Ó Cinnéide: Others must now step up

Dara Ó Cinnéide says the gauntlet has been thrown down to the Kerry attack to prove their worth in the absence of injured captain Colm Cooper.

The 30-year old contributed 1-22 (0-13 frees) of Kerry’s championship tally in 2013, along with numerous scores engineered by the visionary centre-forward.

“People will say that scores in the Kerry forward unit will dry up because the Gooch isn’t there, that the other forwards can’t create openings for themselves in Gooch’s absence,” Ó Cinnéide said last night.

“That is a brilliant challenge for them. Footballers have a default setting to put disappointments like this behind them straight away. The next couple of games, regardless of what six forwards are on the field, it will be a great challenge for them to see who will take the lead, who will create the openings in Gooch’s absence.

“It is a big blow to the morale of the squad and they will be disappointed for him first and foremost. Kerry were playing their league games without him and they weren’t setting the world alight up front. Even when he left the field on Saturday, it wasn’t that the Dr Crokes forward unit appeared rudderless, the imagination just wasn’t as strong up front.

“He is the ultimate game-changer. He is the one forward in the country you can put the tag ‘unmarkable’ on. There is no way of dressing it up, it is bad new for him, for Dr Crokes and it is particularly bad news for Kerry.”

The former Kerry forward admits that Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s side have slipped down the pecking order for September glory without their talisman.

“It doesn’t make Kerry an ordinary team, but it definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, does move them down the pecking order in terms of contenders.

“In terms of going that 5% extra in scaling the heights, that is what the Gooch gives you.

“The Gooch gives you the moment of magic. The Gooch gives you the difference in creating a score from a nothing situation.

“There is going to be bit more huff and puff and a little less inspiration without him. It is very disappointing from a neutral’s perspective and it is probably a blow to the coffers as well.

“He is the biggest draw in Gaelic football. He is the one fella you would travel any distance around the country to see. It is a loss to the game that the best forward in the game won’t be playing in this year’s championship.”