Practice makes perfect

ANALYSE this, as Robert de Niro, would say. Two missed penalties, a sending off, blood and bandages and yet more than 38,000 fans left Fitzgerald Stadium yesterday as muted as an enclosed order.

Kerry's Dara Ó Cinnéide didn't even notice that his side had been reduced to 14 men until he enquired of the sideline why Limerick's half-back line were mopping up everything in sight.

"A poor game as a spectacle," the-final's leading scorer reflected.

"It wasn't bad for fourteen men, but if we'd had fifteen for the duration, you wouldn't be happy with it."

Not that there are any extra kit bags for style.

This time last year, Paidi Ó Sé's side were knocking over sides with a glass of champagne in one hand and a cigar in the other. But when it came to winning ugly in September, they folded.

This year, Kerry will take it any which way they can so yesterday's 1-11 to 0-9 triumph over Liam Kearns' Limerick was a marker in itself.

In the winning dressing room, Man of the Match Eoin Brosnan patched up a busted eye as his trainer savoured his first Munster title victory as manager in Killarney. The symmetry was interesting.

When Páidí Ó Sé spoke of his players' "experience," he was referring to the chastening variety. Despite their success of 2000, nobody in the Kingdom has forgotten what followed against Meath and Armagh least of all Liam Kearns.

So when Jason Stokes was grounded for a Limerick penalty in the 11th minute yesterday, the Limerick boss didn't need a drum-roll to sense the importance of the moment.

Though Limerick were only a point in front, wing-forward Stephen Kelly had cut alarming tracks through the Kerry defence, shorn the buffer of Darragh Ó Sé. A goal at this stage would have tested Kerry's psychological wellbeing.

"We needed to capitalise on the way we were carving them open," reflected Kearns. "I can't remember the last time Kerry were opened up as often in Killarney.

"But I was tearing my hair out on the sideline because I knew we were going to pay for it. It was heartbreaking for us to dominate for twenty minutes and to watch Kerry score off their first two possessions. Then they got the goal.

Frustrating is the only word I can think of."

It was as good as any. To further muddy Kearns' half-time team talk, he lost Stephen Kelly with concussion and watched as Dara Ó Cinnéide claimed the game's only goal just before the break.

"Knowing our luck today, we'll get Armagh in the qualifiers," he added.

Little did he know.

Kerry progress to the quarter-finals having disposed of Tipperary and Limerick. It could hardly be called a minefield, but there were important issues to be considered yesterday.

Standing up to a physical side, claustrophobic side was one of them.

Once Eoin Brosnan and Séamus Scanlon found the same wavelength, the Kerry midfield claimed parity against John Galvin and Jason Stokes the Kerry management would have snapped your hand off for that beforehand.

However, the key manoeuvre was bringing Declan O'Sullivan out to the forty, and repositioning Dara Ó

Cinnéide to the edge of the square.

For a man who rarely singles out individuals, Páidi Ó Sé's testimonial of O'Sullivan's work rate afterwards was high praise indeed. Little wonder.

When the Kerry selectors were looking around for someone to arrest Limerick's early storm, they could hardly have expected the instigator to be a 19-year-old playing his first Munster final.

Kerry had only two points after 27 minutes, but critically, they had weathered Limerick's storm.

"Initially I think we were a bit taken aback by their energy and enthusiasm, even though we should have expected it.

"But Liam (Hassett) did very well for us in turning the tide around midfield, doing a lot of thankless work that isn't often seen," explained Ó Cinnéide.

The full-forward should have goaled seven minutes before the break but made amends in the 33rd minute when Eoin Brosnan teed him up.

"The miss came at a vital time because it would have been a blow to Limerick, but thanks to Eoin's vision, I got another chance.

"It definitely made things a lot harder for Limerick."

The Kerry trainer also lauded Brosnan's work rate.

And while he enjoyed the thought of Darragh Ó Sé being back for the first weekend in August at Croke Park, who will partner him will be an interesting choice for the selectors.

It will be one of many. If Brosnan remains at midfield, it may ease the bottleneck up front, where John Crowley and Aodan MacGearailt added their claims off the bench yesterday.

The Kerry selectors have had their difficult moments, but they got the calls right yesterday.

Séamus Moynihan will now remain at full-back, and Declan O'Sullivan has booked himself a starting place in attack.

The rest is up to "quality training," as Ó Cinnéide pondered.

"I'll play anywhere, especially when you look at the talent waiting to come on.

"We went through the qualifiers last year and we needed that we needed the 'cleansing' after Meath the year before.

"But this is the preferred route for this team, even if there is no safety net now. It will all be down to the quality of the training but we know that we haven't performed to our peak yet," Ó Cinnéide explained.

That may be the most important footnote of all.