It seemed a tad premature to be asking if next Sunday’s game has already taken on the feel of a ‘four-pointer’, but in the dog-eat-dog environment of Division 1 football it felt like a reasonable question for Jack O’Connor. And while the Kerry manager didn't quite say it was, he didn’t quite say it wasn’t either.
’Connor was sore – perhaps with some justification – over a questionable point that was awarded to Donegal, and a league point (maybe two) that the League champions left behind them in Ballybofey last Sunday.
The crankiness over the contentious score will have stayed with the team until they reached dry dock late Sunday night, but the opportunities they left behind them over the course of the game – not to mind the winning point they too easily coughed up to Patrick McBrearty – will more inform their week’s work until next Sunday.
Jack won’t be fretting the loss of a game few had given Kerry much hope of winning anyway, but winning their three ‘home’ games is imperative, and that starts with the Farney men in Fitzgerald Stadium.
It is too easy to say if the point apiece for Galway and Mayo is good or bad for Kerry, or how significant Roscommon’s surprise win (was it though?) at home to Tyrone will prove, but suffice to say Kerry won’t want to be going to Castlebar on February 18 with no points on the board.
“This is going to be a real dog-fight this league,” O’Connor said on Sunday.
“It’s going to be real tough to get points, particularly away from home because you just don’t seem to get any kind of breaks. Performances are one thing but you need to get points in this league. This is going to be a ferociously competitive league, you know, you need to get points.”
Monaghan come to Killarney on the back of a two-point loss to Armagh last week, and while it was anything but a destabilising defeat, Monaghan manager Vinnie Corey will appreciate Jack O’Connor’s sentiment about the imperative to win points as well as score them.
Despite a poor middle third to their performance in Ballybofey, there was much to admire about Kerry on Sunday, and the management team will be keen to accentuate the positives from their performance.
Maybe Donegal were a little rusty themselves at the start (and they certainly moved and handled the ball a lot better in the second half), but strong pressure and good energy from Kerry ensured a lot of turnovers in the first 25 minutes, which led to some good scores for the visitors.
Case in point was the game’s only goal, for which Donegal will be kicking themselves at the careless way they conceded it, but kudos to Dara Moynihan for pressuring Brendan McCole into fumbling the ball and then for his cool finish to the net.
In the main, the Kerry defence did quite well: Shane Murphy wasn’t unduly troubled by anything, Tom O’Sullivan raided forward for his obligatory point, Paul Murphy kicked two points from the half-back line, and Tadhg Morley generally marshalled the rear-guard with his usual calm and authority.
Jack Barry and Barry O’Sullivan just about broke even against Caolan McGonagle and Jason McGee on a wet afternoon that made high fielding and generally ball handling difficult.
Jack O’Connor rued some spurned scoring chances that have Kerry been a little more clinical it would have rendered McBrearty late Hail Mary meaningless, but the Kerry boss clearly had in mind the fact that Donegal scored 0-8 from the six starting forwards, while Kerry managed just half that (Moynihan’s goal apart) from their starting attack.
To be fair, Adrian Spillane played a more withdrawn role, and did it very well, especially in the first half with a couple of great turnovers, while Micheál Burns worked hard before fading out and being replaced after 56 minutes.
Kerry won’t have anyone additional to who they brought to Ballybofey and the fit ones left behind for next Sunday’s fixture, but it is likely the management will change up the starting team a little bit. In defence Dylan Casey or Dan O’Donoghue might be in line to start, but it is in the attack where change is more likely.
Ruairí Murphy and Dónal O’Sullivan made a good impact when brought on against Donegal, with the latter looking particularly strong and focussed and capable.
The Kilgarvan man has been unlucky with injuries over the last couple of seasons, but he certainly made the most of his 18-minute cameo, and it would be instructive to see him start against a physical team like Monaghan to get a better assessment of him.
If O’Connor has tacitly conceded that a successful League title defence might be beyond Kerry, he certainly won’t be countenancing relegation or any flirtation with it, which means a win and two points against Monaghan is paramount.
The trip away to Mayo is followed by the visit of Armagh to Tralee the following weekend, so it’s not inconceivable that this Sunday could be the only points Kerry pick up before round 5, which is a trip to Omagh to face a Tyrone side that could by then be scrapping for the Division 1 lives.
Of course, that’s all for then. Monaghan is for now, and Kerry must turn the grievances from last Sunday into a positive energy to face Corey’s team head on.
Kerry are generally quite solid in Killarney in the League, particularly against visiting Ulster teams, and the sense is that an injection of one or two eager beavers into the starting team, and a little bit more controlled aggression, the defending champions should get their first win of the campaign.
ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 1 ROUND 2
Kerry v Monaghan
Sunday, February 5
Fitzgerald Stadium, 1.30pm (live TG4)
