Jack O’Connor: 'We obviously didn’t get it right. No excuses'

PLENTY TO PONDER: Kerry manager Jack O'Connor, centre, during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 1 match between Kerry and Mayo at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, Kerry. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
KERRY manager Jack O’Connor admitted that a tactical malfunction by the All-Ireland champions "hung their full back line out to dry” as the Kingdom conceded 1-19 to a rampant Mayo in Killarney.
The defeat puts Kerry on the back foot in the four-team group on a day when they gave away “awful stupid turnovers” in a five-point defeat – their first championship loss at Fitzgerald Stadium in 40 matches.
Kerry were in trouble from the first minute and were denied three goals in the second half by stout Mayo defending and bad finishing.
But O’Connor was in no doubt, the better team won on the day.
“We just couldn’t get any momentum, Mayo’s long kick out gave us trouble, and when they won it, they seemed to be in (on our goal). When we pressed the kickout, they won it long, so we have to look at the way we set up tactically. We conceded too much, we didn’t put enough heat on in the middle third to slow them down, because they are an athletic team. So we ended up letting our full back line hang out to dry a bit, so we will have to take a look at that.
"We (Management) have to take as much responsibility as the players, because we obviously didn’t get it right either.”
O’Connor said that while Kerry had some goal chances in the second half they were not as clear-cut as Mayo’s in the first period.
“There’s something malfunctioning there obviously. This was a big step up, we had played a Division 3 and a Division 2 team in Munster, so this is a big wake-up call for us. We are not as good as people thought we were after the Clare game.
“We need to learn from today. I’ve been involved with teams beaten by more than this and we’ve come back and finished the year successfully. We were beaten by Cork by eight points in '09 and won the All-Ireland afterwards. But we need to use this experience, pick our team the way we need to and set up slightly differently.
"We were nervy, we gave away some awful stupid turnovers, and the problem with that is next time you see it, Shane Ryan is kicking it out at the other end.
“Let’s see if there is a reaction in two weeks’ time. We have no excuses, we were well off it there today. It turned too much into a basketball game, up and down, that’s not the way we play. It came from giving the ball away cheaply and not being in position to defend properly.”
Kerry travel to Páirc Uí Chaoimh on June 3rd and O’Connor added: “Cork will be hard beaten in the Páirc. They are nowhere as bad as they looked against Clare. But we need to get our own house in order. If today gets everyone’s feet back on the ground, it might turn out to have been worthwhile.”
A thrilled Mayo manager Kevin McStay said he was especially pleased with the performance. “I said before there were two points on offer, that’s all, but they are valuable ones. Getting two gives us a good start in the group so we're very pleased because the performance was good. We worked very hard obviously after the last reversal. It's lovely to see that come out onto the pitch.
“We were very disappointed with our Connacht Championship. It certainly wasn't the way we had planned it. But we worked well, got a nice block of work in and prepared well for the trip.”
On pulling Kerry’s defence apart for 20 scores, McStay added: "I would just say it was strong running by our boys. I don't think we had any specific plan to do that. We just got a lot of good footballers out on the field, who we think are tidy players, and they really wanted to perform in this Championship. They felt that they slipped back a bit in the previous match and they had a bit to prove to themselves perhaps. They certainly did that.
"The very pleasing thing for management is that there was consistent application right throughout. There weren't too many valley periods and we kept the scoreboard ticking, which is important down here obviously to keep the pressure on."