No hiding place as defensive wall crumbles - Kerry 4-21 Waterford 1-4

 

 

As the salt slips through the hourglass of the 2013 championship, it is quickly becoming clear that giantkilling acts are fading from view in the big bad world of Gaelic football.

Physical and mental preparation, backed by significant funds, is creeping towards the summit as the top teams push the boat out with each passing year to gain that extra inch. With a vast amount of statistical information and video analysis now available, it almost unforgivable for a Division 1 side to take their eye off the ball against those at the bottom of the ladder. There are no surprises lingering in the long grass any more. It’s 21 years since Marty Morrissey spouted the line “there won’t be a cow milked in Clare tonight.” Those days are dwindling. Even in damage limitation mode last weekend, Waterford slumped to their heaviest championship defeat in fourteen years.

2-3 in ten minutes killed the competitive spark of what was previously a complicated puzzle for Kerry to solve. In the first half, the hosts looked pedestrian as they scratched their heads and struggled to work their way around the massed defence. Once Kerry cranked up the pace and started moving the ball quicker through the hands, the scores flowed freely. Confidence crumbled in the system that had brought the visitors half time respectability and with little attacking threat, it quickly developed into an annihilation. They overtook the handicap with 23 minutes remaining. Niall Carew’s gameplan required a concerted effort for seventy minutes but Kerry’s superior movement and quality broke it down.

The disadvantage of the blanket defence is the freedom that it allows opposition defenders to break forward. Tomás O Se was left almost unmarked to wander up the park with purpose for the fifty minutes he was on the field. With no defensive duties to take care of, he raided early and often with many of Kerry’s best moves of a frustrating half coming down the right flank. Despite this chink in the armour, their spirit levels rose as the half advanced. 13 white and blue shirts shuffled behind the ball and they stuck to their guns. They swarmed the area around Kieran Donaghy and tackled with vigour when the Kingdom entered the scoring zone. Gary Hurney and Paul Whyte were well surrounded but managed to gain traction. Hurney held the upper hand against Aidan O’Mahony and Whyte posted two points. Two goal chances were also spurned as Colm Cooper came back to block Whyte’s effort and John Hurney was pulled back as he advanced but the penalty claims from the Waterford bench were ignored. Gary Hurney also missed two frees from awkward angle but four points back at the break was a vote of confidence in their strategy.

They needed to be prepared for an avalanche on the restart however and it duly arrived. Once Kieran Donaghy got his paws on a trademark skyscraper into the square, morale hit the floor. They were still 31 minutes left to play. With the door prised open, Kerry made up for lost time as fifteen different players (including four backs) raised a flag. "In the first half we played at a Division 4 tempo and in the second half we played at a Division 1 tempo" is how Kerry boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice put it. Despite his valiant efforts to talk up Waterford’s firm first half showing, they gained precious little value from the exercise either.

John Kiely could only admire the magnificence of this current Kerry crop. “These are some of the best players ever to play the game” he observed. The current Waterford bainsteoir focussed on the gap in fitness levels afterwards. “When the first goal went in the heads dropped after that and from there we struggled. We didn’t stick to the gameplan and it’s very hard when you are eight or nine points down. It was down to fitness too, Kerry were fitter and stronger that we were and that paid dividends. We are not up to that level of fitness yet. It’s going to take us a while to get to that level.” Niall Carew also admitted on the Sunday Game that he endured a sleepless night through tossing and turning over what he could have done differently.

Waterford needed something of substance to bring forward to the qualifers. Instead this latest Munster championship allows negativity to seep in especially after a middle of the road league campaign. After making colossal sacrifices and soaking up a fresh approach, this group want to make headway but they have received another setback. They play the waiting game for round 2 of the backdoor system and a home draw is a must to generate positive energy. The life of a minnow is not getting any easier.