The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
‘Kildare were bound to emerge’
Jack O’Connor is very familar with football in the Lilywhite county and expects a real battle this weekend, writes Jason O’Connor
CONSIDERING his own involvement with Moorefield in the Short Grass County in the All-Ireland Senior Club Championship campaign gone by, it’s timely that Jack O’Connor finds himself leading the Kerry Under 20s into an All-Ireland semi-final with Kildare this Saturday at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. He will be well aware of Moorefield duo Aaron Masterson and Mark Dempsey in the Lilywhite line-up as Kildare’s comprehensive victory over Dublin in the Leinster Final justified a belief for O’Connor that Kildare are an emerging county. “I’ve always believed that Kildare were bound to emerge with the playing population in the county. There are some big towns in the county with 15,000-20,000 people living there and it is the number one game in the county now.
“I don’t think the effect of their victory over Mayo in the qualifiers can be underestimated either in giving everyone a boost about their prospects in general. That was a very highly rated Dublin team they beat in the Leinster Under 20 Final as well,” the Kerry U-20 boss said.
A viewing of the Kildare Minor final (played as a curtain-raiser to the senior decider) gave O’Connor a deeper understanding and respect for football in the county as he expects a similar challenge to what they got in the Munster Final against Cork in Kildare’s athleticism and physical strength.
“The first-half of the Munster Final was the first proper test we had got and you have to look at the fact Tipperary gave Cork a game for 40 minutes the first night and Clare battled with them for 50 minutes to understand how different our first two games were to Cork’s.
“Having said that we’re much happier to have got the test we got against Cork and have a better understanding of ourselves heading into playing Kildare,” O’Connor said of the Munster campaign in general.
The Kerry boss is also happy for having a fortnight between the provincial and All-Ireland campaign after playing on three successive Fridays in June.
“We’re happy with what we’ve been able to do with in the sessions since the Cork game. I think a lot of the players weren’t able to put their best foot forward with the nature of the games we had up until the Munster Final and we’re happy with what we have seen from the players in
the work we have done since,” he said.
Judging this match on the result of the 2016 All-Ireland Minor semi-final between the two sides is a risky business according to O’Connor for the reason that many people are assessing this Under 20 side on it.
“We’re back to the old chestnut of how much did David Clifford and Seán O’Shea contribute to that actual win. That’s nearly the question these players have to answer each time they go out and play.
“We’re not dwelling too much on not having them at this stage though as we are happy with the panel that we have,” O’Connor said.
The exceptional spell of warm and humid weather has had an interesting effect on a lot of teams’ preparations. O’Connor welcomes it though as opposed to previous years.
“We prefer it a lot more than being covered in muck and struggling to find pitches like you would be other years when the Under 21 Championship was played in March and April.
“The weather reminds me of the heat in Gaelic Park when I was in America where the sweat would be coming off you even after taking a cold shower! This is the time of year that you want to be involved in football though and the lads are learning how to cope with the weather,” the Dromid Pearses clubman said.
O’Connor also spoke of his satisfaction with the fact no goal has been conceded by the defence in the campaign so far as well as the contribution that has been made from the bench.
“The subs we brought on certainly gave us a lift against Cork, which is what we expect of them when we give them game time. It really needs a 20 or 21 man game if you want to win now.
“There’s players that are better to start with and players that are better to finish with in terms of deciding on those you want to use,” he said.
Midfielder duo Diarmuid O’Connor and Mark Ryan received the backing of their manager after a difficult evening against the Rebels in the Munster Final but after what many considered a surprise loss for Kerry in last year’s semi-final to Galway in the old Under 21 grade, O’Connor says there is no fear of complacency in the camp.
“I don’t even think there was complacency last year. What I think happened last year was that subconsciously the players that were there thought they were made after the margin they beat Cork by in the Munster Final.
“The difference this year is that we have been tested in a Munster final like we were in Tralee and there is no room for complacency in general with the competition for places that is there in the panel.”
Kick-outs and the midfield battle have been highlighted as a key area to the outcome in O’Connor’s opinion and Kildare have certainly show on the evidence of their win over Dublin that they have the ability to trouble Kerry in those areas.
The Under 20 boss said that there is a firm focus on a ‘Plan A’ in terms of Kerry’s approach to the match when asked about the game going all the way to a potential ‘free-kick competition’ with a winner being required on the day should the two sides still be level after extra-time.
“I’m reminded about what Joe Kernan said about Armagh spending so much time working on Plan A that they never got around to Plan B! Our aim is to go out and try and win it the way you win any other match.”
The difference this year is that we have been tested in a Munster final like we were in Tralee