Éamonn Fitzmaurice: There's strong 'we won't be beaten' vibe off the Kerry players
Kerry’s David Clifford takes to the field ahead of the Munster SFC semi-final win over Tipp. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
Twelve teams still standing and from now on, the air starts to get thinner. Some of the pretenders to Dublin’s All-Ireland football crown were in action this weekend and the form lines now begin to take shape as things get serious.
Cork’s Munster SFC semi-final result in Limerick on paper looks fine: Scored 1-16, conceded 0-11 and back in the Munster final that they must have been so disappointed to lose last year. Ronan McCarthy and Cian O’Neill have plenty to work on in the next fortnight though, most of all trying to get some consistency into their play. They are wildly unpredictable.
To become more consistent they have to eradicate simple unforced errors where they kick or handpass the ball away cheaply. Their discipline at the back will have to improve and they will need a better spread of scorers up front. Until the 67th minute on Saturday, only John O’Rourke of the starting forwards had scored from play. Brian Hurley chipped in with two points after, but that was it, even if they did get scores from further back the field.
Cork need variety and pace on the ball up front. Both were absent for large chunks of the game but were some bit evident in the final quarter when they finished a game, if wasteful, Limerick challenge. The visitors seemed to lack confidence when it came to pulling the trigger and were willing to pass the responsibility to the next player, thus slowing everything down, which suited Limerick.
At their best, Cork can counter-attack at pace to great effect as Seán Powter did repeatedly. Their best score came via this method just before half-time when Mattie Taylor forced a big physical turnover and then came onto the end of the move to kick a great point. Powter limping out of action again will be alarming for Cork and devastating for himself. In many ways, they have a shot to nothing in Killarney on Sunday week. Outside of their own camp they won’t be given much of a chance and as we saw last November, that’s when they are at their most dangerous.
Kerry will be much happier facing into the Munster decider. They are in a good place and will relish the chance of finally avenging that game in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. There were aspects of the performance Saturday night that will come under the microscope this week as they prepare, particularly the sluggish display in the second half. But overall they are in rude health.
Physically they are in great shape. There is plenty of comment on their conditioning and it is clear that they worked extremely hard individually under the guidance of Jason McGahan during the lockdowns. In many ways, the forced periods of inactivity allowed the younger players the time and space to fully develop physically. However, it is the athleticism and agility of many of the players in the middle third that is catching my eye, which can be a telling factor in Croke Park.
Tactically, one of the aspects that impressed me was the way Kerry dealt with Tipperary’s double sweeper as Brian Fox and Pádraic Looram withdrew in front of their full back line. Their approach was twofold. Tom O’Sullivan, who was designated to pick up Fox, pushed forward and played as an extra forward. While Fox was firefighting in front of David Clifford and company, O’Sullivan supported the attack, found pockets of space, and kicked two points. Tommy Griffin would have been well aware of O’Sullivan’s prowess in this regard as we deployed him as a corner forward with the school team on occasion.
Secondly, Kerry sat Gavin Crowley in front of Conor Sweeney at the other end when Tipperary attacked. Crowley never went wider than the width of the ‘D’ and when Tipperary looked up to kick ball inside, his presence deterred them, pushed Sweeney wide and in effect made him redundant. It worked a treat.
Finally, and most significantly, the vibe I am picking up from the group is extremely positive from a Kerry perspective. They are men on a mission, driven by the hurt from last year and a ferocious hunger and ambition for success. I have been part of Kerry teams where that elusive drive is there and it should not be underestimated. 2000, 2004, and, in particular 2014, come to mind when we just were not going to be beaten. It remains to be seen if that will be the case in 2021 but the signs are positive.
In Ulster, Tyrone purged the June visit to Killarney from the system. They will be quite happy with much of their play against Cavan.
One of the obvious features of their performances in the league as they attempted to shift from one style of play to another was the absence of the trademark Tyrone intensity. Since they have started winning All-Irelands, that has been central to their identity. It was to the fore again on Saturday and was illustrated perfectly by Cathal McShane’s point shortly after he came on the field.
As Cavan brought the ball out from the back, Tyrone men descended on them from all sides and eventually through sheer hard work and disciplined tackling, forced the turnover that ended up with McShane kicking the point. To beat Donegal/Derry the next day out, they will need loads of that.
It was positive for Tyrone to get 20-plus minutes into McShane. He looked rusty but still kicked two from play and converted a free. If he gets back to his best he will be huge for them.
In his last championship game against Kerry in the 2019 All-Ireland semi-final, he kicked seven points, including four from play and his absence last season hurt.
Darren McCurry’s form continues to be a huge plus and the willingness to kick more ball inside is suiting him perfectly.
However, the most significant thing for them on Saturday in terms of the provincial semi-final was the performance of debutant Conn Kilpatrick in the middle of the field, which has been an area of concern. He can fetch and run and was ably assisted by Brian Kennedy when he came on.
The other significant factor was Niall Morgan, who was more conservative with his kick-outs.
Kerry dismantled the Tyrone kickout in Killarney and whether it was a collective or individual decision, he has been reeled in.
Morgan has an excellent kick-out but he can get in his own way at times by taking unnecessary risks, and not executing the kick. There was a look of back to basics about him here and it paid off.
