DARA Ó CINNEIDE: Distinct unease spreads among the Kerry faithful
“Worst film you ever saw?” Really?”
“Well my next one will be better”.
I don’t doubt that Kerry followers have seen worse performances from their teams over the years but coming as it did on the back of another toothless B-lister showing above in Mayo, they will be hoping for things to get better...and fast.
Granted, All-Ireland champions Donegal lost their first two league games last spring and Kerry have all the appearances of a team in the middle of a period of power-based training, but there was a distinct unease to be sensed among the majority of the 5,463 souls leaving Lewis Road yesterday.
The hope that a handful of youngsters would announce their arrival as inter-county Kerry footballers by the end of April seems misplaced now. Notwithstanding a late mistake that led to the Dublin’s goal, Jonathan Lyne is perhaps the only tyro to advance claims on the jersey after the early two-match phase of NFL 2013.
Instead all the boldness, all the audacity and, surprisingly, all the composure came from the Dublin newcomers, Jonny Cooper, Kevin O’Brien and most impressively of all, Jack McCaffrey.
Watching McCaffrey glide through the gears yesterday, you just know it is a privilege to be present for the emergence of a once-off star. He covered ground, made mature decisions on the ball, protected his full-back line, counter-attacked at will and best of all, stayed the pace with Darran O’Sullivan on two occasions under the stand early in the second half when not doing so might have led to the rousing of the dormant Kerry support.
The signs were ominous for Kerry early on. There was a lack of focus to the early attacks, with Barry John Keane, Patrick Curtin and Darran O’Sullivan all spilling their first ball.
Stephen Cluxton’s first kick-out – so often a target of Kerry’s attention – was won uncontested by Darren Daly, and ended up as a point conceded to a rampant Bernard Brogan at the other end. Dublin’s easy passage out of defence from the restarts was to become a recurring feature of the play and that, above all else must be the biggest source of concern to Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s management team.
How Brendan Kealy must have longed for the same amount of options from his kick-outs. Kealy actually acquitted himself quite well, handling a number of high balls with comfort and saving two close range shots from Paddy Andrews. But too often, he was forced to play the wings and the likes of Paul Flynn, Cian O’Sullivan and McCaffrey got hands on what Michael Darragh McAuley didn’t.
Half-time offered some respite to a beleaguered Kerry defence and only some good play from Tomás Ó Sé and Aidan O Mahony, two half blocks before half-time from Marc Ó Sé and Dublin’s almost apologetic approach given their abundant possession, kept the margin respectable.
A bad miss from a Bernard Brogan free appeared to upset the Dublin rhythm either side of half-time but the unflappable Paddy Andrews stretched Dublin’s lead to seven points and even the introduction of Declan O’Sullivan and Kieran Donaghy around the same time couldn’t give Kerry the foothold they needed in a game that was going away from them at an alarming rate.
It might be a tad simplistic to compare and contrast the stock of underage talent emerging in both counties and to have it as a narrative for yesterday’s game.
Very few know better than Jim Gavin that Dublin have a wellspring of talent emerging and furthermore, they have become conditioned to winning matches.
Kerry appear to have arrived at stock depletion and the toxicity of the criticism of two decades ago will be avoided, only because the public know that each and every footballer in the county showing any kind of form has to be and will be given his chance.
Too many of the emerging Kerry players, however, get too uptight and conservative after making a mistake and their safety first approach needs to replaced by some dash and verve that befits the jersey and the tradition.
The time for babysitting and gentle cajoling is well and truly over after yesterday. With away trips to Kildare, Donegal and a resurgent Tyrone to come before the end of spring, those auditioning for a Kerry jersey have an awful lot of growing up to do if they are to stay among the A-list teams of Division One.
