Kingdom deliver in emphatic fashion

It’s funny, really. After months of jostling for position, we are precisely where we thought we’d be.

Twelve teams left. Kerry, Dublin, Galway, Mayo, Derry, Armagh and Tyrone all in contention. Arguably the most open championship in over a decade. In short, exactly what we all expected at the start of the season.

Galway and Mayo slipping up on the last day of the group stage is the only real spanner in the works to date. Now the great Connacht rivals, both of whom have promised so much at various points of the campaign, will face one another in a straight shootout for a quarter-final berth.

It should be a cracker in Salthill and you would have to be very wary of whoever emerges from that one.

Luxury

After their huge 28-point win over Louth, Kerry now have the luxury of sitting back this weekend and watching the preliminary quarters unfold. When the draw takes place on Monday morning, they know they can be paired with any of the victors apart from their Group 1 opponents Mayo and Cork.

Like every Kerry man, woman and child,

I left Portlaoise on Sunday a lot happier than when I arrived. The team had been underperforming all season, really. Even when they won, you never really got the sense that they were firing on all cylinders.

With that in mind and with Mickey Harte bringing a dogged Louth team to O’Moore Park on the back of a near miss against Mayo, Kerry folk had good reason to be a little nervous.

Within minutes of the throw-in, those nerves melted away like ice cream under the hot midlands sun. Despite being faced with a packed defence, Kerry found gaps at will. They played with intensity and focus, moving the ball as quickly as possible and dragging their markers all over the place with hard, deliberate running. This led to scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity and, with the wind at their backs, they tagged on the points with ease. Even when they couldn’t find a path to goal, they were able to shoot over the cover from distance with Diarmuid O’Connor and David Clifford doing the damage.

Special Praise

O’Connor deserves special praise be- cause questions have been asked (in these pages and others) about his ability to influence games. He was brilliant against Louth, winning primary possession and driving forward with intent. He kicked three points in total. In fairness, he was quite good against Cork as well and if he can maintain this kind of form in Croke Park he will be a serious asset. Clifford was actually quiet in the first quarter but then he decided it was time to entertain the masses. He kicked two beautiful points from distance – one from five metres inside the 45-metre line, the other from five metres outside – within a minute. The latter was just outrageous, like Stephen Curry pulling up five feet outside the arc and draining a three. Whatever your allegiances, whether you’re a fan or a journalist or a teammate or an opponent, what can you do but shake your head and smile? Clifford is executing shots that 99% of players wouldn’t attempt at training for fear of making a fool of themselves in front of the lads.

Off The Pitch

He’s changing the game both on and off the pitch. After kicking 2-4 and with the tie over as a contest, he was taken off with 20 minutes to go. Children quickly flocked to the area of the stand around Kerry’s subs, eager to get an autograph or a selfie. Gardaí stepped in to escort him to the dressing room for fear that things could get dangerous. This was all while the game was still going on. In a way, these scenes are great. He’s a superstar and the kids want to meet him. After the match, the same kids rushed the pitch and gathered around Seánie O’Shea and Kerry’s other stars. It has become commonplace and the players don’t really seem to mind.

I do think that we need to draw a line somewhere, though. It’s not exactly professional to allow this to happen after every single match and I have no doubt that, depending on how things have gone for them on the day, some lads would rather get out of there as soon as possible.

Maybe it would be an idea to encourage the practice at the start of the season, during the league, and then call a halt to it for the championship? Just an idea. I know there are bigger issues to tackle in the GAA.

All in all, it was a real team effort by Kerry. I was impressed by Graham O’Sullivan (who was involved in three of Kerry’s goals), Jason Foley, Paudie Clifford, Dara Moynihan, and O’Shea, who looks rejuvenated in recent weeks.

Louth are not a top 10 side and they looked a little overawed by the occasion but full credit to Jack O’Connor and his squad. They needed a strong display to restore confidence and they delivered in emphatic fashion.