance that will give them plenty of hope for the remainder of the Championship. Kerry were nowhere near their best, especially in the first half, and made a lot harder work of getting the win than I had expected.

Cork were quick out of the blocks and when wing forward Paul Walsh found himself running inside the Kerry defence unmarked to goal in the fifth minute, they led by four points and their tails were up. Kerry looked very rusty for large periods of the opening half, making countless handling errors and costly turnovers that they will obviously have to cut down on going forward.

Some of the sloppiness can be excused with it being Kerry’s first game in nearly a month, but they can probably count themselves lucky that Cork’s challenge seemed to peter out somewhat in the second half, during which they only managed to kick five points after such a strong opening. Going forward, the decent test will benefit Kerry no end. In recent years, double-digit wins for Kerry have done little for them entering the All-Ireland series.

As they do their video work and mull back over the game this week, the players will know that that type of performance won’t be good enough later in the year. In the opening quarter Kerry pushed up a little too high and left space in front of the full back line and Cork got joy from it.

A little tweak by the management, allowing players to drop off a little more and make Kerry harder to break down, solidified things and will be something Kerry will be looking to nail down in the lead in to the Munster final.

There is a fine line between being too adventurous on the opposition kick-outs, as Derry learned against Donegal on Sunday, or even when the opposition are in possession and dropping too deep and inviting pressure on yourselves.

Tadhg Morley reverted back to the full back line in the absence of Jason Foley but struggled to get to grips with the impressive Brian Hurley,

who kicked eight points in all, four from play. He is a player I had plenty of tussles with down through years when we met Cork in the Championship and if given the right supply of ball he can cause any defender problems.

It may be a little unfair to ask Tadhg, who has spent the last couple of seasons sweeping from centre back, to try and then go back and do a man marking job. It’s a totally different game. At centre back you can afford to be that bit looser, where as in the full back line you need to be able to get super tight to a dangerous forward, which Tadhg struggled to do at times with Hurley.

You would have to question Jack’s faith in the full back line players on the bench who are playing in that capacity week in week out in training. Could Dylan Casey have come in there an done a job? It’s something that Jack may consider if Jason Foley is still absent for the Munster final. It may solve a couple of issues that lingered over the Kerry defence early in proceedings.

Kerry struggled for the Cork goal with the direct runners down the middle. Morley offers more of a physical presence at centre back than Gavin White, and Gavin can drive forward and influence the game more from the wing, I feel. By playing both out of position Kerry are losing out on both fronts.

On a day that a number of Kerry players won’t be overly happy with their performances, a few stood up and ensured that Kerry didn’t lose their long unbeaten run over Cork in Killarney. Seanie O’Shea again was a colossus in the Kerry attack. He was industrious throughout, kicking three points from play and having a couple of vital turnovers that led to Kerry scores. He is certainly one man Kerry need to keep fully fit for the remainder of the Championship.

At the back I felt Tom O’Sullivan defended well and again showed his attacking prowess kicking three points from play. Graham O’Sullivan had a good outing and also managed to add his name on the scoreboard, and the evergreen Paul Murphy did a good job on Chris Óg Jones, curtailing him to one point from play.

The midfield duo of the two O’Connors, Diarmuid and Joe, both worked hard but failed to impose themselves on the game as they would have liked, and Jack and the management team will be hoping that a first Championship game under their belts as a midfield pairing will bring them on for the bigger tests waiting down the line.

I heard someone comment during the week that it was the weakest middle eight that Kerry have started with in the Championship in a number of years. I thought that it was a tad unfair. Three of the middle eight were making their first Championship start, a big feat for any player in itself. It takes a little time to get to the speed of championship games for any player.

The League is the League and it’s great to get players the experience they need to prepare them and teach them about all that comes with wearing the green and gold geansaí. The Championship is a big step up though in relation to intensity and, especially in Kerry, the pressure that comes with wearing the jersey.

In Kerry we crave results, performances and All-Ireland medals. That’s what you are judged upon as a Kerry footballer and that in itself can take a bit of time for some of the younger players to get used of.

Of the championship debutants, Cillian Burke may count himself slightly unlucky to have been replaced at half time. He worked hard and kicked a good score in the opening half, but a couple of turnovers cost him. Your first Championship appearance, against the old enemy, is never going to be easy and he will learn a great deal from the experience that will benefit him going forward.

Similarly, Sean O’Brien got 60-plus minutes of Championship football under his belt and went about his business in a quiet, efficient manner. As a player it’s great to have that first championship appearance out of the way, it’s another box ticked off in your career.

On a positive note, a lot of the deficiencies that we saw in Kerry’s play on Saturday can be fixed easily enough. I would be shocked if Kerry’s ball handing was as poor in the Munster final. At times it was just a case of a player taking their eye off the ball for a second or the ball bouncing the wrong way. Match sharpness essentially, which will improve no end with the games coming thick and fast for the rest of the season.

Upfront Kerry failed to register a goal which they will be disappointed with and looking to improve on in the Munster final. Kerry captain Paudie Clifford saw a glorious goal chance, where he bore down on the Cork goal, dragged wide with only Cork custodian Christopher Kelly to beat. In bigger games they will need to be that bit more clinical.

Kerry did manage to outscore Cork by seven points from the 20 minute onwards when they trailed by four, which can be seen as a positive.

Kerry will know though that they can’t afford to be offering the opposition the luxury of a four-point head start because the best teams won’t allow you back into the game. However, you could see the maturity of the team come through in the second half. They didn’t panic, they stuck to the game plan and one felt they were always going to grind out a result when the game was still in the melting pot entering the final quarter.

To sum up Kerry’s performance on Saturday evening, Jack and the management team will mark it down as job done, but will be under no illusions that there is plenty of improvement needed and expected heading into a Minster final with Clare the weekend after next.