Weekend Talking Points: Kerry's midfield concerns and Con O'Callaghan comeback on the cards
Tyrone’s Conn Kilpatrick and Diarmuid O'Connor of Kerry in action in Fitzgerald Stadium on Sunday.
The paucity of Kerry’s midfield options, as championship nears, was in full view in Fitzgerald Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Joe O’Connor, in this his first start as Kerry captain, didn’t enjoy a productive outing and was hauled ashore after 48 minutes. Admittedly, his counterpart and namesake Diarmuid wasn’t a great deal better which will be a gnawing cause for concern amongst Kingdom fans. Barring injury, Jack Barry and Diarmuid O’Connor will form Kerry’s midfield championship pairing, but the backup options are extremely thin on the ground. With neither management speaking to the media after the final whistle, no updates were available on the return from injury of David Moran and Stefan Okunbor.
Kerry need at least one of these men back in harness come May and June.
Jack O’Connor’s side will suffer otherwise.
Two years ago, GAA Congress voted to end the back-pass in Gaelic football. Introduced for the All-Ireland senior football championship later that year as a result of a successful motion by Kildare club Raheens, it is a technical foul that has only cropped its head up on a few occasions. Yesterday, it helped Cork on their way to safety from Division 3 and the Tailteann Cup. By touching the ball he had just passed to a defender from a kick-out, Offaly goalkeeper Paddy Dunican gave referee Niall Cullen no choice but to award a free to Cork who had just equalised in the third minute of additional time through Cian Kiely and Stephen Sherlock duly sent over the winning free. Rule 4.33 of the GAA Official Guide Part II (Gaelic football playing rules) states: “A player in direct receipt of a kick-out may not pass the ball to his team’s goalkeeper without another player playing the ball. Penalty – A free kick from the position the goalkeeper receives the pass, or if the goalkeeper is inside the 13m line when in receipt of the pass, the free will be from the 13m line opposite where the foul occurred.”
Derry manager Rory Gallagher had a solid point when he talked about 11 points normally being enough to secure promotion to Division 1 of the Allianz NFL. Derry picked up five wins and a draw from their Division 2 campaign yet still only finished in third position, behind Galway and Roscommon. Rewind to 2020 and the previous seven-game campaign and Armagh only needed nine points to secure promotion from Division 2. Nine points was enough for Roscommon (2015) and Kildare (2012) too while Derry themselves topped Division 2 with 11 points in 2013. In fact, only twice in the last decade has a Division 2 team collected more than 11 points in a campaign; Meath in 2019 (12 points) and Tyrone in 2012 (14 points). "I would doubt a team from Division 2 hasn't gone up with 11 points over the years," said Gallagher. The three points that Derry dropped were to Roscommon, whom they drew with in Round 5, and Galway, whom they lost to in Round 6. "Look, I'll tell you, it was frustrating what happened in Roscommon," admitted Gallagher. "I was frustrated not winning that game."
Balancing the needs of an upcoming national final with the provincial championship starting a couple of weeks afterwards is a big challenge, as Liam Cahill spelt out yesterday.
“You have to gauge it right. There's 37, 38 players on a panel, you have to taper their training accordingly. Today we got Calum Lyons onto the field for ten or 15 minutes, and we have to try and get Conor Prunty into action before Easter Sunday, that's a priority. Even though we'll want to win next weekend, we'll definitely have our focus on the round robin Munster championship that's coming up too.” For all of the emphasis put on physical preparation, Cahill was also putting huge value on getting players on the field for a competitive game next weekend to get them to championship pitch. “Championship is serious - if you haven't the work done, no matter how good of a player you are, championship will just find you out if you haven't the game-time in. That's why we're delighted to have the opportunity to give lads a bit more game-time next week.”
On the weekend that the clocks went forward, Offaly must wish they could roll them back by a couple of months. The county came into 2022 on a real high following promotion for both of its flagship teams, John Maughan's senior footballers making it to Division 2 of the Allianz NFL and Michael Fennelly's hurlers jumping up to Division 1A of the NHL. In the space of just hours over the weekend, both teams were relegated so will immediately return to the lower tiers. The Offaly footballers will reflect on their draw with Meath and loss to Cork as the key results in their campaign. They let leads slip late on in both of those games. As for the hurlers, well beaten by Antrim in Saturday's Division 1 relegation play-off, they were unfortunate to have plied their trade in Division 1A, leaving them destined for bottom spot in the table before a ball was even pucked. In 1B, Laois and Antrim knew that whoever won their R4 encounter was almost certain to stay up. That's exactly how it turned out with Laois beating Antrim by a point, meaning the Saffrons took on Offaly in the relegation decider.
Relegation brings with it all sorts of regrets and not least for Dublin will be the absence of a number of key men at times during the last few months. Chief among them, probably, are the games missed by Con O’Callaghan and James McCarthy.
McCarthy’s return in round five coincided with their first win, against Tyrone, after four straight losses and a general upturn in fortunes until yesterday but O’Callaghan’s continued absence going back to a pre-season ankle injury suffered against Roscommon was unquestionably a significant blow.
Dessie Farrell was tight-lipped when asked about the well-being of the Cuala attacker after the dramatic one-point defeat to Monaghan in Clones yesterday, but he did at least confirm that the player would be available come the start of the Championship.
“Yeah, he will, for sure,” said the Dublin boss.
It’s maybe a sign of just how far Dublin have fallen that we could even contemplate pointing to the inability to field one player, no matter how talented he might be, as a reason for their demotion to Division Two but there it is.
Dublin lost to Kerry by seven points but came up five or fewer shy in all of the other four defeats, three of them when they were unable to field either McCarthy or O’Callaghan. The collective has driven Dublin this last decade but some remain more equal than others.
Roscommon v Galway in championship weather in March and an occasion at Hyde Park in Roscommon to match it. The sight of people parking up their cars out the roads from the town several hours before the game and taking off with purposeful strides towards food, drink and companionship served to show what we have all been missing for the past two years.
The pubs, restaurants and shops in Roscommon must have been delighted to see the extra business, an estimated crowd of 6,000 (mostly Rossies) having descended on the town for the game. Small groups were pocketed around the town and on the walk out to the Hyde, chatting and catching up, maybe neighbours who have hardly had the chance to meet in the past two years.
And this is only the start of it. There will be a trip for eight counties to Croke Park next weekend for the league finals and then the thrills and spills of the championships up and down the country as people get to meet again, have a bit of bantering with their neighbouring counties and just enjoy the very essence of Irish life which the GAA brings.
Social interaction is important in all walks of life, for young and old. But people in rural areas, especially the large bachelor population which lives there, have been particularly isolated and the GAA, more than any other organisation, provides a vital link.
Thankfully it is back and let’s rejoice in that.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
