Kerry will ask hard questions
THE Kingdom come on Sunday . . . in search of a couple of handy points. Having lost their opener to Cork they’ll be taking nothing for granted.
In the league, when defences are down, and the valleys have yet to cast off their winter hues, Kerry are vulnerable. But they’re bristling about losing to the old enemy, and Mayo could feel the cold chill of their anger.
Surprisingly, last year they stumbled into the snare of complacency believing that their game with Mayo in Tralee was already won. But bog-oak willpower won it for Mayo . . . by two points. And once again we were on the pig’s back . . . until Longford softened our cough.
The league brings a temporary sense of balance to standards in general. Because they are not yet in championship mode the big guns offer a more realistic challenge to less successful rivals. Wins over the likes of Kerry or Cork in the league are not unattainable, as Mayo can testify.
At 11/19 wins, Mayo are second only to Kerry in National League success. They have won three of their last four games with the Kingdom, two of them in McHale Park.
Kerry folk excuse these defeats by claiming Mayo are always fitter at this time of the year . . . a wry compliment that implies, ‘wait until we meet ye in the summer.’
Until recent years the league was seen in the kingdom as of no great importance. In an era of so much professional preparation top teams now use the Allianz as serious groundwork for the championship. Cork won it last year, Kerry in 2009.
Thus the championship princes come to Mayo knowing that if they go down in the second round, their division status is in jeopardy.
Since losing some of those who drove their All-Ireland success Kerry have been a little off colour. They have not yet found a suitable replacement for midfielder Darragh O Sé, and without Tommy Walsh, who is trying his hand in Australia, Mike McCarthy and Tadgh Kennelly, an unprecedented urgency to find new talent has taken hold.
Defeat never rests lightly on Kerry shoulders, but they will take some comfort from the performance of newcomer David Geaney against Cork. At centre-forward Geaney teamed up well with Donaghy, and James Horan’s choice of centre-half back could be crucial in neutralising the Dingle man.
Geaney’s brother Paul has also begun to attract the attention of the selectors and together with the experienced Darren O’Sullivan, Kieran O’Leary and Colm Cooper — if the Gooch has recovered from an eye ailment — is a front line with a mix of youth and experience.
The defence centres round the O Sé brothers Marc and Tomás, Jonathon Lyne and Pádraig Reidy and will be bolstered by the return of Eoin Brosnan after a long lay-off. David Moran and Seamus Scanlon or Anthony Maher will hold down midfield where Kerry’s greatest need for improvement lies.
Injury has robbed Mayo of Alan Freeman for the next few games, one of the county’s most promising forwards. And on Friday night Enda Varley, who has started the year brightly, was forced to retire from the FBD final with a shoulder injury.
James Horan can ill afford to be without their calibre against the likes of Kerry, and their replacements will depend on whom the manager believes has the character and the confidence to take on the Kerry defence.
The selectors will also take time in choosing their two central defenders. They have options following the FBD trials, but there is strong competition for places, and who performs best against Kieran Donaghy and Geaney will do their championship prospects o harm.
So far, Mayo have shown encouraging signs of shedding their insecurity. There is healthy competition for places. Let’s hope the result on Sunday reflects the genuine effort everyone is putting in.
Students fail final exam
MAYBE we expected too much from NUI, Galway — that the carrot of a first FBD title, and a visit to New York, the lure of a battle between Mayo past and present team managers James Horan and John Maughan, and the chance for the college’s Mayo players to test the cluttered home scene for county recognition, would drive their endeavour.
But the Paddy Francis Dwyer Cup remains in Mayo.
A Mayo team with eight changes from that which drew with Down in the Allianz League was still too strong for the students. And you wonder did James Horan learn anything new from the twenty-seven of his county men in action on Friday night.
As against Down, Mayo struggled at times in the first half, as troops bedded into new positions. But quality play from leaders pitched them ahead for the first time, after the break and, given their head, they never looked back.
As a game, though, it fell far short of Allianz League standard. It was in a way classic FBD seasonal stuff — a lot of enthusiasm and raw effort, a lot of running, too many basic faults, and some splendid individual performances . . . most of them from Mayo.
Captain Andy Moran epitomised the difference between the sides. Everything about his performance was subtle and assured. His was a spirited spur to his players.
Barry Moran and Tom Parsons were Horan’s first choice for midfield. Neither togged out, however — Moran once more injured, and Parsons deemed ineligible because Sligo IT had nominated him for the competition.
Jason Gibbons and Ronan McGarrity took their places, and while the Ballina man performed with what seemed a certain detachment, Gibbons’ emergence as a midfielder of high promise continues.
It was the Ballintubber man who set up Aidan Kilcoyne for the only goal of the game twelve minutes into the second half with a pass of impeccable precision. He did a lot of other good work throughout the hour, and the hope is that Gibbons will continue to mature throughout the season.
The goal, confidently tucked away by Kilcoyne, killed the game off as a contest. It put Mayo six points ahead in the 43rd minute and took the wind from the college sails.
Kilcoyne, playing full forward, took his goal well, and a couple of his long-range frees were also on target. He and the ever-accurate Mark Ronaldson between them accounted for 1-9 of Mayo’s total.
Enda Varley, who scored an inspirational point against Down, continued his good form at corner forward until a shoulder injury forced him to retire near the end of the first half.
The selectors moved Keith Higgins to centre-half back on this occasion from his normal corner back spot, and the battle between the Ballyhaunis man and Alan Dillon, lining out with the students, was one of the features of the game.
In Higgins’ customary position, the tigerish qualities of Chris Barrett were evident, and Lee Keegan and Cathal Hallinan did reasonably well. But James Horan’s line-outs would suggest that no one is sure of his place in any game.
With his first piece of Mayo silver in place, Horan has begun to earn his spurs.
Just a thought …
THAT, come championship time, the GAA gurus will come up with more imaginative advertising for our national games than we have seen so far. This, after all, IS GAA COUNTRY.
