Jack O'Connor praises Kerry 'hunger and attitude', welcomes final decision
2022 McGrath Cup Group 2, Moyne-Templetuohy GAA Club, Tipperary 12/1/2022
Kerry manager Jack O’Connor welcomed the decision to put back the McGrath Cup final by one week so as to ease the pressure on inter-county players currently lining out in third-level competitions.
The McGrath Cup decider was initially scheduled for this Saturday, but the Cork-Kerry final will now be played at Fitzgerald Stadium on Saturday week, January 22, after both counties made it known to Munster GAA that they were keen for the game to be moved out of its original date.
A Kerry side loaded with first-team regulars made certain of the county’s place in the final with this 21-point thumping of Tipperary, yesterday evening’s result following last week’s similarly sized 23-point hammering of Limerick.
Cork manager Keith Ricken was the first to express a desire for the final to be postponed by one week following his team’s Waterford win on Tuesday, with Jack O’Connor last night echoing the sentiments of his Cork counterpart and the importance of not cutting across Sigerson fixtures.
“Keith Ricken is right, there is a lot of pressure on young lads with colleges fixtures and all that. The postponement will give a few more lads the opportunity to be involved in the final,” remarked the returning Kerry boss.
“I’m delighted it is in Killarney, the lads love playing in the stadium. It is a great pitch, the next best pitch outside of Croke Park.”
Coming off the bench for Kerry during this facile win was Tony Brosnan and Jack Savage, both of whom were playing their second game in the space of a couple of hours having been centrally involved in MTU Kerry’s Sigerson Cup first-round triumph over UCD.
O’Connor insisted that he asked neither to travel, their presence in Templetuohy an indication of the pair’s desire to wear the green and gold.
“Tony and Jack were tremendous. I didn’t ask them to come up at all, they wanted to be involved. They volunteered themselves. That is great to see because those lads are mad to get every minute they can in a Kerry jersey, which is great.
“Overall, I am just delighted with the lads’ attitude again. It would be easy to come up here and be a little bit off, but they were on the money from the beginning and just showed tremendous hunger and attitude, and I’m delighted with that.”
The same as in their Group B opener at home to Limerick, Kerry had the result in Templetuohy wrapped up by half-time, at which juncture they held a 10-point advantage. And the same as last week in Tralee, what stood out was Kerry’s forward movement and work-rate, both most impressive for the middle of January.
Where Kerry finished the first-half with seven names on the scoresheet, including Sean O’Shea who managed to throw over four first-half points as well as conduct the play from midfield, their opponents floundered in the face of Kerry’s defensive eagerness and the pressure constantly put on the Tipperary ball carrier.
Tipperary, who trailed 0-8 to 0-0 at the first water break, did not open their account until the 21st minute when goalkeeper Michael O’Reilly converted a placed-ball effort. Conor Sweeney’s 32nd-minute white flag was their only other first-half score and their sole from play in the opening half.
The second-half was a complete non-event, Kerry at their ease in stretching out their 0-12 to 0-2 interval lead.
The lively Killian Spillane added another 0-3 to his first-half tally of the same amount, with the game’s sole major arriving just after the second water break when Paul Geaney passed to Paudie Clifford and he finished to an empty net.
Geaney was one of four Kerry players to convert a mark, further evidence of Kerry’s determination to put direct ball in on top of their inside line when pressing forward in the middle third.
Jack's third coming continues so on a winning note, although he didn't need telling afterward that tougher tests lie in wait, beginning on Saturday week.
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