Kerry attack should use Barcelona as tactical model

UNDER the Croke Park spotlight, we watched Dublin maintain their 100% league record and, for the second time in three games, Kerry’s Jack O’Connor and his management team leave with positives but no points.

Chief among the positives will be the performance of David Moran, initially as a withdrawn wing forward, and then as a midfielder. His next challenge is developing a consistency of performance and putting good displays back-to-back. Marc Ó Sé was outstanding at full back as he bested Bernard Brogan in an intriguing duel and Bryan Sheehan kicked exceptionally well. Colm Cooper was also at his brilliant best — but more about that later.

Dublin’s Pat Gilroy will be pleased with the progress of his charges. They have shown a heretofore absent grit in grinding out victory, just like they did in Crossmaglen, when they bested Armagh in the opening round. They are scoring lots of goals and most of their team are playing with confidence. Dublin are also achieving a much better balance between defence and attack. They are working particularly hard on the transition game from turnovers, which they’re using to launch swift counter-attacks.