Murphy: We may never enjoy semi-final experience again
“That wasn’t a season highlight, that was a career highlight,” Murphy said of the All-Ireland semi-final roller coaster with Mayo.
Not one given to hyperbole, that’s quite a statement. Detached and relatively sober on the sideline, the Dingle man is a trusted ally and a reliable ear for Eamonn Fitzmaurice. Those who pigeon-hole him as a goalkeeping coach to Brendan Kealy and Brian Kelly do him a grave disservice.
With four Celtic Crosses, he’s also in his fourth season as a selector.
“The big difference between management and playing is on game day; you think you might have some control over what’s going on, but you don’t really,” says Murphy.
“If you’re on the pitch, you’re influencing directly what’s happening. Whereas if you’re on the sideline, you’re reacting to what’s happening out there instead of setting the tone. You just got to roll with the punches.
“I’d be 10 times more emotional watching a game in the stand as a Kerry supporter. I wasn’t involved in 2010 on the day Kerry beat Cork in a replay that went to extra-time in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and myself and [former midfielder] Donal Daly were shouting and roaring like madmen. It’s really a question of suppressing your emotions. There’s so much going on that if you get carried away by someone getting a great score, you won’t see what’s going on after it.”
Which is maybe why he doesn’t seem especially exercised by Kerry keeper Kelly’s errors in the semi-final replay at the Gaelic Grounds. If the Legion lad was spooked in the aftermath, the former Kerry No 1 was the perfect rebound for him.
“He is a confident, good lad, there’s no fear of Brian,” Murphy says. “Keeper mistakes don’t irk me any more than they do any of the other [management] on the sideline. You don’t want to be conceding bad scores, full stop. I would find that frustrating. But by the same token Mikey Sheehy wouldn’t be getting any more of a buzz from a great score than I would. After every game, I’d be talking to the goalies. What went well, what didn’t go well.”
It’s a unique set of circumstances. A keeper is either No 1 or he’s not. And Kelly has started all of Kerry’s five championship games to date — make that six this Sunday at Croke Park.
“Take the likes of [defender] Pa Kilkenny. He could play in any of the six defensive positions depending on the man he was marking. But if you’re in goal, you are there or you’re not.”
His fond recollection of the extra-time victory over Mayo that has brought them into September comes with a rider — “it’s only of use if you win the final.
“It was a very special atmosphere, I’ve never seen anything like it, players meeting their friends and family on the pitch afterwards. But it’s not the All-Ireland final. It was a fantastic win, but it’s really only of value if you finish up with the big can at the end of it.
“If we were to win the All-Ireland this year, the lads will look back at Limerick as one of the highlights of their career, never mind the season. They might play for 12 or 13 years and not have another day like that.
“The worst thing after you lose a game like that is fellas are patronising you: that would have driven me cracked if you’d been beaten. Mayo put in a massive effort over the two games, and while you would feel empathy, it’s them or us isn’t it?”
