We’re still in the hunt, insists defiant O’Shea

IF anger was an odour the bowels of Croke Park would be in need of a serious fumigation this morning.

Pat O’Shea did his best to present an upbeat façade after Kerry’s late meltdown but his obvious frustration after yesterday’s unlikely draw was laid bare with every clipped, curt answer.

His players were no different. For the most part, they strolled through the Hogan Stand tunnel and onto the bus in solemn silence. Those who deigned to speak did so in hushed, pained tones.

Many of the Cork and Kerry players will have had almost identical trips home last night but there is no disputing who faced the longer journey.

Letting one eight-point slip against Cork of all people could be considered careless. Doing so twice! In one summer! Well, it just shouldn’t happen.

Mick O’Dwyer knew the importance of keeping Cork at heel in the 1970s and 80s and drummed the message into his storied students year after year. Perhaps the Waterville man’s thesis needs to return to the Kingdom’s syllabus.

“We are still in the championship,” insisted a defiant O’Shea.

“Nothing has changed. It would have been nice to finish the job today but it wasn’t to be. That’s sport. Cork are always likely to create some chances and they did that.

“You’ve got to play for 70 minutes. Chances are going to go your way and the opposition’s. That’s sport. It would be far worse if we were having this conversation and we had lost.”

The rap sheet will make painful reading for Kerry when they conduct the post-mortem. The eight-point lead they held with three minutes of normal time to play in no way flatter them.

They only led by one point at the break but no-one in Croke Park could quite fathom why. Kerry should have been home and hosed by then but eight wides crippled their attempts to make Cork suffer as grievously as they had done in 2002, 2005 and 2006.

Other moments reined them back too. Tommy Walsh drew a save out of Alan Quirke when a simple point was warranted, Bryan Sheehan clipped the post with a free and Kieran Donaghy had a penalty claim dismissed by the referee.

None of it seemed to matter as Cork’s performance dipped from bad to worse after the break. Even when Darragh Ó Sé was sent off it was Kerry who took to the offensive, reeling off three points in-a-row in response to their colleague’s departure.

They actually outscored Cork by eight points to one for 32 minutes of the second-half and yet still left the door open, just like they did in the Munster final and again against Monaghan despite their periods of complete superiority.

A worrying trend?

“We would have loved to win the game but the reality is that it finished in a draw. I can’t go out and change the circumstances that happened 20 minutes ago. We were playing quite well and we conceded two goals quite late in the game and I’m here now talking about a replay next week.”

If there is a silver lining to their failure to close the deal yesterday it is of course the fact that Ó Sé would (CCCC permitting) be eligible for the final were Cork to be defeated at the third time of asking this season.

“It’s very disappointing for Darragh,” said the manager of his sending off. “He is a very passionate player. He has given fantastic service as an amateur player to this game.

“Unfortunately, he gets targeted and painted with different brushes all through his career. I was disappointed for him to get sent off. I didn’t see the incident so I can’t really comment on it.”

Did that mean O’Shea felt his midfield talisman was targeted by Cork yesterday?

“I’m not really sure. Players in all games are going to be targeted but some players are targeted for their talent and some because of their inspiration.”

Cork will be hamstrung too next weekend with Donncha O’Connor also on the absent list thanks to his indiscretion 12 minutes after O’Shea’s, but there is no doubt but that the momentum has swung significantly towards the red corner.

Kerry’s Croke Park hoodoo over them has finally been interrupted if not completely severed. Having conceded two eight-point leads to Cork this summer, it is to Kerry that punters will look for evidence of psychological scars this week.

Finding a Kerry player to put such a proposition to after the game wasn’t an easy task. Pursed lips were the order of the day as the squad vacated the dressing room before Tommy Griffin finally stopped for a brief interrogation.

“They didn’t win the game,” was the Dingle man’s take. “We were eight points up on them in the Munster final and they beat us by five. After a game you are going to be disappointed when you throw away an eight-point lead.

“We have a lot to work on this week before we go out again next Saturday or Sunday.”

Where and when that will be is to be revealed today but O’Shea and Griffin, while acknowledging the obvious logistical, geographical and monetary issues for supporters, believe that Croke Park is the only place for an All-Ireland semi-final.

Seconds out, round three.