A timely stock-take for Kerry

A SNAPSHOT four minutes from the end of last Sunday’s defeat by Mayo in Tralee tells an awful lot about the current state between mind and body of the Kerry team.

Enda Varley, the diminutive young Mayo corner-forward who had kicked all his side’s first-half tally of four points appeared to have run himself to a standstill and went down with what appeared to be a cramp in the leg. At that stage the game was up for Kerry and Varley’s substitution barely registered with those watching from the terrace. Around that time, however, some curious eyes were cast around the pitch scanning for anyone on the Kerry team who appeared to have emptied the tank to the extent that Varley had. Of those still left on the pitch, only Declan O’Sullivan seemed to have been in any way tired due to the same relentless effort, but there were a number of his colleagues who might have been struggling because, well, this is March and it might just be a tad early for an experienced team to be going through the gears.