Sluggish starts and poor finishing haunt St Brendan’s

After Saturday’s Corn Uí Mhuirí final ended in a draw, St Brendan’s manager Gary McGrath was asked which side he thought would take more from it. He correctly opted to sit on the fence.

In truth, neither his team nor Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne reached their potential in that 1-9 to 0-12 decider.

The problem for St Brendan’s in previous games was their sluggish starts, but last weekend the biggest complaint related to poor finishing during the opening half hour.

For all the possession they enjoyed — and for the many times they encroached deep into opposition territory — all they had to show for their opening half an hour’s work was two points. Dingle, by contrast, were much more economical and notched 0-5 in that same spell.

McGrath knows his charges cannot afford to be so wasteful in the opening half of today’s replay in Tralee, at the rescheduled time of 4pm.

“We have been doing it all year,” said McGrath of their lethargic first-half efforts which, “unfortunately, is something that has crept into our game that we don’t like or want”.

Against IS Killorglin in the opening round of group games back in October, the Killarney college managed just one first-half point and found themselves six behind at the interval. They also trailed Rathmore at half time in the O’Sullivan Cup (Kerry Colleges SFC), while they somehow led Tralee CBS at the halfway mark of their Corn Uí Mhuirí quarter-final despite yet another poor showing early on.

It has been a highlight of our campaign this season that we’ve been very, very poor in the first half. Now, we always finish strong, but it is something we speak about every day and are trying to get out of our game,” McGrath continued.

Dingle, having scraped by St Flannan’s and Rochestown in the quarter and semi-final respectively, were much improved last Saturday in Killarney, but given 11 of their starting team were members of the side crowned Munster champions last year, you sense there is an extra gear still to be found.

Whether they can locate it today or not will decide which Kerry college advances to the All-Ireland semi-final.