All eyes still on bigger picture
But they will still turn into the summer wondering about areas where the spring light can’t reach.
Jack O’Connor’s Munster champions made mush of an under-strength Laois in Killarney yesterday, but their 1-15 to 0-10 stroll hardly registered a heartbeat. Flat-track bullies they are not, but the two-point defeat to Tyrone in Omagh last month remains the most instructive 70 minutes of Kerry’s League campaign. It’s agitating the Kerry players more than they might admit, which might be no bad thing.
Mayo started the League with a bang, Ger Brady powering them to an exhilarating win over Kerry in Tralee, but in Castlebar yesterday all the old questions resurfaced about altitude sickness. Not that it prevented manager Mickey Moran launching into their opponents, Galway, after the 1-11 to 1-6 defeat to Peter Ford’s side.
Moran accused Galway of “spoiling tactics” at McHale Park, also suggesting a Galway mentor may have visited the referee’s room at half-time.
“It’s not physical. It’s spoiling,” said Moran afterwards. “If you want to see physical come up to Ulster and see physical.
“Our stats man Martin (Roughneen) said he thought he saw someone from Galway go into the referee’s room at half-time. If that was so, then that’s not on either. But that didn’t beat us.”
Galway manager Peter Ford - who had left McHale Park by the time Moran made his comments - felt his team could have won by more in a game they controlled for long periods.
“We missed a lot of chances. We defended well and did a lot of good things, but we should have scored a lot more, that’s the only disappointing thing,” he said.
Wing-forward Matthew Clancy scored the crucial first-half goal with a thunderbolt not unlike his strike against Derry in Croke Park in 2001 en route to the All-Ireland title.
At 1-9 to 0-5 ahead midway through the second-half, Galway looked like they might hand out a hammering to the home team. But after Sean Armstrong somehow missed a simple goal chance, Austin O’Malley found the net for Mayo in the 58th minute and inspired a brief rally.
In Killarney, Bryan Sheehan put his hand up for a Championship start with five points, but Kerry learned little else as Laois capitulated under the handicap of a weakened squad.
The semi-final, in front of over 11,000 fans, was settled by a Colm Cooper goal just before half time.
For Laois, the returning Ross Munnelly, Brian McDonald and Ian Fitzgerald were all pressed into service, and O’Dwyer even called on a pair of U-21s preparing for next weekend’s All-Ireland semi final against Cork.
It’s wasn’t the sort of homecoming O’Dwyer dreamt of. Centre back Derek Conroy also went off injured, and after the one-time doughty defender Padraig McMahon lost Colm Cooper, the artful dodger claimed the game’s only goal to put Kerry into a 1-8 to 0-5 half time lead.
However with an eye on the bigger picture, Jack O’Connor accentuated the toil that created it.
“There was a great steal in the middle of the field from Ronan O’Connor, and Gooch was found by a fantastic pass by Darragh Ó Sé. He stuck it like the genius he is.”
Marc Ó Sé was imperious at full back, and with Mike McCarthy to return, seven into six positions doesn’t go. Same with the forwards. Eamon Fitzmaurice’s two points and productive play is making it harder and harder to displace him. Jack’s a happy camper.
O’Connor pointed to the opening 35 minutes against Tyrone as the best Kerry have played this year, but that evening he was asked had he learned anything new about the champions.
“Just that they’re harder to beat,” he said.
Win or lose at Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds on Sunday, one suspects that will be the predominant theme of the summer. And not just for Kerry.
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