Defensive discipline the key to respectable showing – Kerry v Waterford preview

During John Kiely’s stint as senior boss, he quickly realised that Waterford would need to smarten up defensively just to become competitive. Jason Ryan or Liam Lawlor were pressed into duty as a sweeper and to build play from the back.

In 2006, they ran Kerry close in Killarney before going under by 0-16 to 0-8. “Everyone in my own parish, including my father, told me that we were wasting our time going to Killarney but look what happened, we succeeded in giving Kerry the fright of their lives” Kiely remarked afterwards. A year later, Waterford gained their first championship win in  19 years over Paidi O Se's Clare. They scotched RTE’s plans for a showdown between Paidi and his native county to make their first live appearance on the Sunday Game. The progress made the previous year gave the hosts a glimmer of hope but an Eoin Brosnan double blast delivered a routine 2-15 to 0-4 victory for the Kingdom at Fraher Field.

Niall Carew unveiled his approach on a crisp January afternoon at Carraiganore. In the extra time win over UL in the McGrath Cup, as many as fourteen men gathered behind the ball at certain stages. It was perhaps an extreme flavour of a fresh system which placed an emphasis on versatility. Liam O’Lonain for instance lined out in the unfamiliar surroundings of wing back during the league.

 

They enjoyed an early bounce and hit the summit of Division 4 through wins against Clare and Tipperary. Then came a three week break and the chasing pack caught up. In an untidy encounter with Limerick, they lost by 0-8 to 0-6 and momentum was lost. Confidence ebbed away thereafter and any promotion hopes were dashed long before the concluding rounds. They lost to London and started conceding at an alarming rate. They kept four clean sheets in a row but then Leitrim put away 3-14 and Offaly followed that up with 2-15. Tony Grey was at a loss to explain their sudden dip in form. “I’m still trying to figure it out. I spoke to Niall Carew and all the lads and we are just finding it very hard to figure exactly what it is. Confidence definitely had something to do with it but I don’t think you can put it fully down to confidence.”

For this assignment, it’s all about building a brick wall to keep Waterford in the hunt for as long as possible. The return of Thomas O’Gorman into the full back line gives them a solid and experienced look with twin brother Maurice likely to help out also. Looseness and sloppiness will be costly but there should be some safety in numbers. They must hold their discipline by tackling hard and fair and also keep their shape in the face of intense pressure. When they get the opportunity to counter attack, they must make it count.

An orthodox formation is out of the question here. Cork cracked 5-17 up in Pairc Ui Chaoimh when Waterford failed to pack the defence. Wing forwards Tony Grey and Andy Doyle will undoubtedly track back to lend a hand. The Ahearnes could also move out to midfield. Gary Hurney and Paul Whyte may be left with the task of making the ball stick up front as part of a two man full forward line and the Ballinacourty front man could prove the target for lengthy deliveries to relieve the pressure.

Eamonn Fitzmaurice decided to stick rather than twist when naming his starting fifteen. This means that Brian Sheehan, Darran O’Sullivan, Kieran O’Leary and Eoin Brosnan remain in reserve. Kerry started like a train against Tipp before easing up a bit mid way through the first half. The Premier shot wildly during that brief period of supremacy and failed to register from play in the first half. It highlights the need for Waterford to make shrewd shot selections on Saturday. Kerry reassumed control with Colm Cooper spraying passes from centre forward and James O’Donoghue grasped his opportunity by bagging 1-3. The Tipp ship was already sinking before Barry Grogan walked the plank. Declan O’Sullivan was surprisingly quiet last weekend but it’s unlikely that the three time All Star will put two games back to back. Kieran Donaghy also showed in patches his ability to unselfishly distribute to others at number fourteen. With that game out of their system, Kerry will look to kick on and that spells trouble for the Déise.

The bookies have set the handicap at thirteen points and that lays out the challenge in stark terms. The defensive set-up adopted by Carew will be fascinating to watch but it’s a difficult balancing act. He places his focus on a performance to banish the league blues and build a platform for the rest of the summer.

In the build up to this game, Tony Grey revealed that they will not accept another meek championship exit. “We set out at the start of the year to get two wins in championship. We have to get that and this thing of bowing out early in the qualifiers and we have lost our focus in the past after getting knocked out of Munster championship and go back to the clubs and a week of preparation then and that’s just not good enough any more.” Waterford have only gained one win in the qualifiers since its inception back in 2001 and it is there that their championship progress will be measured. Saturday night is about rolling up the sleeves and putting up the shutters.

Munster Football Semi Final
Kerry v Waterford
7.00 at Fitzgerald Stadium
Referee: Martin Higgins (Fermanagh)
Betting: Kerry 1/500 Draw 50/1 Waterford 25/1

Kerry: B Kealy; M Ó Se, A O’Mahony, F Fitzgerald; T Ó Se, K Young, P Crowley; A Maher, J Buckley; P Galvin, C Cooper, D Walsh; D O’Sullivan, K Donaghy, J O’Donoghue.

Waterford: S Enright; T Ó hUallacháin, T O’Gorman, C Phelan; N Walsh, S Briggs, J Hurney; M O’Gorman, T Prendergast; T Grey, S Ahearne, A Doyle; P Whyte, G Hurney, R Ahearne.