Minor star Paul Walsh says Kerry benefitted from summer wake-up calls
The Kerry minors wouldn’t have been able to reel in Galway’s eight-point lead were it not for the frights they were given by Cork and Monaghan earlier in the summer, according to forward Paul Walsh.
This latest crop of all-conquering Kerry minors were forced to come from behind to secure a historic fifth consecutive All-Ireland crown, Peter Keane’s troops finding themselves 1-8 to 0-4 in arrears after 26 minutes following a burst of 1-7 without reply from the Tribesmen.
The collective belief, insisted Walsh, never wavered during Galway’s spell of supremacy.
A Conor Corbett goal in the first minute of second-half injury-time had brought Cork level with Kerry on the evening of their Munster semi-final at Austin Stack Park in early May. Kerry never panicked, fashioning a winner through Jack O’Connor.
In their All-Ireland semi-final against Monaghan, the Kingdom trailed the Ulster champions by the minimum as the clock spilt into second-half stoppages. Again, no panic. Walsh sniped a pair of frees and sub Jack Kennelly split the posts to see them home with two to spare.
On both occasions, Kerry had but a few minutes to respond to keep alive their title ambitions. On Sunday, they’d 34 minutes to gather their bearings and begin the process of eating into their opponents’ sizeable advantage. Plenty of time.
We were four down at half-time, having been eight behind at one stage. This team, all year, has come back from everything,” said Walsh.
“We were down to Cork. They got a goal in the last minute. We came back. Three weeks ago against Monaghan, they went ahead in the last few minutes and we came back. We showed great heart those two days and we showed it again today.
“The hard work we’ve put in all year came to fruition today.” Crucial to pegging back Galway was Kerry’s start to the second period. In the 12 minutes directly after the restart, Peter Keane’s charges kicked five without reply to go from four adrift to one in front.
“Peter and the lads know their stuff. If something is happening, they know how to adapt. The plan at the start of the second-half was to keep the scoreboard ticking over, not to be going for goals or anything major. The plan was to slowly chip away at their lead, which we did, and then when we got level, we pushed on.
“In every game, you need a bit of luck. You also make your own luck.” Walsh, alongside Killian Falvey, top-scored in Sunday’s decider with four points. It brought his championship tally to 3-25. He landed one monster score in the second-half, his approach to a first All-Ireland final appearance being to treat it as if he was “out in the back garden” kicking around.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to wear the Kerry jersey, going back to when I was four or five years of age. It is just the stuff you grew up dreaming of, up through the development squads, you are always thinking of this day. Thankfully, it worked out.”
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