Gooch admits he still has point to prove
Cooper was dropped for the drawn game having started the provincial semi-final against Tipperary. His contribution on July 5 hardly changed Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s mind but his quick reading of the game was what helped deliver a body blow to Cork.
But donning the super sub cape is not the role for him.
“I’ve always set high standards of myself and the expectation is always high so when you don’t meet it you are disappointed.
“Frustrated is the word sometimes too. Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself that I was away for the game for so long with a serious injury. Maybe things don’t come as easily as they once did, that you have to work that little bit harder for them and that’s fine. If that’s the way it is, that’s ok.
“Me getting to my expectations is more important than everybody else’s expectations because I need to reach a certain level to make sure I’m in this Kerry team and playing my part and once I’m doing that, heading for Croke Park now, one of my favourite venues, that’s a step definitely in the right direction.”
But contrasting it to his cameo performance 13 days previous when he scored a point but was slack in defending in the build-up to Barry O’Driscoll’s goal, he had reason to smile.
“I’m much happier than I was this time two weeks ago. It didn’t work the last day, for whatever reason. We were struggling in a number of areas and I didn’t get a chance to get on the ball as much but tonight was different.
“Maybe I came on in a different position (inside forward) than I did the first day (wing forward) so maybe that had an impact on it. I am just glad to be back, glad to be out on the field and just delighted that I’ve come so far in 12 months from the injury.”
Cooper maintains he’s fit enough to last 70 minutes, pointing out he was there for the entirety of the game against Tipperary. But he added: “I think I have but it’s up to the management. They’re the ones that are watching training. That’s what I’m working towards so if you’re out for 14 months you can’t expect to be up to 70 minutes of championship football at that sort of intensity.
“I have all the confidence in them that they’ll make the right decision for me. Whether that’s starting or coming on to the field, I’ll have to live with that.”
At the same time, he appreciates where he’s coming from and where he wants to go. “It is frustrating but it’s a lot less frustrating from where I was this time last year. You’re looking to break into an All-Ireland winning team.” Cooper had mentioned to fellow substitutes before coming on that a goal could be crucial in such a tight, low-scoring affair. He now looks forward to taking on Fermanagh or Westmeath and believes Kerry are in a much better position on the back of two bruisers with Cork.
“We’ve gone in cold in quarter-finals and performed poorly. Against Galway last year we weren’t really at it. We struggled through the game. Cavan, the year before, I remember I didn’t play particularly well.
“Maybe the fact that there’s not a huge gap will help us but also the fact that we’ve had two really competitive games against a Cork side that, two months ago, were written off as no-hopers. I think it’ll bring on both teams an awful lot and certainly we’ll be looking forward to the quarter-final and personally I enjoy when there’s games coming quickly. I don’t like when there’s months or six weeks of training, it’s hard to keep going.”
