Mid-term League report: Here's how the sides are faring
Looking up, not down, as manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice said yesterday, with four points. However, with only one home game left (against Cork), Kerry’s play-off chances will come down to delivering on away days — starting at Clones next Sunday. Now they’ve most players back and game fitness, they won’t fear the trip to Mayo.
A first loss of the campaign in Tralee yesterday still had plenty of positives. A win Sunday at home to Roscommon will give them eight points out of 10 and give Rory Gallagher the wiggle room he needs to freshen things up if necessary. Frank McGlynn should be in contention for that but of greater import is getting game time into freshmen like Eoghan ‘Ban’ Gallagher and Eoin McHugh.
Mayo aren’t doing as bad as results might suggest. They’ve won just one game but ran Dublin and Donegal to within two points each day and have been struggling with a lengthy injury list. Manager Stephen Rochford joked yesterday in Clones that the “A&E ward” is clearing up.
The Ulster champions have four points but aren’t out of the woods. They need at least one more win to be confident about retaining Division 1 status. They should get it though because after wins in Rounds 1 and 2, they have lost by just one point and two points respectively to Dublin and Mayo.
The defeats to Galway and Waterford were softened somewhat by second-half displays which managed to put respectability on the final scoreline in both games, but there wasn’t a single positive to be gleaned from Saturday’s embarrassing showing away to Dublin. The appointment of a new manager and backroom infused Cork supporters with renewed hope but the same failings persist from 2015; leadership and heart lacking.
After an opening defeat where they looked leggy on a poor Walsh Park pitch, Kilkenny have taken advantage of home comforts against Tipperary and Galway and are likely one win away from a quarter-final spot. Brian Cody has given the likes of Robert Lennon and James Maher some game time but has hardly used his bench. Should they beat Cork in Páirc Uí Rinn next weekend, he may experiment a little in the final round game against Dublin.
Really, it was only when Kilkenny dropped their intensity in the second half yesterday that Galway came alive. That doesn’t bode well when they weren’t asked to lift the tempo in beating Cork and unable to match Dublin’s enthusiasm in round two. Yesterday, Galway had to bring Joe Canning out of full-forward where he was anonymous due to a lack of ball.
Manager Michael Ryan pointed out that it’s March yesterday. He could also have directed reporters towards the tall gent in the hoodie going into the Semple dressing rooms — given Seamus Callanan’s performances last year, they were always going to miss the big man, who’s overcoming a hamstring problem. But a second late defeat reinforces the view Tipp can’t close games out.
The Déise can relax a little and maybe try a few new players or new alignments in the coming games. Derek McGrath pointed out that four of their six forwards yesterday were 20, which shows the quality at their disposal — and the need to give those players games. Caveats? Where are Tadhg de Burca, Padraic Mahony, and Maurice Shanahan going to fit into the team that won yesterday? Nice headaches to have.
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