Kerry cynical, claims Damien Diver

Former Donegal selector Damien Diver claims Kerry’s cynicism in last year’s All-Ireland final was a key component in them annexing the Sam Maguire Cup. 

Ahead of the counties renewing acquaintances in Tralee on Sunday, Diver, McGuinness’s assistant last year, accepts the Kingdom were the better side on the day.

"However, he took exception to what he saw as the illegitimate practices of Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s side away from the attention of referee Eddie Kinsella.

Diver felt Michael Murphy was manhandled by Kerry defenders. “There was a lot of off-the-ball stuff that wasn’t seen,” said Diver.

“Michael doesn’t get a fair crack of the whip as far as referees are concerned just because he’s a big man. A free is a free no matter how big or small the player is.

"I would say having been beaten by Tyrone a lot down through the years and Armagh didn’t help things and they (Kerry) changed their style and probably got more cynical that way.

“Some of their tackling in the All-Ireland final was very cynical, like holding on a lot and stopping runners. They learned all of that through time.”

Donegal have been criticised themselves for operating dark arts but Diver returned: “At no stage does a Donegal team go out to individualise players and take them out. The record of Donegal and their yellow, black and red cards speaks for itself.

"Their discipline is unbelievable, that is what we have been preached and preached ourselves. Tackle the ball and nobody will get sent off.”

Diver believes Kerry’s change of game-plan to a more defensive structure last September was “a compliment to how Donegal was set up and our attacking prowess. They saw how we could potentially attack them and stopped those gaps.”

Regarding James O’Donoghue’s claim Kerry would have lost to Donegal had they set themselves up like Dublin in the semi-final, Diver said the comment isn’t favourable about Jim Gavin’s side.

“It was a fair comment. He was being honest about it anyway. Maybe it’s more patronising to Dublin than anybody else, talking about Dublin’s naivety.

“Dublin were about trying to score much more than the other team and Kerry reversed that in the All-Ireland final. It was a low-scoring game and not a great spectacle. We didn’t bring out ‘A’ game to table whereas Kerry had upped theirs.”

In the wake of Tyrone’s 15-man defensive strategy and Donegal-Monaghan’s low-scoring affair in Letterkenny last weekend, Diver sees more counties adopting blanket tactics.

“It will probably get more defensive. Tyrone are back playing it and a lot of teams will realise it’s about scoring one or two points more than the other team. It’s become a game of maths and percentages and if you get them right you’re on your way to winning.”