Mike Quirke: Kerry plamás must be eventually wearing off with the officials
The balmy temperature and clear skies brought short-sleeved spectators out in their droves, away from their TV screens and into the refurbished Tralee venue to watch Cork and Kerry do battle in the flesh. So much for people getting sick of modern football — the ground was bursting at the seams with nearly 8,500 spectators.
With Kerry cruising, there came an announcement over the PA system after about 20 minutes that drew gasps from the near capacity crowd; it went something along the lines of “a five-year-old child is gone missing, if you find him, please contact the nearest steward or member of the gardaí.”
Of course, the joke was that the kid was from Cork and headed for the car early, just not able to watch anymore.
As luck would have it, during half-time a few older gents came and stood near me on the terrace.
One grandad had a firm grasp of a small boy’s hoodie that was leading him around like a guide dog. It turned out, he was the five-year-old who had gone walkabout — which explained the tight leash.
He wasn’t getting away a second time.
After getting separated after only coming into the ground, the grandad contacted the gardaí and headed for the terrace to continue the search. By the time the two were reunited, the young lad told his worried grandad: ‘I only went looking to find you a seat, and I found you a great spot at the very top of the stand’.
What could the poor man say to that only, ‘I’m glad you’re ok, but let’s not tell your mom about this when we get home’. They agreed on a payment plan of a few Smyth’s vouchers to ensure his silence. Smart kid.
The game itself was forgettable for long spells. One would have expected that Cork would burst out of the gates and try to set the pace. After all, they were the ones in danger of dropping to Division Two, surely they were the team who should have been more desperate for the performance and the win? Their need was greater.
But the opening half was all about Kerry dictating the pace of play. Kieran Donaghy and David Moran were commanding around the middle and Cork’s old-school man for man defence was leaving vast expanses of green grass for Colm Cooper and company to exploit up front.
And it was turning into exhibition stuff from Kerry; hard running, slick passing and great efficiency in their finishing. But they were meeting with such little Rebel resistance, it was difficult to really appreciate the quality.
It seemed as though Kerry were in third gear while Cork were stuck in neutral, and as the half ticked on, the scoreboard was easing towards an embarrassment.
But, a more resilient Cork refused to throw in the towel. The penalty call right on the stroke of half-time was the game-changer that somehow saw them head to the dressing rooms only three behind, having been comprehensively outplayed in the opening 35 minutes.
Since the black card has been introduced into the GAA rulebook a couple of years ago it has caused confusion and consternation on the pitch and in the terraces.
However, Peter Crowley could have no complaints about his dismissal. He deliberately pulled Ian Maguire to the turf and denied him a certain goal scoring opportunity.
A stone wall black card, despite him not going to ground himself. The referee got it spot on, but fell foul of most patrons inside of Austin Stack Park for what seemed like an over-indulgence with the whistle all afternoon.
The players on the pitch obviously felt that same frustration with David Gough’s decision-making, and the likes of Donaghy couldn’t restrain himself long. He’s flying in the middle of the field at the moment, but he would be much better served to just keep his trap shut to referees.
He’s on their watch list now and he’s doing himself no favours by running his mouth off.
He got smacked with a very early yellow for dissent which saw him become less physical in his tackling and had him walking a disciplinary tightrope for the remainder — one mistimed tackle and he was needlessly gone.
Later on, Gooch picked up another yellow for what seemed like an over-zealous protestation to a refereeing decision against him. Their celebrity status and their powers of plamás must be eventually wearing off with the officials.
Cork’s resilient second-half performance was enough to give them something positive to build on towards a big summertime rematch.
They find themselves now in that long uncomfortable limbo between league and Munster championship.
They’ll fill it with some club games, some hard training, and Peadar Healy will use the time to try and put his own stamp on the way they play.
Last Sunday, it was a very similar Cork to the one we’ve seen under Brian Cuthbert. I’ve found watching Cork in recent years that they seem to be playing completely off the cuff. No pattern. No game plan. Nobody seems to know what the next guy is going to do.
Like a collection of talented individuals rather than willing participants in the concept of a team.
And that, to my mind, is where the inconsistency comes from.
Much like the lost five-year-old boy in Tralee, Cork need to find their way back to where they feel safe. They’ve spent this league campaign searching for their identity but they still haven’t found it. It is something that can be worked on and improved, but it takes time…
Don’t expect to see it happen this year.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
