Tony Leen: A Kerry gut-check that could turn into a fatal knockout blow
HOT STUFF: Meath manager Robbie Brennan after his side's victory in Glenisk O'Connor Park in Tullamore. Pic: Tom Beary/Sportsfile
Well, there's your Kerry gut check – a blow to the solar plexus that left a bemused Jack O’Connor and his dazed players with more questions than answers, more self-doubts than is healthy for any side bracing itself for the summer’s steep climbs.
But the big surprise of the weekend’s All-Ireland SFC group games has to be more about Meath and Robbie Brennan than the side they out-matched in all the key benchmarks in Tullamore’s O’Connor Park.
Spending Saturday night in Meath brought its own insights, the Meath doubting Thomases as stunned by their nine-point win over the Kingdom as the favourites were.
Brennan has clearly stirred something potent into the mix. He said afterwards that they’re only ‘nudging forward’ what Colm O’Rourke has begun, but players flying below the national radar have been delivered consistent energy and increasing quality since the spring. Sean Rafferty, Seán Coffey, Ciaran Caulfield, Ruairi Kinsella and the wonderful Conor Duke brought the sort of intent and desire that Kerry couldn’t match. Their exuberance and youthful zest only served to underline Kerry’s dearth of same. No team appreciates a ‘stale’ label, but the case for prosecuting Kerry on this evidence is legitimate. Crucially, with the likes of Sean O’Shea, Paudie Clifford, Diarmuid O’Connor and Paul Geaney absent through injury, they were less likely to be bailed out by some individual moments of brilliance.
David Clifford can only do so much.
On the flip side, Brennan’s boys lived up to the well-advertised reputation of scrapping feverishly for midfield leftovers, tackling devilishly and executing a number of two-point opportunities – two in each half, the latter pair at a stage when Kerry seemed to be building a belated head of steam. The Kingdom went ten minutes in each half without a score, mind – that’s sobering, to use Jack O’Connor’s phrase afterwards.
Their forwards might get a pass for the fact that Kerry were so comprehensively outworked around the middle (Meath pilfered 12 of Kerry’s 16 restarts), but the work-rate of some in trying to stem Meath’s transition left more than a bit to be desired. It typified the sluggish nonchalance of Kerry from back to front.
Brennan confirmed after that James Conlon won’t play again this season for Meath after tearing his hamstring Thursday night in training but twenty three scores is not to be sniffed at, and they left at least two more goals after them – kudos again to Kerry keeper Shane Ryan for the saves. He’s making a handy habit of winning out in the one on one duels.
Kerry had their own goal chance at a critical juncture. They would not have wanted it to fall to almost anyone else other than Dylan Geaney but the Dingle man blazed the 36th minute chance over the bar at a stage when they had an extra man. Nevertheless he finished with four points which won’t do his confidence any harm.
By the 50th minute Meath’s lead was only two points (0-16 to 0-14) and their majority in the crowd of over 8,000 must have feared the worst. The sobering bit for Jack O’Connor is his side scored only two points in the final 20 minutes – Meath tacked on 1-6.
The upshot for the Royals is a week of contemplation and tweaks. For Kerry, the road just got complicated. Monday’s draw will deliver their visitors to Killarney next weekend, but emerging from that only slingshots them straight into a quarter final seven days later – three games in as many weeks is a tough ask for a well-stocked squad but Kerry’s looks threadbare.
Word around the campfire is that Kerry could have a quartet of players back for next weekend but O’Connor would only allow as far as a “couple of them in the frame”. Paudie Clifford, Diarmuid O'Connor and Sean O’Shea would make a considerable difference but how much have Kerry in their saddle-bag to go again? Leaving aside the southern squabble with Cork, Kerry’s championship games against Clare and Roscommon barely had a pulse. Consequently Kerry's management had little idea what the extended squad could provide on demand. Fair to say, those given the opportunity in Tullamore didn’t pull up trees.
“We won’t be making those excuses (around the injuries),” O’Connor said. “We were just way off it today, and Meath were deserving winners. The conditions just underlined the fact that they were hungrier than us - there was a lot of breaking ball, and we came out second best there.”
Were Kerry a tad complacent, someone asked Meath manager Brennan? Meath were 8/1 against and their chances dismissed on the radio phone ins – they were also down key attackers Matthew Costello and James Conlon.
“People writing us off? That’s fair enough, it's Kerry and we're still at the early stages of our journey so I wouldn't have any complaints about people giving us no chance. But we did, and that’s the most important thing,” he added. “We knew Kerry had a bigger spin etc up to Tullamore and they were missing some key men to be fair, you’d have to be wary of that too.”
Kerry and O’Connor have been here before, in a place that approximates to backs squarely against the wall. In both of those campaigns, they turned their season around and won All-Irelands, 2006 and 2009. Both Fitzgerald Stadium and Croke Park traditionally stir something into Kerry’s bloodstream. They will need something. Their unbeaten record to date was kidding no-one nominating potential winners of Sam Maguire. With David Clifford there is always a chance, but it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that this Kerry side is running out of road. That there is something intangible missing.
“In many ways, we’re glad to have a game next week,” mused O’Connor, “because, if you were two weeks thinking about that performance, it wouldn’t do anyone any good.”
They have only a few days to find what they are looking for.
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