Ó Sé wants Kelly to make better use of kick-outs
He felt the Legion man could have been wiser with his choice of restarts when so many of them after the break were feasted on by Mayo players.
“I thought that we were maybe slow changing the kick-outs in the second half. Coming in to this game I feared Mayo’s half-back line running and their midfield and for the first 20 minutes of the second-half they totally dominated us. It’s there you have to start being clever, it’s there you need leaders to stand up.
“The way the modern game has gone, Jesus, key to it all, and I had a great view looking from above, is the goalie marshal everything. You talk about [Stephen] Cluxton and the impact he has had on the game. I mean it’s the goalies that have command in a situation and if Mayo are dominating... don’t put the ball out to them.
“We needed to be more clever and even if Mayo had their full 15 we should still have been looking for other options rather than banging it down their throats.”
Speaking at the launch of Comortas na nGael yesterday, Ó Sé is not expecting Kieran Donaghy to start on Saturday as much as he felt his old team-mate’s contribution coming off the bench in the second half was “mighty”.
“I think Barry John Keane and Donaghy played excellently when they came in. Donaghy has put up with a lot of flak, he has kept his head mentally very, very strong to come in there and change a game.
“Even before Donaghy came on, there were a couple of high balls that went in and Mayo looked suspect and I was even commenting to a fella beside me, ‘Why don’t they bang it in more?’
“Out of 10 balls you might make fierce hay out of the four that go in. So I don’t know, I think it’s an option but I probably think Donaghy coming on might cause more consternation than starting.”
He also suspects Declan O’Sullivan will have more of a say in the Gaelic Grounds. “Fellas were saying that Declan was quiet the last day [v Galway] and I don’t know how many times that fellas have said Declan is finished or whatever.
“I’d never write Declan off. Declan is such a talent and he has performed at the highest level, even when against the head so many times that you wouldn’t put it against him being man of the match down there next weekend.”
He doesn’t expect Mayo to deploy a sweeper in front of the Kerry full-forward line again. “I think Mayo should have trusted Keith Higgins more. I think he played very, very well. People were saying we kicked a lot of ball away but [Tom] Cunniffe was back there, but any time James O’Donoghue got the ball more often than not Keith Higgins stood him up. They were still set up defensively enough to get cover back if he held him up for three or four seconds, that was all he needed to do.
“Keith Higgins had a tremendous game but our man still came out and scored 1-3 from play. Cillian O’Connor had a brilliant, brilliant game, he got three points from play and James O’Donoghue got 1-3 and had a quiet day. I’d expect James O’Donoghue to have a better game the next day, to be honest with you.”
As for Lee Keegan’s sending off, Ó Sé shrugged: “It doesn’t matter if you just tapped him. We all know that if it was common sense you were using, but you can’t...how many times would I have got no suspension if there was common sense used?
“I think we all know he is not a dirty player. It’s unlucky that he is missing the game the next day. But Mayo will have that bit of hunger in them, the fact that he’ll be back for the final if they get over it so there’s something there for them.”
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