'We got fair abuse': Cork defeat drove Kerry to U20 glory

Six weeks after losing to Cork in the Munster championship, Kerry are All-Ireland U20 champions 

Kerry U20 manager Tomás Ó Sé hailed his side's second half performance as the best of his time in charge. Pic: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

An 18-year wait ends for Kerry, a four-year search for Tomás Ó Sé concludes too and for the U20 All-Ireland winning manager April 16 sure feels a long time ago.

At the final whistle, Ó Sé was reminded by his coach Mark Fitzgerald of the negative reaction to their one-point defeat to Cork in the provincial phase two, round two game in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh last month.

“That night below in Cork, we got fair abuse after,” recalled Ó Sé. “It's just the way it is in the county, I accept that. I probably gave a bit of abuse myself down the years so it was probably coming, so we had to smarten ourselves but you never know will you get the answer or will you get the end product.

“I think the Munster championship this year helped us because I think Cork were a lot more organised, a lot more potent and we got tough challenges in Munster.

“We got a right good battle in Roscommon, I was disgusted it went to extra-time but looking back on it I'm glad there was extra-time there because it kicked us on and we played football in extra-time that we hadn't played all year, which you could work on with them going forward.

“I was quite glad that the (final) game wasn't in Portlaoise, whatever piseógs I’d have. I didn't care if we'd have to go to Belfast as long as it wasn't there and I didn't push that despite fellas thinking I did.

“But no it is, it's brilliant, it’s great for them (players) and the management team. Like, there's 16 or 17 management inside there and the work they have done all year has been phenomenal.” 

Tomás Ó Sé: “Evan Boyle had a trojan first half" Pic: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Ó Sé hailed Kerry’s second half performance as the best he has seen in his time in charge. 

“Evan Boyle had a trojan first half there and we stayed in it and that last 12 minutes I think we outscored them seven points to one, which was massive and it gave our lads a platform for the second half.

“We wanted to focus on moving the ball quickly, it hurt them and we didn't do it in the first half and we turned over a pile of ball and I think we turned it over 10 times and they scored seven from it, but I didn't foresee how dominant we would be in that second half.

“They kept the ball away from Evan Boyle, they put a wing-forward on (Daniel) Kirby and they hit Kirby's man, so for our lads to win the breaking ball and to score after it, it was brilliant.

“It was great to see and it was as good a performance as I've seen out of any 20s team that I've been involved with, that second half in the last four years.” 

Ó Sé paid tribute to his entire backroom team as well as his older brother Darragh who had previously held the main position.

“A lot of fellas would say because he didn't have the success (as manager) that somehow he doesn't have any football knowledge or a head to call fellas. He was outstanding inside there, pulling fellas aside, talking to them, chatting to them, the week of the match.

“He sees stuff that normal fellas that you're talking to on a weekly and a daily basis don't see at all a lot and he has a football brain that very few, and he didn't come in on a coaching level but he came in and he had a huge impact on everything.”