Miserable victors face a tactical challenge

LONG FACES, slumped shoulders.

Is there anything so awkward as the funereal hush of the crestfallen dressing room in Croke Park? Players tiptoe around the dishevelled remains of battle, glancing, not looking. Miming, not whispering.

And then, mercifully, the county board chairman breaks the silence. "What's the problem lads? Lift it up. Ye're in an All-Ireland semi-final. You'd swear we lost."

You think you're confused? Kerry's might have been the only winning dressing room at GAA headquarters yesterday, but you'd need a diviner to source any satisfaction.

The Kingdom matched their semi-final opponents Tyrone score-for-score in their respective quarter-finals, but no-one was eulogising the potency and patterns of Kerry's forwards. In a county where the glass is always half-empty, the concession of 3-10 to Roscommon will send the chattering classes into a frenzy until they return to Croke Park in three weeks.

Galway and Donegal will rejoin their battle in six days' time in Castlebar, after yesterday's 0-14 to 1-11 draw. It produced most of the excitement if not the talking points for an attendance of 56,296.

Veteran midfielder Kevin Walsh rescued the Connacht champions with an injury-time equaliser, after Donegal's John Haran missed the chance to finish them off moments earlier.

"Any analysis would show that we still have a huge amount of work to do," admitted Galway boss John O'Mahony.

But it's thought that the game will bring Galway on more than their Ulster rivals.

"A four- or five-week break between games is crazy," said Kevin Walsh.

"That has to be addressed. The Leinster champions only had two weeks to wait until their next game. I don't know why that is, but it's not right."

Armagh must wait for their August 31 semi-final opponents, but Tyrone will be uneasy favourites a week earlier, against a Kerry side that hasn't hummed since last season.

Even Paídí O Sé spoke of a possible August 24 annihilation if they repeat yesterday's shambolic defending.

"The lads are annoyed with themselves," explained coach John O'Keeffe. "We certainly showed naivete in one or two of the goals. I saw Tyrone on Sunday and we were highly impressed. We'll need another 30% to match them. But I thought the fact that we had to play to the last minute was good for us. We needed that."

If O'Keeffe was slightly less morose than some of his compatriots, maybe he's seen the upside of being pilloried low expectations, guaranteed blood and sweat for three weeks, and all the pressure on the opposition. A world gone mad.

However, there are chastening facts and factors to ponder for Kerry, not least of which is their ongoing problem with two-man full-forward lines.

Just the time, then, to meet the deadliest duo left in the Championship: Canavan and Mulligan.

"There is so much space inside now in a two-man full-forward line that it's practically impossible to hold out for 70 minutes," explained O'Keeffe.

"We've looked at other teams as well Laois did very well on Sunday in their full-back line because they left Aidan Fennelly back to help out, and didn't send him out the field after Tony McEntee.

"The game has moved on tactically to such a degree that everyone has to look at new things. A two-man full-back line needs a little more protection because they can't be expected to hold out when they're being bombarded by all sorts of deliveries."

Kerry may also consider Armagh's ploy of playing nominal corner-forward McEntee in front of their full-back line.

Conceding three second-half goals yesterday should certainly encourage it.

Said Roscommon boss, Tommy Carr: "Kerry are always there or thereabouts but they'll look at it and wonder how 3-10 was scored on them. However, Croke Park is a very open pitch now and big scores are going to be racked up there."

The only goal of Kerry's victory was claimed by 20-year-old Declan O'Sullivan, making his senior Championship debut in Croke Park, and this was enough to bring a smile to O'Keeffe's face. "What a find he is," said the Kerry coach.

But the real bonus was the herculean effort of midfielder Darragh Ó Sé, following a month of struggling with an ankle injury.

"The one advantage of a comprehensive victory would have been the opportunity to give Darragh a rest, but we felt that game wasn't safe enough to take him off.

"He deserves great credit for the manner in which he has taken care of himself over the last few weeks, but particularly over the winter. He has stored up so much good work that those reserves of strength and energy stood to him in this game."

Agreed Tommy Carr: "Darragh is one of the best footballers in the country, not only in terms of his skill, size, and ability, but his leadership."

Kerry led by seven points at the break, and ten midway through the second half, before two Roscommon goals in five minutes stripped away the veneer of confidence. Seamus Moynihan was not the only one in trouble; the entire defence looked vulnerable and lethargic.

But nothing is as debilitating for a team as the perception that it folds when opponents scent blood. And Kerry are dangerously close to that point.

But at least they have a semi-final to look forward to.

"Crikey, how many other counties would like to be in our position?" protested Paídí Ó Sé. "It's not all doom and gloom."