Tomas Quinn: Great care was taken by Kerry to avoid ambush
With news of the delay, both teams halted their warm-up and retreated back to the dressing rooms. By the time they re-emerged you detected a real sense of hope from the home fans and there was a feeling of an ambush in the air.
This feeling came to life with a fast start for the home side. Right from the throw-in where Steven O’Brien signalled Tipperary’s intent with a catch and driving run to Michael Quinlivan’s expertly taken goal a few minutes later, Kerry found themselves on the back foot and struggling to settle.
Such is the growing attendance the old stand has had to be opened #tippvkerry #GAA2015 pic.twitter.com/eHOAkZUyZA
— Ray McManus (@Sportsfileray) June 14, 2015
Tipperary will rue a number of bad wides in this opening quarter which would have opened up a healthier lead.
To attempt to halt the Tipperary momentum, Kerry dropped a number of bodies back into their own half and looked to close out the space that the Tipperary forwards were enjoying. We have seen Kerry adopt similar tactics in the past and it is obviously developing into a key game plan when teams get a run on them.
With the added bodies back, it allowed Kerry to slow the Tipperary attacks but it also allowed them to slow the pace of the game when they were in possession.
Bryan Sheenan and Colm Cooper began to find spaces in the pockets either side of midfield and started to bring the Kerry full-forward line into the game.
Much has been made of Kerry’s recent Portuguese training camp and the fact that this camp came later in the year than previous trips.
Rather than focus on conditioning, a trip this close to championship would have a heavy concentration on game situations and game plans. I’d wager much time on this trip was spent talking and working on kick-outs, both their own and the opposition’s.
The first pay-off for this work came in the lead up to Kerry’s opening goal. Throughout the game, Kerry looked to squeeze up on the Tipperary kick-out. The full-forward line of Donaghy, Geaney and Barry John Keane played a crucial role in this.
All three push right onto the 21-yard line and have their hands up as high as possible to attempt to limit any short kick-out and impede the eye-line of Tipperary goalkeeper Evan Comerford.
It meant Comerford was forced to place any short kick-outs down the channels between the forwards’ arms and when Johnny Buckley intercepted a misplaced kick, he quickly moved the ball to Colm Cooper and two passes later BJ Keane was on hand to roll under the onrushing Tipperary goalie.
This goal took the wind out of Tipp.
At the other end, Kerry enjoyed also enjoyed a positive afternoon from their own restarts. Brendan Kealy was selected ahead of Brian Kelly in goal and apart from a handful of kick-outs to the pockets behind his wing half-backs. Every kick went long for Anthony Maher and Sheehan to compete for.
In most cases, Maher would look to catch but Sheehan cleverly directed a number of balls down to his half-backs and half-forwards.
As the half wore on, Kerry began to take a grip of the game as Tipperary looked to see if they could adapt as Kerry had in the early stages.
Unfortunatelyhome hopes evaporated after half-time as Kerry scored the first five points and more worryingly from a Tipperary point of view their wides tally continued to increase. They also had a number of shots drop short which allowed Kerry to start quick counter-attacks and play the game out at their own pace.
Eamon Fitzmaurice will be pleased with his team’s performance, particularly in the first half when questions were being asked. He will also take comfort that Colm Cooper looked fluid in his return and at James O’Donohue getting his first game-time of the season.
Today was about avoiding the ambush but Kerry will quietly get more out of that game than they would have in the past, something which will set them up nicely for the Munster final clash with Cork.
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