Kerry’s unconvincing case for the defence
There was a point midway through the second half on Saturday when this Super 8 game, and any ambitions Kerry held to progress to an All-Ireland semi-final, appeared to be in grave danger of slipping through their fingers.
Or, to be more accurate, yanked unceremoniously from their grasp.
The visitors were only two points to the good and Meath had already reinforced their determination to keep this game a going concern with their truculent response to Kerry’s second goal of the evening after the restart.
Picture the scene. Paul Geaney and Dara Moynihan were both on the deck injured around the halfway line, Tommy Walsh was being mugged by three defenders about 70 yards up the field and the home crowd was working itself up into a frenzy at the giddy possibility presenting itself.
Páirc Tailteann was beginning to froth and bubble over. The tie was flying along, like some souped-up sports car with frayed brakes. It wouldn’t have taken much for it all to go terribly wrong for the favorites from there.
Kudos then to a young Kerry team for their reaction to such diversity. Meath would only score two more points from then on against Kerry’s eight. It wasn’t the first time this summer that a similarly youthful Meath have wilted late on and Kerry gathered steam but the manner in which their fortunes diverged at that point was still notable.
“Meath are a good side,” said Kerry manager Peter Keane after. “They were unlucky to lose the league final and got to a Leinster final and they’ve put up good performances in the Super 8s without getting over the line. So we were expecting a battle either which way.”
And boy did they get a battle.
Meath had nothing tangible to motivate them. Losses to Donegal and Mayo left them playing for pride here but that proved potent in itself. That and the prospect of playing host to a Kerry side chasing the win or draw they required to make sure of their berth in the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Meath had three players starting a championship game for the first time. They had a painfully young forward line and no Mickey Newman again but they put in a gutsy performance that unsettled the Munster champions who lost David Clifford for the evening to a back spasm.
Clifford was togged out but took no part in the warm-up, risking no more than the odd toe tap or short kick. He never chanced a run or even a jog but, with Séan O’Shea contributing a superlative 1-8, it was at the other end where Kerry were in deepest difficulties. In the first half at least.
Cillian O’Sullivan’s pace and eye for a pass were killing Kerry in that opening 35 and Walsh was his favoured outlet. Add in Bryan MacMahon’s pair of first-half points and 1-1 from Darragh Campion and Meath were mining scores from a Kerry defence that has been a cause for concern for quite a while now.
“They were put to the pin of their collar, by the same token, they were under pressure and there were a few things we needed to rectify maybe getting in at half-time, which we did,” said Keane. “But the boys played well. I’d be happy with where most of them were.”
Keane was equally straight when discussing his team’s attacking fortunes in that initial period. Kerry had started brilliantly. They recorded five points against no wides inside ten minutes but then came a spell where they lost their way, dropping balls and shooting bad wides before righting themselves again before the break.
Keane pointed the finger of blame for at least some of their ills at the long trip to Navan the day before and the waiting around for the six o’clock throw-in time. “You’re waiting all day for a game and sometimes that can bring a bit of flatness,” he suggested.
The problem is that such dips in performance will be punished with much greater severity from here on in. Meath had a penalty shout ignored, a man pulled down outside the area when all but through on goal and a Walsh shot blasted inches over the crossbar in the first-half.
Gavin White earned himself a black card for pulling Walsh to the ground when a goal threatened in the second period too. That’s five times at least that the alarm bells were ringing in Shane Ryan’s ears. They could do with less commotion.
Kerry did plenty well and some things very well. Both goals, from BrianÓ Beaglaoich and O’Shea, were brilliantly executed. They also identified the defensive issues at half-time and rectified them to such an extent that Meath only scored four points on the restart. And there were plenty of good individual displays.
All of which is well and good but it was hard not to think that all those positives would have counted for nought had this been Dublin they were playing and Dublin they had allowed negotiate the same threatening advances that Meath had been unable to profit fully from.
“We’ve finished a lot of games well this year,” said Shane Enright after.
“We’ve done a lot of hard work and that’s where the physical training comes in, that you can last 75/80 minutes, because that’s the way it is and you have to. You have to play for 80 minutes when you’re playing the likes of the Dubs or Tyrone.”
Kerry are good, we can see that, but it won’t be much use being full of running come injury-time if they repeat this trick and disappear off the reservation for a spell earlier on in proceedings.
S Walsh (0-6, 3 frees); D Campion (1-1): B McMahon (0-3); B Menton, E Devine, T O’Reilly (all 0-1).
S O’Shea (1-8, 0-3 frees and 1 ‘45’); B O Beaglaoich (1-1); K Spillane (0-3); D Moran and P Geaney (both 0-2); T O’Sullivan and S O’Brien (both 0-1).
M Brennan: S Lavin, C McGill, S Gallagher; G McCoy, P Harnan, D Keogan; B Menton, S McEntee; E Devine, B McMahon; D Campion; C O’Sullivan, S Walsh, T O’Reilly.
T McGovern for McEntee (26); R Ryan for McCoy (45); J Conlon for O’Reilly (51); N Kane for McGovern (55); M Burke for Devine (65); S Tobin for McMahon (67).
S Ryan; T Morley, J Foley, T O’Sullivan; B O Beaglaoich, P Murphy, G Crowley; D Moran, A Spillane; S O’Brien, S O’Shea, G White; K Spillane, P Geaney, M Burns.
D Moynihan for Burns (31); T Walsh for Crowley (40); S Enright for White (45); J Sherwood for A Spillane (47); J Lyne for O’Brien (43); J Barry for K Spillane (68).
F Kelly (Longford).
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