Éamonn Fitzmaurice: New season, new manager but old issues still remain Kerry's achilles heel

"It is fine to make mistakes, but it is crucial to learn from them and most importantly not keep making the same ones"

Kerry’s Sean O’Shea reacts to a missed chance during the Allianz Football League Division 1 game against Kildare at St Conleth’s Park. Picture: Ryan Byrne

First time round in 2004, Jack O Connor started off his league campaign 100km northwest of Newbridge in Longford, where a last-minute goal by the home side sent us packing.

It was similarly dank in a packed St Conleth’s Park yesterday, but Kerry just about held on for a draw and, on reflection, will be quite happy to have a point on the board.

They won’t panic, but they will be disappointed with the display, particularly as the form lines had been good in preseason. Jack is too experienced and wily to think that he could click his fingers and all of last year’s issues would disappear straight away. He knows it will take time. He will be disconcerted with the second-half display, but will appreciate that tests like these are what prepare a team for the championship.

Kerry started off last year’s league by hammering Galway in Tralee, and finished it by hosing Tyrone in Killarney.

It did them no favours when it came to the crunch in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Having to battle for a point in a packed Newbridge will stand them in much greater stead. In some ways though, it will feel like a point lost, having led for the vast majority of the game. A come-from-behind victory at some stage during the league would also be something Jack would like them to experience, to steel them for the big championship days. Kerry were decent and effective for large parts of the first half, without ever really catching fire. Adrian Spillane and Seán O Shea were on top in the middle of the field. Paudie Clifford was controlling the forwards, and they looked solid at the back. Tadhg Morley was playing as a sweeper in front of Jimmy Hyland and Daniel Flynn.

The combination of Paul Cribbin playing deep and Spillane’s huge work rate and covering allowed his club-mate to drop. This will be something they will continue to work on and finesse. It will be harder to do next weekend against a Dublin team that will play six up, and it will be interesting to see how Kerry cope with that setup.

Jack has always favoured that hard-working defensive midfielder to play as a foil to a creative one in the middle. William Kirby, Seamus Scanlon, and Tommy Griffin all performed that duty with aplomb during All-Ireland winning years.

Spillane is the man that is earmarked for that role at the moment. With the returning Na Gaeil players next weekend does the management stick or twist? One of many questions for them this week. Some forwards will certainly be under pressure to hold onto their starting
jerseys.

The second-half performance was well off what is required at this level. Kerry only scored three points and totally went away from their kicking game. They allowed the home crowd to become a factor in the game, and the Kildare fans were only too happy to sock it on to their former boss.

They gave their team real energy in the final quarter. What will disappoint Kerry most though is the number of unforced turnovers in the second half. Again. They were guilty of this in the All-Ireland semi-final last year, and I am sure it is something they have spoken about and are working on in training. Their reaction to the turnovers wasn’t hectic either, leading to a lot of Kildare opportunities.

It is fine to make mistakes, but it is crucial to learn from them and most importantly not to keep making the same ones.

Surprisingly, considering most of the players have at least three games under their belts in the last few weeks, their skills were off, and many of them lacked that bit of sharpness.

There was an air of panic about their play in the closing stages as they struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking. They will be the better for this experience in the long run, but many of them will be disappointed with their performances this morning.

Glenn Ryan will be delighted with the way his side fought in the second half. There was a real spirit of defiance about them. But for their profligacy in front of goal, they could well have taken both points.

Ryan himself was a great kicker from centre-back when he played, and there were glimpses of him trying to get this into his charges. It was particularly effective in the final third, setting up scores for the excellent Hyland in the first half.

It was the more traditional running style that brought most reward in the final quarter as they ran at Kerry and won frees. Kevin Fehilly and Neil Flynn were introduced at half time and made a big difference, and none of the younger players looked out of place. They will expect more from Daniel Flynn in the coming games, but they are going to be awkward opposition for everyone they come across in the next while.

They are away to Donegal next weekend and will look to get points there also. In 2018, when they were last in Division 1, they came out on the wrong side of a few very tight matches. It appears that under Ryan they are determined to confine the hard-luck stories to the past.

Armagh were so impressive in Croke Park Saturday evening as they delivered a polished performance to see off Dublin.

While they won by five points, it could have been double that. There was much to enjoy about their display. They were excellent up front, scoring 2-12 of their total from play. While they were led by the outstanding Rian O’Neill, the likes of Rory Grugan, Jason Duffy, Tiernan Kelly, and Aidan Nugent played well also.

There was great cohesion and balance to their attack. They varied long diagonal deliveries with popped balls to the top of the ‘D’, and late on they ran the ball to create a few scores in the final quarter. Significantly they also have the likes of Stefan Campbell, Conor Turbitt, and Oisín O’Neill when he returns, meaning that they have nine or 10 frontline forwards.

In recent seasons it is at the other side of the field they have had issues against the best teams. They have clearly worked hard on their defensive structure over the winter.

They defend the middle channel in numbers and are disciplined and aggressive. They get bodies around the man in possession when he enters the danger zone.

They shut Dublin down on countless occasions, and they read the back-door cut very well. Credit to Kieran McKeever for this, but tougher tests lie ahead, as Dublin were surprisingly toothless.

I was also impressed with the variety of their kickout strategy. They want to go long as often as they can to get the ball from front to back as quickly as possible. Initially, they tried a long kickout to the side with 6ft 5in Ben Crealy, Jarlath Óg Burns and Tiernan Kelly working together.

Dublin had the height and the personnel to deal with it, and so they changed their
approach.

Kickout number two was getting their middle eight players in tight in a spine up the middle of the pitch, leaving the wings open and breaking to the space at the right moment.

This worked for a while until Dublin — directed by Ciarán Kilkenny — reacted and put a zone in place that made it harder to break into those spaces. Armagh answered with kickout number three which was the long boomer to Rian O’Neill, enabling him to break the ball to onrushing runners. Greg McCabe’s late score came via this method.

Clearly, this is a well-coached team, making the right onfield decisions. There are a couple of things they can tidy up for next weekend, including their game management later in the game, but they clearly enjoyed their trip to headquarters and have the looks of a Croke Park team.

They will be tough opposition for anyone in the coming weeks and months. The key for them right now is to back up this performance at home to Tyrone next weekend.

Dublin, on the other hand, were flat. Again.

They won’t panic, and I
certainly won’t be rushing to write them off, but they looked well off it. They have some
significant players set to
return however, most notably James McCarthy, Con O’Callaghan, Mick Fitzsimmons, and Jonny Cooper.

However, Dessie Farrell will be so disappointed with their body language and their fight, for each other and for him. I’m sure the winter dragged for them, and they will have been mad keen to get back playing matches and to begin to atone for last year’s disappointment.

They are making the same mistakes in possession that started to creep in last year. They are turning over the ball, are kicking the ball into the goalkeeper’s hands and are shooting wides that they would normally easily convert.

For me, their biggest issue is their forward structure and movement. They are reluctant to kick the ball, and have become completely risk-averse. Four years ago this possession game was effective, but the game has moved on again.

Pep Guardiola dominated soccer for a long time with his tika-taka model, but he had to modify that also. Inverted full-backs play in midfield, the false nine, and now full-backs getting in for goals have all helped to keep City at the top. If they didn’t realise it already, Dublin will know they need to innovate again.

With all that said, if I was in the Kerry camp this week, I would be extremely wary.

There will be a good bit of anger in the Dublin squad, and they will be anxious to react. A full house under lights in Tralee should get the blood up. If it doesn’t, then it really is time for them to be getting worried.