Why long-lingering angst may help Kerry

PERHAPS in time we might come to view last Sunday’s breakthrough by Dublin as a defining day in the history of the GAA’s most fabled rivalry.

It was a day when Dublin, a team whose failure to close the deal has been casually intertwined with their DNA, beat the mighty Kerry, a team in whom it is bred to the bone to close deals when the blue tide is rising in Croke Park.

Only a churl would find fault with some of the tactics deployed by the losing side but the manner in which Kerry lost the game has deepened the introspection, sharpened the knives and accentuated the negative mood down in the Kingdom. What’s the point? Returning to the entrails of the match to forensically examine every ball won and lost is pointless as there is no competitive action for this group until February.