Video analysis not on Stephen Rochford priority playlist
“We’re not going to give it any in-depth analysis because I don’t think there’s value in it.”
The Kerry games that mattered to Rochford this year came earlier in the year. “I saw the Munster final, the National League final, their game against Dublin in the National League in Tralee, our own game (against them) so they’re the form team in the country.
“People would have been used to saying that over the years about Dublin alone but as National League champions and Munster champions they certainly have been the form team and will require a really top quality performance to get the better of them.”
Needless to say, his attention is drawn to in-form Kieran Donaghy but not to the extent that he ignores those who around him.
“You start to over-focus on Kieran Donaghy and James O’Donoghue is going to make a fool out of you or Paul Geaney will start to pull the strings or Johnny Buckley and David Moran.
“We can spend the next 20 minutes talking about the list of options that they have but I think we have a couple of players who will look to probably keep Kerry busy.
“It won’t come down to any one individual. Kieran, by the position he plays, the physical attributes he brings to the game, has proven to be a challenge for Mayo defences over the years. We’ll try and plan for him or look at what’s happening around the field in trying to starve possession. There will be a couple of things in that but they will take more time to tweak in the coming days.”
Identifying the appropriate player to mark Donaghy is important as is affixing the right men to the likes of Geaney (Brendan Harrison?) and O’Donoghue (Chris Barrett?) but Rochford knows he can’t have it all his own way.
Match-ups are key but don’t tell the whole story, Rochford maintains.
“You can only probably look to influence maybe 50% of them because you’re looking to impose or play to your own strengths or your own game-plan so Éamonn and Kerry will have an idea around what they would like to do to thwart that.
“I would certainly look at primary possession and getting your hands on that ball be it from kick-out, throw-up, any of those contests, and holding onto it.
“The more you hold onto the ball the less opportunity you’re giving the opposition. The more you can starve that Kerry full-forward line the more work they will have to do to get the ball back. Possession is nine-tenths of the law and it’s key certainly when you come onto play the really top teams who are looking to punish you when you don’t have the ball.”
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