Mike Quirke: Kerry as cool as the other side of the pillow

Just moments before the senior semi-final throw-in last Sunday, the winning Kerry minor squad appeared from under the Hogan Stand and walked up past the senior subs to take their position close by. They had been the appetiser, a tasty one at that. Now they had ringside seats to get a full appreciation of what their future may hold.

Eamonn Fitzmaurice and Cian O’Neill were in final preparation mode in their technical area as the teams paraded around Croke Park, but both took the time to congratulate each member of the minor management team as they passed by.

Last out of the tunnel, with a mouth full of a half-eaten banana, was a very relaxed and satisfied looking Jack O’Connor. He and Eamonn paused for a brief chat, a mixture of congratulations and best of luck.

It provided an interesting snapshot of the current state of Kerry football, and the hugely significant role Jack has played in its recent history.

Last year, O’Connor guided a very talented Kerry minor side to All- Ireland glory, bridging a 20-year gap in the process. He always liked round numbers. But with the players at his disposal last season, anything but September success would have been seen as a disappointment. This year’s group were far less heralded.

Defensively rock solid, pacey, and honest as the day is long, but lacking the sparkle up front of 12 months ago.

So like he did with Fitzmaurice and the senior side, Jack wrangled another of his former lieutenants into his new army. He told Declan O’Sullivan it would only be for one or two sessions… just to have a look at their forward play and movement in attack.

But one or two sessions have morphed into a season-long apprenticeship, whether he knows it or not; with the Kerry minor forwards, Declan himself, and the future of Kerry football the main beneficiaries.

Jack O’Connor was a very successful manager of the Kerry senior team in his two previous stints at the helm, and he’s replicating that success with the minors now. Smart money says he’ll do well with the U21s too, and I wouldn’t bet much against him having another spin on the senior roller-coaster down the line. But, for all the titles and success he’s accumulated and may continue to, an equally impressive legacy he will leave behind whenever he exits stage left, will be the grooming he’s done with the likes of Fitzmaurice, Diarmuid Murphy and now Declan O’Sullivan into the ways of inter-county management.

Not only is he concerned about success in the here and now, Jack is helping to ensure the future of Kerry football is in safe hands and cultured minds for years to come by providing an almost informal mentoring programme to guys he knows possess the potential and capacity for the driver’s seat.

But his successor, Eamonn Fitzmaurice, did something last weekend Jack was never able to do in Croke Park; he beat Mickey Harte and Tyrone, and with it, the fallacy of Kerry being unable to grind down the Red Hand system in a staring contest. Kerry never blinked. This is a new Kerry team who have no Tyrone baggage, and Fitzmaurice is a different breed of manager, who has learned from the mistakes of others in the past and developed his own style of beating the blanket.

The most impressive phase of Kerry’s victory for me was the final 10 minutes. Tyrone scored 1-1 in a heartbeat and the game was level before anybody knew what had happened. Panic spread amongst the Kerry support in the stands, but crucially, not to the players. Tyrone were riding a wave of momentum that looked like it may completely engulf Kerry, and if it did, another decade of Kerry footballers would suffer the same nagging question marks about their resolve, their mental fortitude and the size of their cojones.

Last year’s win would have been asterisked.

But to steal a phrase from the late ESPN sports anchor Stuart Scott, this current Kerry bunch are ‘as cool as the other side of the pillow’. And with the game at fever pitch, they exuded a cold calmness. Tyrone got tired and ragged defensively in the final minutes, Kerry picked holes in their ailing zone and kicked accurately under pressure.

All the patient possession Kerry enjoyed in the second half had drained Tyrone of energy. Thirty five passes in all involved in the sustained passage of play that led to the black card foul on Colm Cooper. Maher, Geaney, the second foul on Gooch, and BJ Keane were the daggers that eventually did for a dogged and spirited Tyrone fightback.

Fitzy has developed the enviable managerial knack of getting a lot of big calls right. He raised eyebrows again by dropping Bryan Sheehan from his starting line-up, and brought Johnny Buckley in out of the cold, (who is now fully recovered from an injury which disrupted his year).

Buckley repaid that faith with a power-packed performance of scoring, tackling and 70 minutes of wearying graft. Three points from play and five turnovers-for on the stat sheet doesn’t do justice to his day. Fionn Fitzgerald the same. He hasn’t been seen since kicking the equalising score to send the Munster final to a replay. He was in after 15 minutes for Marc and he was calm and comfortable. Paul Geaney another who responded off the bench and provided a more dynamic target inside and had a huge bearing on the outcome of the game.

I’ve said it on these pages before — it all comes back to the culture Fitzmaurice has created within his squad. Complete buy-in, from 1-30. No room for egos. All eyes on the same prize. And what a prize on offer. A chance at back-to-back All Ireland titles with a team written off just over a year ago.

Mayo and Dublin will go to war this weekend for the other remaining seat at the top table, in what should surely be a brilliant spectacle in front of a packed house. Dublin, through no fault of their own have been locked in cruise control for the duration of their championship campaign. They obviously have super footballers and athletes, but their mettle remains untested this year. They have not felt that hot breath on their neck from an opponent the way Mayo has.

Have the Dubs improved from last season’s humbling at the hands of Donegal? I’m not so sure.

Mayo will feel they have great match ups for all of Dublin’s key men. Lee Keegan will live with Connolly and cause him headaches going the other way. Keith Higgins will give Brogan as tough a day as any corner back in the country. Without Michael Darragh McCauley firing on all cylinders in the middle, Mayo’s big units will be confident of winning plenty of ball, and with it they will target the best full forward left in the championship — the wrecking ball that is Aidan O’Shea.

Of course, Dublin can catch fire and beat anybody on their day, but having watched Mayo the last time out, they look like a much more dangerous and purposeful outfit with O’Shea at 14, than they have at any point in recent memory. It gives them a sharp edge to their attack they’ve lacked for years. He, and Mayo will give the Dubs their fill of it and I’m leaning towards them to eke out a slender victory and book their place in September’s showpiece.