Kevin Walsh book extract: The greatest disappointment of my senior county career

In these exclusive extracts from his brilliant new memoir, The Invisible Game: Maths, Minutes and Movement, Galway two-time All-Ireland winner and former manager, Kevin Walsh, remembers going up against the might of Kerry in the 2000 All-Ireland final and replay.

Kevin Walsh receiving treatment on a knee injury: X-rays afterwards revealed that a chunk of the kneecap had broken away.

It came as a shock that I wouldn’t start the All-Ireland. Before the semi-final, when he was mulling over the idea of picking me, I had told Johno (O’Mahony) that neither Fada nor Joe deserved to lose their places after three good wins. We were going well, so why change?

That didn’t apply now. I had to come in just after half-time because we were in big trouble. Something had shown itself not to be right and I had been called upon to turn it around. So I was annoyed.

I felt it was a necessity, for the betterment of the team that I start.

At the time, Maurice Fitzgerald was seen as an impact player for Kerry. Maybe that’s what Johno had in mind but it was something I never believed in. I knew at the time that Maurice probably wasn’t good enough to get his place. Of course you can have an impact when you’re as talented as he was but I don’t see it as a defined role like that. I think if you’re good enough, you start.

I couldn’t let the disappointment show. I just had to be ready when I got the nod but I think to this day it was a costly decision.

As it transpired, the nod came far earlier than anyone would have wished for, 18 minutes in. The puncture that could have been mended from the start had to be fixed now but we had a lot of ground to make up.

‘Warm up’, is all Johno said to me. I didn’t have to be asked twice although there was a part of me wondering if I was being thrown to the lions.

*****

It was about making a difference and I was intent on imposing myself on Dónal Daly, who was fetching kickouts at his ease, while Darragh Ó Sé had been enjoying himself too.

I caught the first ball that came into our alley. Kerry actually went a further three points ahead but the flow of the play had started to change. There was a battle now. I needed to make that statement.

You’re dealing with me now boyeens!

Relocating Pádraic to centre-forward was a good decision as he began influencing matters more too. He occupied a couple of Kerry defenders and we began to get a toehold in the game.

Slowly but surely, we inched our way back. People liked to talk about our array of glitzy skills but this was a performance of grit and determination. To be within three points at the change of ends said a lot for the progress we had made in this regard, particularly without Ja and Tomas.

That said, when Kerry extended their advantage to five, it was worrying because we had far less time to reel in the deficit now. I had to banish a feeling of disillusionment that had attempted to creep in. It was time to dig deep into the reservoirs of fortitude and that was demonstrated by the entire team.

We never led and Padraic only made it 0-14 each with four minutes remaining, but we were making all the running in the final quarter and should have won it in the end. We dropped three shots short into Kerry goalie, Declan O’Keeffe’s arms, including one by Derek off his weaker right boot, when he had Pádraic in position for a simple score.

Of course we might have lost it too. I was the nearest to Denis O’Dwyer when he had his shot from 35 metres.

Near but not near enough to get a block in or put pressure on.

I felt physically sick as he drew his boot back and can tell you now, a silent prayer was muttered as he did so. I thought we were gone and it was some relief that his shot tailed to the left.

Journalist Kieran Shannon put some stats together after the drawn game. Before I came on, Kerry had won nine out of 10 kickouts, with Daly catching three clean. Ó Sé had been in possession 11 times. When I threw myself in amongst them, we claimed nine of the next 13 kickouts; Daly managed only one more clean catch in the remaining 51 minutes and Ó Sé would touch the ball on just eight more occasions.

Meanwhile, I caught three kickouts, broke two to teammates, scored a point, gave the last pass for a point and played a part in another. I also found a teammate with 11 of 13 passes.

Another journalist, Alan Milton — now the GAA’s head of communications — calculated that only Michael, with 18 touches, and Pádraic, with 16, had more on-ball impact than I, with 15. What is notable, for those that don’t buy my 79:1 ratio, is that Michael was on the ball for 62 seconds and Padraic 45. I had it 40 seconds. That leaves a long time without the ball.

The invisible game

That's where the invisible game comes in. Shackling the Kerry boys wasn’t just about physical pressure. It was what you did away from the contest, the invisible stuff.

Taking their space, under the ball of course, but also denying room for a run, clogging up the passing lanes. Our full-back line had been under too much pressure. I took it upon myself to provide a shield. I always took it upon myself to provide that shield.

That type of analysis wasn’t done too often in that era. It isn’t done too often now, so it was a credit to Kieran and Alan. It showed quite clearly the madness of not coaching players for all that time when they did not have the ball.

Mary’s sister, Triona got married the Friday afterwards. It was strange, being congratulated for playing well but feeling disappointed. And of course, there was another All-Ireland to go in eight days, so I couldn’t celebrate in the way I might have liked to.

All along, I had thought the season would be over. The possibility of a draw never enters anyone’s mind.

*****

There can’t have been much discussion about whether I would start the replay. Richie would also start, in place of Ray, who had a tough time against Mike Frank Russell. This meant three Killannin men would march behind the Artane Boys Band — a momentous achievement for such a small outfit.

Galway’s Kevin Walsh goes past the challenge of Kerry’s Michael McCarthy during the 2000 All-Ireland final replay. ‘There’s no-one who will ever convince me we wouldn’t have won if I had started the first day,’ said Walsh. Picture: Ray McManus/ Sportsfile

We resumed battle with Kerry on October 7 — a Saturday — with the International Rules test being given the Sunday slot. They were good value for the 0-17 to 1-10 margin, and that was despite us getting off to a flyer with Declan Meehan’s seventh-minute goal.

I don’t think there have been many better goals in an All-Ireland final, in terms of total football, team play, movement, accuracy, and as convincing a finish as you could ask for.

It started as I managed to prevent Dara Ó Cinnéide’s ‘45’ going over the bar even as the Kerry supporters were celebrating a point. The ball made its way out to none other than Pádraic, who was standing on the 14, exhibiting the benefit of a forward coming deep to make an impact once more, as Michael had done so often.

And to think many consider this an evil, modern Ulster-generated evolution, and that I introduced this black plague on Galway.

Pádraic, John Divilly, and Tomás Meehan escaped a tight spot cleverly to send Seán Óg scampering down the left.

I had begun to move my way forward and even as Seán Óg cut in and passed to me, I could see Pádraic sprinting past him tight to the sideline. So I quickly gave him a fisted pass off my left. Fada pulled a man out of the middle, giving Pádraic the gap to drill a lovely low, diagonal kick pass into Paul.

Paul’s peripheral vision was in top working order and not alone did he spot Declan scorching through on his left as he gathered under pressure, but he was also aware that the space he had vacated was now uninhabited. He just had to get his kick pass right.

Without looking, working on feel and a subconscious calculation of where his lightning quick teammate might have progressed to by now, he pinged it. Declan never had to break stride to collect it and unleashed a scorcher into the far corner of the net.

I don’t think you can beat that for quality. Ever.

Soon after, I got the ball to Derek and he transferred to Niall, who pointed the free awarded after he was fouled.

I had done some damage though.

My knee was really sore. I tried to run it off but had to come off in the 17th minute. It was devastating but I still hadn’t given up hope of bringing something to the party. I was in and out to the dressing-room, getting an injection and some treatment. Kerry dragged us out to the wings and profited from the space through the centre. What bit of the game I did see, was hard to watch.

So when Johno asked if I was willing to go back on for the last 20 minutes, there wasn’t a prayer of me turning him down.

We had gotten level but Kerry had too much firepower. Johnny Crowley, Liam Hassett and Aodán Mac Gearailt kicked three points each from play. Michael was our only multiple scorer from play with two points.

I managed a point myself after returning to the action but x-rays afterwards revealed that a chunk of my kneecap had broken away. Coming back on was crazy and assuredly made matters worse but you do what you can and I actually did well following my reintroduction. All you are thinking about is winning an All-Ireland.

The failure to bag this one represents the greatest disappointment of my senior county career. To have taken Kerry down in a final would have been perfect, given their status in the game, and it was my only chance of doing so.

Not having Tomás and Ja was distinctly damaging to our chances but after what I had done in the drawn game, and how I’d begun the replay, there’s no-one who will ever convince me we wouldn’t have won if I had started the first day.

I don’t know why Johno was so cautious, given he had planned on starting me in the semi-final. I had been free of injury and training since before the Connacht final and unlike that game, we needed to make changes early against Kildare. What’s more, I had an influence. You would not have had to be justifying the decision to anyone.

Saying that makes me sound cocky and I hate to come across that way but it is my fervent belief. The defeat was avoidable. That’s what hurts.

I should have started, Ray shouldn’t have been left so long on Russell. He shouldn’t have even started on him given he’d openly admit he’s not a corner-back and you had Richie sitting next to me on the bench.

And we should have finished those chances in the closing 10 minutes that would have seen us home comfortably.

I don’t spend every day thinking about it. But I won’t ever forget it.

The Invisible Game

• The Invisible Game: Maths, Minutes and Movement By Kevin Walsh is published by Hero Books (www.herobooks.digital ) and is available in all good bookshops and online.