O’Connor: We’ll need all our focus

ALL-IRELAND MFC SEMI-FINAL:

Enda Gilvarry’s charges are three from three in the defence of their All-Ireland minor crown and issued a statement of intent in their quarter-final hammering of Armagh; corner-forward Brian Reape’s 2-1 blitz early in the second period paving the way for a 3-13 to 0-9 stroll in the park.

Kerry stand in Mayo’s path of a return to the decider, but their recent head-to-head record is far removed from the westerners 18-year run without a senior championship win over the Kingdom. The two most recent meetings between the counties, ’05 and ’08, were both at the semi-final juncture, Mayo prevailing in both.

Kerry manager Jack O’Connor is well aware of the county’s underage strength. “All I know is that Mayo produce very good minor teams. This team is no different,” he said.

“They are a big, strong, physical side and they can play football. I watched them against Armagh and they pretty much demolished them. It is hard to know how good they are because Armagh were poor on the day. They are certainly a formidable team. Their central spine is very strong. Cian Hanley at centre-forward is very strong, their midfield pair of Matthew Ruane and Gary Walsh are very strong and they have a very good centre and full-back. Right down the middle they are strong. That is the way any remaining team is going to be.

“For us, it is just a matter of getting a performance out and concentrating on our effort. We can only control our own situation and we think we have a right good team as well. It is about getting our own performance right, getting lads to stick to their roles and not letting the environment, setting or occasion get to them. We feel if we produce our best, we will be there or thereabouts.”

As much as O’Connor has tried to achieve total focus leading into this weekend’s game, the recent Leaving Cert results and ensuing college points race have been a source of distraction. The teacher forces through.

“The Leaving Cert results are far more important than football. Football is only a pastime. The period when they were doing the Leaving Cert was the biggest test for them because that was draining and we had to play Cork two weeks after in the Munster final. They came through and I just hope they will tune into this game because we will need all our focus.”

Kerry swept Kildare aside in last month’s quarter-final, Tomás O Sé’s 1-2 haul the highlight in a one-sided, 2-15 to 1-8 affair.

“There is improvement needed. We didn’t flow the way we needed to against Kildare. Looking back on the video there is a lot that needs improving. We have been working away on rectifying certain issues. I don’t believe the Kildare performance will be good enough to beat Mayo, as they are a step up on all the teams we have played. Our aim all year was to improve game-by-game. We hope we will get a bit of improvement the next day.

“I wouldn’t be worried about Croke Park experience. The fact that there was four or five of them there last year in Shane Ryan, Micheál Burns, Killian Spillane and Matthew Flaherty is certainly a help because they have the experience of playing up there. We have a lot of good leaders on the team. Barry O’Sullivan is playing a lot of good football at the moment. He has shown great leadership and we’re very happy with him. He is a very good minor. He was up there with Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne. We were well tested against Cork, but came strong in the final five minutes when we needed to and so we have no fears over their leadership qualities.”