Kingdom ‘unknowns’ stake claim

THEY began Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final as liabilities in some eyes; to others they were raw and unproven.

Outside the county, they were virtually unknown. But Kerry’s Pádraig Reidy, Killian Young and midfielder Seamus Scanlon arrived in some style as footballers against Dublin — answered their critics and vindicating their selection in a Croke Park cauldron.

“Experience gained in the white heat of battle is worth anything because you can’t replicate it elsewhere,” said Kerry coach Pat O’Shea yesterday. He used the word ‘heroic’ in referring to Reidy, the young corner-back now poised to become the first Scartaglin player in history to start an All-Ireland final in three weeks.

But at 3.30 on Sunday, the softly-spoken Scart man was more interested in survival than heroism.

“Some would say it’s about time I grew up as an inter-county footballer,” he reflected yesterday. “It’s a fantastic experience to go out as a team against the Dubs, and have 60,000 of their fans against you. But it’s about time I stood up as my own man on the team,” he said.

“Marc (Ó Sé) and the boys around me have given me as much support as I needed up to now but it’s time to do my own thing and help them as a defender as well — especially in terms of handling my own man. The lads have been breaking me in, so it’s about time to repay the favour.”

Reidy was acutely aware last week of the speculation that his starting place was in jeopardy, and used it as a motivating tool. “No-one likes to see bad things written about them, so you try to go out and prove people wrong. You’ll know yourself whether there’s more in the tank, it’s only a question of bringing it out. Even though I didn’t read a whole pile, if I got the chance I was determined to prove some people wrong.”

His defensive colleague Killian Young from Renard made one slip in the Munster final, and watched as Cork’s Donncha O’Connor punished him to the full with a cracking goal. However, not only is he now dreaming of an All-Ireland final, he’s been the architect of the three goals (against Cork, Monaghan and Dublin) that have put Kerry there.

“As a young fellow, you always dreamed of the moment when you got the chance to play in an All-Ireland final. When I was 12 and 13, I was going to finals and would be so excited to be in the stands roaring Kerry on. To think that in a few week’s time, I will be there myself is just unbelievable.”

If that sounds like a Young man losing the run of himself already, think again. The wing back has an interesting admission to make: “If we’re honest, Cork should have beaten us in the Munster final. Sunday was only a stepping stone — we’re not getting carried away. They have a big inside forward line and the hunger they’ll bring in three weeks will be tough to match.”

Young knows all about workload. Earlier this year he snapped the ligaments in his ankle, sidelining him for two months. He employed a special air-cast — a la Wayne Rooney — to speed up recovery, but Pat O’Shea’s squad wasn’t his first priority.

“The fear was that I’d miss the U-21s and Kerry ended up going out to Clare in the first round which was very disappointing. But I put my head down, worked hard at the gym, because I knew I had to put on a bit of weight and muscle to play at this level.

“In a way getting injured worked out well for me, because it meant I had to go back to the gym and I really did put in a lot of work there, making me a better, stronger player.”

Like Young, Reidy is learning fast: “Everything goes so fast, except time. I looked up after five minutes and thought ‘oh no, another 65 minutes of this’. But you settle in and get your second wind, and I was even telling Tomas (Ó Sé) with five minutes left to take a deep breath or two because he was making some absolutely lung-bursting runs in the second half.

“There’s a lot of off the ball stuff at this level but you just have to get used to that. I got a little tug just before Mark Vaughan’s (only) point from play, but you just have to box clever. Darragh Ó Sé has been around the block and as he says, Croke Park is no place for nice guys. You have to hit hard and fair and stand up for yourself.”

Reidy and Young’s displays may ease the management’s defensive concerns, but the all-action display of Currow’s Seamus Scanlon gives them a welcome midfield headache.

Kerry have the option of Tommy Griffin, Eoin Brosnan or Kieran Donaghy to partner Darragh Ó Sé in the final, but Scanlon put down his own marker. He was the only constant in Kerry’s engine room over 70 minutes, and is developing into an ideal foil for Ó Sé.

“Like people in the media, we toyed with different personnel and formations after the Monaghan match, in terms of who was going to fall on their sword,” added Pat O’Shea. “Maybe people were right that a lot of changes might have been called for but Monaghan was a different game. We were confident in our group of players.”

Kerry’s ‘unknowns’ — Reidy, Young and Scanlon — repaid that faith in spades on Sunday.