‘Bypassed’ the last day, midfield maestro Fennelly plans to get back on centre stage

You try to be polite when a player hasn’t done well in a game, but the good ones don’t need sugar with their medicine.

They can carry out their own diagnosis.

Kilkenny’s Michael Fennelly was frank about the drawn All-Ireland final. In the absence of the injured Michael Rice, he was expected to take the lead in midfield, but that’s not how it worked out.

“The last day, I was quite poor, to be honest,” said Fennelly. “I didn’t really get into the game. It bypassed me at times. It was a strange game, the fact Galway were batting the ball back 20 yards or so and the ball was flying past midfield, so you have to adjust to the game. There was a lot of running and Galway have a lot of runners. You are trying to track players the whole time. You ended up running around the field, not getting near the ball.”

Many observers were interested to see Fennelly start on Andy Smith, the smaller of the Galway pairing, rather than going like-for-like with Iarla Tannian.

“Normally I play on the left and Richie (Hogan) on the right,” explained Fennelly. “That’s how we ended up for the clash ball.

“I’m not sure if that was their strategy but that is how it ended up. It was a bit funny to see two big lads marking two small lads, I suppose.

“Richie was going well for a while there, if something drastic happened in the first 10 minutes, you might change it but whoever you’re marking, no matter how big or small or good he is, you just take him on and that is that.”

Cork’s Lorcan McLoughlin points out that Hogan isn’t Fennelly’s usual midfield partner, however.

“Michael Fennelly has it all as a midfielder, size, speed, he can score, but the last day, with Michael Rice injured he had to play with Richie Hogan. “He might not be as used to playing with Hogan. It certainly wasn’t one of his better games for Kilkenny, and he’s a big player for them.”

Brendan Maher of Tipperary, another man used to facing Fennelly and company, agrees with McLoughlin.

“You build up an understanding with your midfield partner, and like forwards who know each others’ play, you know where he’ll go and where you need to go to cover him, and vice versa.

“Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice have been a very strong combination for Kilkenny for a few years and would have a great idea of each other’s play, so it’s not surprising that Michael (Fennelly) wouldn’t have that level of understanding with Richie overnight. In that sense it’ll be interesting to see if Richie lines out there tomorrow — you might see someone like TJ Reid come out there instead, who’d give Kilkenny a different option.”

McLoughlin wasn’t pinning all the responsibility for the Cats’ sluggish start on Fennelly, however.

“When they’re going well Fennelly is usually a massive influence for them in the middle of the field, but it wouldn’t just be down to him — in general Galway were better than Kilkenny and it was only in the second half that the likes of Brian Hogan came into the game.

“The last day Galway definitely had the upper hand in midfield. Andy Smith is mobile and gets all over the field, while you’d see Iarla Tannian dropping back to the half-back line to help out there.”

Maher points out that both Smith and Tannian have added new weapons to their armoury: “Tannian covers the half-backs but he doesn’t just sit back and bat the ball down the field. He’s good to win it and power out, to draw the man and pop a pass or else to put it into the forward’s hand up the field — that’s how Galway got their second goal the last day.

“Andy Smith’s fitness levels are unbelievable this year, but he’s also able to chip in with a point now and then, which wasn’t always the case. They’re two fine players and they’re combining well, but I’d expect a big game from Michael Fennelly.

“He said himself after the game that a few of them (Kilkenny) didn’t play up to the mark. They know that themselves. That’s a fair incentive for them to improve their performance tomorrow, and he’s a key man in ensuring that that happens.”

Poor form on the day wasn’t the reason Fennelly opted out of a late chance to win the game, however. The Ballyhale man won the ball in midfield with time running out, but he got a shout from a teammate who’s pretty accurate.

“Henry (Shefflin) called for it as soon as I got it,” said Fennelly. “I presumed there was somebody coming in on top of me, so I threw it out to him and I heard his voice calling out for it as well.

“The form he was hitting them in, he practically dragged us back into the game. I thought someone was closing me down, so I got rid of it straightaway but if he hadn’t called for it I would have shot for it.”

Fennelly was ill the week of the game, though he played that down: “I had a small dose but everything was fine. I had a good sleep the night before, so I was in good shape.” Good shape. Ready to go. Just what Kilkenny want to hear.