Éamonn Fitzmaurice: To go the distance, Kerry will need all their options
Sean O'Shea of Kerry in action against Eamonn Doherty of Donegal during the Allianz League Division clash. The win secured as league title for Kerry but greater challenges lie ahead. Picture: Matt Browne/Sportsfile
While taking into account the challenge match feel to proceedings with Donegal’s lack of intent, Kerry look in rude health as they head for Championship, having been crowned league champions in Tralee Saturday with the minimum of fuss.
David Clifford didn’t even feel the need to make a post-match speech accepting the cup. Evidently his focus, and that of the group is on the championship and while the league win was nice, ultimately this was still preparation for the big picture.
Physically they look strong, fresh and are full of running. They have young legs all over the pitch which is allowing them play in an athletically demanding way. Without the ball they are tackling back in numbers and flooding their own half. When they force turnovers they are counter-attacking collectively at pace. It is effective and hard to play against.
The most striking aspect of Kerry’s play Saturday was their relentless appetite for work without the ball. The management will be delighted with this. They again had a strong defensive shape, getting plenty of bodies behind the ball when out of possession and, for the second game in a row, Shane Ryan kept a clean sheet. They hunted in packs and forced countless turnovers.
On many occasions they trapped Donegal using the sideline to help, and forced mistakes. The animated reaction of the players when they forced these turnovers shows clearly how much focus is being put on this aspect of the game. It also is an indicator of the spirit within the group. Of the starting fifteen on Saturday, twelve don’t have an All Ireland medal.
They are ravenous for success and it shows. If they can continue to sustain this level of work rate and togetherness they will be hard to beat.
The two league games have given the Kerry players and management a good indicator of where they are all at. The only fly in the ointment in terms of preparation for the championship is the fact that they have played against two pretty similar teams, that also like to sit deep and counter-attack. In many ways this is easier to set up and play against. There are always spare bodies at the back to help with sweeping and defensive duties.
The patience required up front to break down mass defences is now second nature to most players and the rash decision-making that this could have caused 10 years ago is long gone. In many ways it is harder to play against a team that set up in an orthodox manner and Kerry haven’t played against one of these in some time. Dublin, Mayo, Galway and, in the short term, Cork tend to set up orthodox.
Unless a forward is going to be sacrificed to create a sweeper it means it is man-on-man at the back. Teams generally try to create a cheat sweeper by getting men to drop a line. This can be effective but can be hard to sustain against the better teams particularly when fatigue sets in.
Also when the personnel starts to change as subs are introduced, roles can become blurred and gaps can open. Kerry’s current modus operandi of dropping deep without the ball can also work against an orthodox set-up but I will be interested to see if the better teams leave the same amount of space open at the back to counterattack into.
As with any game, regardless of its significance or opposition interest levels, there are things to learn and improve on for two weeks' time.
Firstly, while playing against a strong wind in the first half Kerry at times sat too deep while in their defensive shape. The wind allowed Donegal to shoot from further outside than usual and they used this with effect in the first quarter in particular. Too many Kerry bodies were too deep, marking space and not achieving a huge amount.
Strong winds will probably be a feature of a winter championship and when faced with this situation next time round they will look to play some of their players at least five yards further out to push the opposition out the field and to take the distance shot away from them.
Secondly, to win championships the best teams reduce sloppy unforced errors to a bare minimum. There were a few kicks into the keeper's hands, a pick off the ground and a couple of hops in the heavy turf that didn’t come back up, resulting in turnovers.
The higher the altitude and the thinner the air the more important and significant these errors become. When we talk about the tiny margins in the big championship games, generally it is these types of things that make the difference. While polishing their game plan in the coming sessions Kerry will look to eradicate that sloppiness.
From the management perspective, another pleasing aspect is that most player form lines are on an upward curve. In particular, and significantly, a good few of the backs look to be on top of their game. Tadhg Morley, Tom O'Sullivan, Gavin White and Paul Murphy all appear to be in great form. Peter Crowley has two full games under his belt and is looking good. His leadership and experience will be significant going forward.
Further up the field, outside of the usual reliables, Diarmuid O'Connor, Tony Brosnan and Ronan Buckley are really impressing and sophomore Dara Moynihan is playing with a consistency that his fitness levels now allow. The squad is deepening further and is balanced. That depth will be needed to absorb injuries, suspensions and illness with the games coming thick and fast if you advance.
The starting 15 appears to be in possession of the jerseys and it is up to the other players to try and take them off them. This obviously generates plenty of competition within the group and guards against the cancer of complacency. Thus far we have seen very little of Tommy Walsh, Jack Barry, Stephen O'Brien, Killian Spillane or Gavin Crowley. We have yet to see Shane Enright, Adrian Spillane, Paul Geaney, James O'Donoghue or Jack Sherwood.
All will be chomping at the bit for game time. Peter Keane has plenty of options. To go the distance he will need them.
