O’Connor thrilled as Kerry bloom in spring
Losing last September’s showdown was a potentially crippling blow to Kerry and, initially, the 2006 season didn’t start any better than 2005 had ended.
Both Liam Hassett and Dara Ó Cinnéide called time on their inter-county careers, William Kirby has been injured while Seamus Moynihan and Paul Galvin have only recently returned.
That left him without five of the starters from the All-Ireland decider but, despite failing to hit the absolute heights so far, Kerry still find themselves in a league final on Sunday against Galway.
“It’s a good sign, the way that the lads have bounced back, because there’s always a serious hangover after losing an All-Ireland final. So, to regroup again and qualify for the knockout of the league is good going,” O’Connor admitted yesterday.
The league has undoubtedly been a welcome antidote to any All-Ireland blues Kerry might have felt with a couple of jigsaw pieces falling into place.
The spine of the team has undergone some surgery and Kieran Donaghy has impressed alongside Darragh Ó Sé in the middle while Eamonn Fitzmaurice seems to fill the number 11 shirt like a glove.
Bryan Sheehan gave further evidence of his potential off the bench last weekend while the potentially disastrous effects of Mike McCarthy’s injury have been diluted by Marc Ó Sé’s duties as his emergency deputy on the edge of the square.
Both Moynihan and Galvin have shot from the blocks since their return too, but O’Connor is still well aware that Kerry are not playing with the zip they mustered this time last year.
“We were going great guns this time last year. It’s a funny league. We played better football in the league last year and didn’t qualify. We got ten points last year and it was a freak result up in Castlebar when Mayo beat Westmeath by 14 points and put us out of the league by one point on scoring average. We’ve stuttered a bit this year, but we’re still in the final.”
At first glance, last week’s defeat of Laois suggests Kerry are finding their rhythm but Mick O’Dwyer’s side were a pale shadow of the team that had accumulated three successive Ulster scalps.
The previous week’s struggle against Dublin - when Kerry started without Colm Cooper and McCarthy before losing Tomas Ó Sé at half-time - was undoubtedly a more educational lesson.
“We did well to hang in there because we could have lost that game. We were very determined then last week that we would play better. We felt we played well last Sunday although Laois were under par.”
He doesn’t expect it to be easy this week in Limerick. Nor does he expect it to be a repeat of the scorefest that was the 2004 NFL final between the sides at Croke Park.
Pat McEneaney refereed that day and told O’Connor afterwards that it was a game of handbags, with no heavy hitting. O’Connor accepts that, for all its beauty, it was more akin to an Allstars match than a championship tussle, but both sides have moved on since.
Billy Morgan was none too impressed with Kerry’s physicality when the sides met in Páirc Uí Rinn earlier this year in the league and Mayo trainer John Morrison accused Galway of “destroying skill” in the wake of last week’s defeat to the Tribesmen.
“Galway have changed a bit,” O’Connor said. “For a start, they have a different manager and they play a slightly different style. They certainly weren’t standing back looking at Mayo last weekend. They’ve become quite physical. It’s a changed Galway team, but they certainly seem to be hitting form at the right time.”
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