Hi °C | Lo °C Another dark weekend for Kerry football prompts another trawl through the annals for comparative days.
The last time they endured such a heavy defeat to Dublin? Their 1998 league meeting in Parnell Park, 0-18 to 1-3, a chastening experience for the then reigning All-Ireland champions.
The last time they had such a low return from a competitive fixture in league or championship? The 1989 league semi-final against Cork, which they lost 0-10 to 0-4.
Combine their scores from the second half in Mayo last weekend and the first half in Killarney, and it's a paltry two points. Over the course of both matches, it's a total of just 10 points (plus a goal against Mayo).
"Not much has changed in a week," declared Eamonn Fitzmaurice at the outset of his post-match summation.
What a week for the manager, with an All-Ireland intermediate club final defeat with Finuge in Croke Park sandwiched between two harrowing defeats for his Kerry team.
These are troubled times for Kerry football, perhaps not yet a crisis but not far away all the same.
It's the nature of the performances, not the results, that is causing such concern.
Kerry have lost their opening two league games before and recovered comfortably. But they haven't been as far off the pace on those occasions as they have been over the last eight days.
Dublin were methodical and efficient in everything they did but, like Mayo the previous week, they never had to put on the after-burners to pull away. It happened rather effortlessly.
Once the Dubs stretched three, four, five and, finally, six points clear without reply, it was obvious it wasn't coming back to the home side.
Resilient
Kerry were a little more resilient than they had been in Castlebar. Aidan O'Mahony, Tomas O Se and young Jonathan Lyne showed some fire, but were eventually swamped by unforced errors that ranged from poorly directed kick-outs to undercooked passes.
By the end, Kieran Donaghy, only back from honeymoon last Friday evening, and Declan O'Sullivan, not slated for a return until March, were thrown into the fray – furiously bailing water from the decks to little avail. At least one thing Fitzmaurice is sure to get is absolute commitment from his senior players.
This result leaves Kerry rooted to the bottom of the most competitive Division 1 table in recent memory with quite a bit to do. It's a scenario Fitzmaurice admitted his management team had seen coming.
"We had mentioned it to the players that we could be in a position after the first two league games where we would have zero points because we knew they were two seriously tough games for a developing team," he said.
"You wouldn't be happy with the performance again today. That was the one thing we were hoping for – a reaction. I think the lads showed a bit more spirit today. They didn't give up, which was an improvement on last weekend."
So much for small mercy.
Eventually they'll get their strongest team back on the field and make a good stab at survival next month, but the depth of reserve strength has once again failed its latest test.
Fitzmaurice maintains faith, however, that the experience of these two games will benefit Kerry in the future and suggested that the younger players don't "back themselves" enough.
"In an ideal world, you would love to have thrown them in with a more experienced team around them.
"We're still going to use them, we're still going to have great time for them. As I said last week, this is part of their development. They learnt hard lessons in the last week and they realise the level it's at. That's a good thing. In the short term for the management and the players, it's tough; in the long run, it's good for their development."
No such concerns for Jim Gavin's side, who had it all their own way.
Bernard Brogan gave Marc O Se a torrid time, finishing with seven points, four from play, while Paddy Andrews added three more to his bulging league catalogue. However, at times they were content to go it alone when better options were available. Twice Andrews had goal opportunities easily blocked by Brendan Kealy when a pass might have yielded more.
Defensively, Dublin scarcely put a foot wrong, with Ger Brennan a dominant figure in front of an equally composed Rory O'Carroll at full-back. Once again, young Jack McCaffrey looked like he was a senior footballer with 10 years' experience behind him. Rarely has a rookie adapted so quickly to the pace of senior inter-county football.
Cian O'Sullivan adapted easily to midfield, while Michael Darragh Macauley was also going well there until his red card on 57 minutes for an altercation with Donaghy, who picked up a yellow card after referee David Coldrick was alerted by his umpires.
Dublin led by 0-6 to 0-0 after 18 minutes, with Patrick Curtin's 21st-minute point Kerry's first score in 64 minutes of football, dating back to the first half in Castlebar.
By the break the visitors had kicked on to a 0-8 to 0-2 lead, even with Brogan missing a simple 13-metre free , and with wind advantage still to come. If they had kept going at the same pace, it looked like they could have won by a cricket score.
But they deteriorated themselves in the second half, clearly lulled by the knowledge this was a game they were not going to lose. Mike O'Donoghue's free on 50 minutes was Kerry's last point as they went another 20-plus minute stretch without scoring. Dublin made certain with a Craig Dias goal from a Brogan lay-off on 62 minutes.
Gavin was satisfied with the return of two points from Killarney, but not the return on the scoreboard.
"We have a lot of work to do on the training field on their shooting. The quality was questionable at times but I suppose, from a coaching perspective, at least we created those opportunities."
How Kerry could love that luxury right now.
Man of the Match: B Brogan (Dublin)
Scorers – Dublin: B Brogan 0-7 (3f), P Andrews 0-3, C Dias 1-0, P Ryan 0-1 (1f). Kerry: T O Se, J O'Donoghue, P Curtin, M O'Donoghue (f) 0-1 each.
Dublin – S Cluxton 7; J Cooper 8, R O'Carroll 8, K O'Brien 7; J McCaffrey 8, G Brennan 8, D Daly 7; MD MacAuley 7, C O'Sullivan 8; P Flynn 7, T Brady 7, C Reddin 5; P Andrews 8, D Connolly 5, B Brogan 9. Subs: P Ryan 6 for Connolly (28), C Dias 6 for Reddin (h-t), D Nelson 6 for Daly (47), D O'Mahony for Ryan (62), P Quinn for Flynn (67).
Kerry – B Kealy 6; M O Se 6, A O'Mahony 8, K Young 6; T O Se 7, P Crowley 6, J Lyne 7; A Maher 5, J Walsh 5; M Geaney 5, Darran O'Sullivan 5, M O'Donoghue 5; J O'Donoghue 6, P Curtin 5, B J Keane 5. Subs: K Donaghy 6 for Walsh (42), Declan O'Sullivan 6 for Keane (42), B Sheehan 5 for M Geaney (53), BJ Walsh 5 for M O'Donoghue (53), C Cox for Curtin (67).
REF – D Coldrick (Meath).
