Tony Leen: In Tralee, the difference was small but great

Mayo probably played their best spring football despite coming up shy for the first time. Kerry manager Jack O’Connor rated his side six out of ten. But there was one big difference.

HIGH BAR: David Clifford at Austin Stack Park on Saturday night. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Allianz FL Division 1: Kerry 0-16 Mayo 0-15.

BEST of luck constructing the lede that circumvents mention of the lad with the new Predators.

The one with the unlucky No 13 on his geansai, the mop-haired lad who was above in the stand the night Kerry set up one last offence to rescue a deserved draw against Derry.

Then it came down to a failed hail mary from the keeper. This time he was point-guarding the set play, in concert with accomplice Sean O’Shea, scripting the final scene. Perhaps Mayo’s Rory Brickenden might have started a step or two to his right to force the leftie down the less-deadly side, but that’s only a perhaps.

In kicking his fifth point from play on the night, with four more coming from his brother Paudie, David Clifford’s winner didn’t just spirit Kerry away from the unpleasant whiff of the Division 1 drop zone, it offered a loud endorsement of the upside of down-time, some R&R. The Fossa brothers looked as fresh as paint in Tralee on Saturday night. Maybe the new captain even edged the MVP award.

Football’s Division One is quare stuff, all the more so with over 10,000 watching rapt under the Tralee floodlights. The point Kerry lost against Derry was regained here, the extra one Mayo picked up in Castlebar against Dublin forfeited. Members of the Mayo backroom team banged the table behind us in frustration at the final whistle, but they’ll be more sanguine today. The top four sides in the country right now? Probably. Next Saturday night in Croke Park should be instructive.

Mayo probably played their best spring football in Tralee despite coming up shy for the first time. Kerry’s three leading lights contributed thirteen of their 0-16, but there were other concerns for manager Jack O’Connor, who rated the performance no better than six out of ten.

He wasn’t wrong. The hosts kicked seven first half wides, four of them quite poor. It meant a two-point half-time advantage (0-7 to 0-5) against Kevin McStay’s side who simply coughed up too much possession early doors. More often than not, the turnovers were unforced. “You do that against a team like Kerry and you mightn’t see the ball for a while again,” said McStay afterwards.

O’Connor summed it up most accurately when he spoke of Kerry’s enthusiasm and appetite for work – minus the bit of poise.

Referee Derek O’Mahoney had a good night but his patience with Kerry keeper Shane Ryan’s delayed restarts was wearing thin by the final quarter. Kerry had an extra man at that stage, with Sam Callinan gone for a yellow/black combo, but the Kingdom’s struggle to control the tempo was noteworthy.

They edged three points clear (0-15 to 0-12) after Callinan’s dismissal but even then they couldn’t close the game out as the visitors reeled off three points on the spin to level.

“We weren’t getting our kickouts off as easy as we should have, even with the extra man. There are a lot of things to tidy up. We wouldn’t be overly happy with the display,” O’Connor reflected. “Naturally we are delighted with the result but no doubt there are improvements to be made, especially in front of goal.” Mayo were scambling defensively at stages and never led but Kerry weren’t able to shake them from their rear view mirror for all that. They punched holes in the hosts’ middle third and kicked a symphony of sweet scores in the second period.

“We just hung around, didn’t we?,” said McStay. “There was a sense that we were just not going away and it was the same against Dublin. We got it level and anything could have happened.

“We can’t be too annoyed, we might have stolen an extra point against Dublin but left one behind us tonight. But the first half turnovers was the main negative. We got plenty of possession, but we were giving it away. Our turnover count was not where it needed to be. A big work-on.” 

McStay, who confirmed Paddy Durcan missed out with a calf tweak, added: “Overall, we leave Tralee happy we performed quite well and learned a lot. We will build on that – but the big thing is no points.” 

Both sides are now on four points as Mayo attentions turn towards Tyrone. For Kerry and their manager, the decision to involve the Cliffords in Clones a fortnight ago was vindicated, at least in the short term. Paudie kicked a brace of points in each half, and alongside Gavin White, Cillian Burke and Diarmuid O’Connor, kept Kerry on the front foot. The manager again name-checked rookie Burke’s toil and graft, even if he came away scoreless.

As long as he was still on the pitch in the closing scenes, David Clifford was going to be handed the joystick for the final Kerry play. While the Mayo review will agonise over the detail, knowing he’s the one and stopping Clifford are two very different tasks.

“That’s the thing that pleased me,” O’Connor agreed. “That last play, we learned from the Derry game, showed a bit of composure, and got the ball into the hands of our main men, like Seanie and ultimately David (Clifford).” 

Seven of the extended panel on their way back from injury trained Saturday morning in Currans and some may be involved in the squad to face Dublin.

“Going up to Croke Park, especially with this win, will put a spring in our step but make no illusions, we have a lot of improving to do,” O’Connor insisted.

Scorers for Kerry: D Clifford (0-5), P Clifford (0-4), S O’Shea (0-4, 3 frees), D Geaney, D O’Connor, J Foley (0-1 each).

Scorers for Mayo: R O’Donoghue (0-5, 2 frees), F Boland (0-3), S Callinan (0-2), D O’Connor, C Reape (free), B Tuohy, J Flynn, D McHale (0-1 each).

KERRY: S Ryan; G O’Sullivan, J Foley, D Casey; T O’Sullivan, T Morley, G White; D O’Connor, J O’Connor; P Clifford, D Geaney, C Burke; D Clifford, S O’Shea, D Moynihan.

Subs: C Geaney for D Geaney (48); B O’Sullivan for O’Connor (54); P Murphy for Morley (60), A Spillane for Moynihan (63); R Buckley for Burke (66).

MAYO: C Reape; J Coyne, D McBrien, D McHugh; S Callinan, R Brickenden, E McLaughlin; J Carney, D O'Connor; B Tuohy, F Boland, J Flynn; A O'Shea, T Conroy (c), R O'Donoghue.

Subs: D McHale for A O’Shea; E Hession for McLoughlin (47); S Coen for McBrien (59); C O’Connor for Tuohy (60); C Boland for Conroy (71).

Referee: D O’Mahoney (Tipperary).