Plenty work still to be done, says Kerry U21 keeper Shane Ryan

Of all the plaudits coming in Kerry’s direction following Wednesday’s Munster U21 coronation, the most striking came from an individual who wasn’t within 160 kilometres of Páirc Uí Rinn.

Just as Kerry were swatting off the Cork challenge with consummate ease, so too were Dessie Farrell’s Dublin in a relatively one-sided Leinster U21 final at Portlaoise.

The Dubs are due to play the Ulster champions in the All-Ireland semi-final, but that didn’t stop Farrell describing Kerry as an “amazing side” when contemplating the remaining runners and riders for All-Ireland glory.

It’s debatable whether Kerry goalkeeper Shane Ryan would go along with such an assertion. The towering Rathmore custodian enjoyed a quiet day at the office on Wednesday and while the Kingdom limited their opponents to a point from play over the hour, Ryan feels there’s plenty to work on ahead of their semi-final meeting against either Galway or Sligo on April 15.

“At times against Cork and even though the scoreboard doesn’t reflect it, we were on the back foot and it is important to learn from that,” Ryan told Radio Kerry.

“I know there was a lot of good stuff done, but there was stuff that wasn’t so good. There will be an even smaller margin of error in the All- Ireland semi-final and it is important we correct those one percenters.”

Ryan singled out full- forward Matthew O’Sullivan for particular praise – the St Michael’s Foilmore player is the sole member of Jack O’Connor’s squad not in possession of an All-Ireland minor medal.

“Matthew is a massive player for us. He was disappointed last year when he got injured. It is great for him to be back. We do have different styles in attack and it is important to have different styles to keep defences guessing. Our forwards are sprinkled with talent. Talent won’t win anything, though. It is all about hard work as Jack keeps telling us.”