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Post by Mickmack on Mar 8, 2015 20:44:05 GMT
By Peter McNamara
Manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice said Kerry’s defending lacked “authority and confidence” as Cork tore their rearguard to pieces at times in the first half of their Allianz NFL Division 1 meeting today.
Kerry were excellent defensively last Sunday against Dublin, with Jack Sherwood producing a man-of-the-match performance.
Yet, it was ironic, and indicative of the struggles Kerry had that Sherwood was replaced by Peter Crowley 19 minutes into the opening period on this occasion.
By then, however, Cork had registered three goals – the first from Colm O’Neill and the second and third from John O’Rourke.
Worryingly for Fitzmaurice and co, Cork orchestrated more openings throughout the initial 35-plus minutes as Kerry were, as their boss put it, “at sixes and sevens”.
Yet, the Finuge clubman could not put his finger on why such a malfunctioning Kerry defence took to the field on Leeside.
“After last week, you’re looking up after beating a good Dublin side,” Fitzmaurice mused. “Today, then, we had this poor performance and defeat.
“‘Where did that performance come from?’ That’s the million dollar question. We don’t know.
“We’re just after the game here now so we’ll have to think about it. We didn’t see it coming.
“We trained very well during the week and tried to build on last week.
“We had a light session on Friday night fellas were fresh and seemed to be tuned in for the game.
“We just weren’t at it today.
“We didn’t seem to have authority or confidence in ourselves back there in defence.
“When we conceded such an early goal it seemed to knock the stuffing out of us.
“Once we regained our composure after that though I don’t think Cork had any goal chances in the second half.”
Kerry trailed by four points at half-time however Fitzmaurice still believed the visitors to Páirc Uí Rinn were in a decent position going into the second period.
“To be fair, I thought we had pulled ourselves back into the game until that row happened in front of the Cork goal and that kind of took the momentum away from us then again.
“I thought, at half-time, that we were in a decent position and we were looking for a big second half performance.
“But it was Cork that kicked-on and we didn’t,” Fitzmaurice said.
Cork rampaged through Kerry’s back lines far too easily at times, particularly in the opening quarter.
And that element of their display frustrated Fitzmaurice greatly.
“We wouldn’t have been too happy with how open we were in the first-half.
“After what we discussed during the week we didn’t do what we were supposed to do.
“That was disappointing,” he opined.
Anthony Maher was substituted at the interval and Fitzmaurice reported the midfielder was withdrawn for precautionary reasons after getting a knock while the Kerry supremo was also conscious of the fact Paul Murphy received a black card for the second week on the spin.
“Anthony got a knock in the head and we were worried at half-time about the issue of concussion so we took him off.
“It was probably a collision of heads but I wasn’t talking to him properly yet.
“Paul, obviously, has to be careful, too.
“I suppose, the one thing about the black card is that it must be hard at times for the referees to know if something is deliberate or accidental.
“I’d have to see it again and the referee was a lot closer to it than I was but I’m not sure if it was deliberate.
“The thing is, you can’t get yourself into a position where it looks like you are pulling a fella down deliberately.
“From that point of view, I don’t know if we can have any complaints.
“The decision was made and there is no point in crying about it now.
“Paul and all of our defenders will have to be careful though,” he added.
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Post by 6 in a row on Mar 8, 2015 20:57:10 GMT
I was up today and it was a very below par performance by kerry but there is no sliverware handed out in March. Apparently Cork are training 5 nights a week I was told today.
BJK showed very well was the only positive really.
Can anyone enlighten me on Kieran O Leary? His place on the subs went to Thomas Hickey. His he injured or he is not good enough anymore?
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Post by aranteorainn on Mar 8, 2015 21:10:19 GMT
I was up today and it was a very below par performance by kerry but there is no sliverware handed out in March. Apparently Cork are training 5 nights a week I was told today. BJK showed very well was the only positive really. Can anyone enlighten me on Kieran O Leary? His place on the subs went to Thomas Hickey. His he injured or he is not good enough anymore? If Cork are training 5 nights a week they would'nt have been able to walk today , someone rising you.
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Post by aranteorainn on Mar 8, 2015 21:12:43 GMT
That was dreadful but it's early yet . The backs need to be looked at . Crowley and Killian and Enright will have to start next week . It's hard to know if Griffin , Kilkenny ,and Sherwood are up to that level . They are still young so it's tough to say but there are question marks about them . The same thing happened last year so we'll see. Maybe it's a good omen . No point to be flying this early in the year and get hammered in the Championship . Bit of club bias there nacrocaigh ? You didn't mention Fionn, who was brutal today and has been all year in my book. Dunno why he was left on so long. I thought Griffin was ok, actually. Murphy can feel a bit hard done by with the two blacks, especially today's. A lot more cynical stuff than that went uncarded. Problem is it's whether or not the man goes to ground that determines the black, so if a fella stays on his feet after an identical foul, the culprit stays on. Happening already in all games , players are going down when they feel the tackle.
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Post by Seoirse Ui Duic on Mar 8, 2015 21:14:51 GMT
Game days are usually akin to game weekends for me and this weekend was no different. I always watch previous games to get into the "groove" and I decided to watch Donegal v Cork again on the Saturday morning as the howling gales were encirculating the house. Even the cats didn't want to go outside and though they are usually not allowed in the bedroom they were allowed to snuggle up with us as I watched the game. It was awful stuff and the shoreline flattered Cork. Donegal reigned supreme at midfield and Cork reacted by pulling both defenders back into defence. Cork look very aggressive and physical and are going for every ball like life depends on it. Stopping ball going into Colm O'Neill is vital to stopping Cork though like JOD and Gooch are the danger men for Kerry. When he doesn't get a score himself he sets it up for the others.
We went out to do the Saturday shopping and a man who I never met before, as far as I remember anyway, decided to make a sneering comment about Kerry and how they would get their revenge. People here in Carrigaline don't usually seem to be that bitter, but I suppose that I felt similar about wanting Cork to lose. That's why it's called a rivalry and though I was surprised about how bitter an unknown stranger was towards me I didn't lose any sleep over it. I was preparing the dinner and while the meat was roasting in the oven it was time for some more GAA. This time Louis Marcus' Peil and the award winning Christy Ring documentary. My girlfriend, who is not obsessed with football the way I am, sat down and watched it with me and I pointed out to her what players to watch out for the next day. I pointed out Moran's skills in catching the high ball and Sheehan's free taking skills as well as the side step that I would expect Barry John to excel in today.
As I settled down to watch Dublin v Tyrone I was half expecting to see some attacking football, but with 15 men behind the ball and most scores from frees it was as interesting as the east Frisian firljeppen championship for people with acrophobia. It was so bad that I put on a movie for the girlfriend I had seen before as I watched the game in silence on the iPad. Dour stuff but I assured her today's game would be much more entertaining.
The girlfriend was born an O'Driscoll in Schull and spent the first years of her life there, before moving to her mother's birth ground in west Waterford. There she grew up in a hurling stronghold close to the south Tipperary border and Newcastle, but with the parish of fourmilewater, which forms the other part of Newcastle's parish and Ballymacarbry just on the other side of the mountains. People are GAA mad there and The Nire's run to the Munster final was important for them. Hurling is the main game here though and she wouldn't have grown up with a love for football. Her birther, himself an accomplished hurler, played with the local parish and a few of her cousins played with the Déise hurlers. Since she met me she has been to a few more Kerry games though and even agreed to wear green and gold bunting today. I'll make a Kerry woman out of her yet, I thought, though her father, west Cork born and bred, would probably chase me out if the country if I manage to do so. Bad enough, he says, that his wife is now cheering for Kerry when they're on the telly.
This morning then I had to gain some brownie points and I decided to treat her to a nice breakfast. After all I was going to drag her to a windy hill in Cork city for 70 minutes of a sport she doesn't enjoy all that much (yet). I as wearing a Kerry Jersey as I didn't want to change later on again, but though this is usually not a problem in Carrigaline and only leads to a bit of banter, the mood was different today. I had two people, unbeknownst to me, calling me the infamous c-word and there was some muttering behind me in the queue. Ah well, I don't mind too much at all. The mood was even worse though as I was walking towards the stadium and trying to find a taker for the spare season ticket. Cork people refusing to go into the stadium for free, rather paying the entrance fee, just because it might mean a Kerryman will reach the quota come September. I find that hard to fathom, but it's their loss. Inside the stadium the mood wasn't overly hostile, but once the game started it was clear how deeply hurt Cork supporters were after last year's Munster final. Supporters shouting comments with barely concealed aggression and hatred every time a Kerry player touched a ball, not that they did much with it in the opening exchanges. Cork started brighter, with more hunger and more aggressively and two early goals laid the foundation for what was going to be a bit of a hiding.
Colm O'Neill, always the Cork danger man, got the one goal and set up the second for O'Rourke. Kerry were blitzed and looked a bit liked the startled earwigs their previous opponents once were. Two soft goals by Kerry kept us in the game, with the goal by star more an accident than a well deserved goal. Surely na agent would set the situation right and surely Kerry could turn this around?
Cork went for every ball like it was the he last ball on earth and it looked like Kerry just didn't have the same sense of urgency. At times the Kerry players looked like they were strolling around the park and if I would not have been at both matches I would not have believed this was the same team that played Dublin the week before. It looked like Kerry were ready to concede defeat if it would mean the current hype around the team would die down a bit. Cork on the other hand approached the game as a must win. Pride was at stake and pride was restored.
Kerry had gone into the game with talk in the media about us being clear favourites for Sam this year and how Galvin's return all but assures that Kerry will stroll into the final and win it without even having to stop for a breather. If anything expectations will go back to normal now. Was that the plan? Or was it just a case of Cork wanting it so much more?
Bryan Sheehan left his scoring boots at home and looked tired. He didn't seem up for the game at all and it came as no surprise when he was substituted though we could have used a more accurate free taker in the second half.
Even though Moran and Maher reigned in the air it did not tell as Goold and Cadogan simply waited for them to come down to earth so they could take the ball of them. Cadogan featured all around the field and rarely in a positive way. Cork had done their homework on the referee, or knew what to expect, as they exploited the fact that this referee didn't keep a tight control on the game. It looked at times like it was going to end with 7 players on each side. Unlike the previous game Kerry didn't stand up to Cork the way they did against Dublin and they were simply driven away and backwards from every ball.
It is clear that Kerry have the better and more skill full footballers but what good is it if you're playing a Cork team that won't let you play football? I'm not saying that Cork are a dirty side, but some players that were on the pitch today should go home, look at themselves in the mirror and think long and hard whether this is what they want to show to people.
The first 20 minutes were vital as Cork build up a big lead and though Kerry were clawing it back they were bamboozled by Cork's second surge, resulting in an 11 point drubbing. It always hurts to lose to your rivals, it hurts more to lose by 11 points to lose against your biggest rivals, but it's the league and both teams could still make the semi finals. It meant a lot to Cork to win today, but it won't matter that much to Kerry. The record will be set straight soon enough I'm sure.
In that first half Barry John was the one player doing well even though the main tactic seemed to be leaping high ball into Donaghy. I know we have an All Ireland this decade because of Donaghy, but if our only tactic is to go high and long to the high tower or the twin towers we are going backwards and will be out of the running by the end of August. Both Stephen O'Brien and Barry John showed how dangerous they can be when in possession, but there was little ball going into them. Just like Cork can be stopped if you keep Colm quiet Kerry can be stopped if you keep Donaghy away from the ball. Cadogan was out to get a Kerry player sent off and Donaghy dealt well with it as captain to make sure the game did not turn into a shambles. People were complaint about him last week, but this week he was almost too quiet. I was almost ready myself to "do a Mayo" and run onto the pitch. Not that I would of course.
Colm O'Neill showed again today why he should be considered one of the best forwards in Ireland and it will be a joy to see Kerry and Cork battle in Fitzgerald stadium or Croke park when the Gooch and JOD are back. The open spaces in those venues will give natural footballers like that a platform to show their extraordinary skills. One of the few shimmers of hope from today is that Barry John announced his attentions to join that group. Paul Geaney missed out today because of injury, but in his absence Barry John is intent on nailing down a starting spot.
Sherwood, who was excellent in the previous three games seemed in trouble today and Goold ran straight through him a few times. Cork could have gotten a few more goals and though it was not just Sherwood's fault, it was clear that the physical aspect of Cork compared with a weak full back line was never going to bring out the best in a footballer like Sherwood. When Crowley came on instead of him Kerry looked more settled, but the damage had been done by then. It would be hard though to blame Sherwood for the defensive failure. Kerry didn't control midfield as they should have and the full back line were in all kinds of trouble. Griffin and Kilkenny again didn't play badly, but couldn't contain Hurley and Collins. Hurley and Collins were kept relatively quiet, but O'Neill did all the damage. Had Kerry stopped ball going into him the game would have ended very differently. The cork half toward line of Kevin and Colm O'Driscoll and O'Rourke caused havoc and O'Rourke's two goals killed the match as a contest. That wasn't helped of course by the black card for Paul Murphy. Though Murphy deserved the black card it was for an offence that was let go by the very same ref only mo nets earlier. Even after the black card players were being pulled, dragged, pushed, shouldered, tripped and more with no result. Both teams were guilty here with Kerry lads pulling jerseys as much as the Cork lads. Consistency by the referee would have been nice as tempers often flared during the match. Donaghy was on top of his marker O'Donoghue but whenever he won ball there was nobody near him to do anything with it. Aimless high ball into Donaghy is clearly not the way to go. Donaghy was on fire, but had little support. I'm not sure what is expected of him, but if we expect him to win matches just be being there we will be able to book holidays for August city trips. At the other end Griffin saved us from an even worse humiliation time on time. Kealy too made a few good saves and narrowed the angle sufficiently to prevent a 7 goal drubbing. Paul Murphy's dismissal had a big impact even though Killian Young did very well. Murphy offered at least a bit of resistance though to Cork's onslaught. Paul Murphy did nothing that wasn't done to him or others constantly yet the referee noticed this one and gave Paul his marching orders. A black card offence it was, but I am amazed none of the other instances were "rewarded" with a black card. Likewise Walsh's introduction instead of Sheehan made an immediate impact though he still needs to get used to the pace and kicking in a football game. He does get on the ball a lot and his passes are good, but his point taking needs to improve. For a while he was placed all alone in front of goal like Donaghy was before; though 2009 Walsh would have thrived 2015 Walsh needs to get back into that rhythm. Right after Walsh's goal Cork made sure the momentum wouldn't carry over the line and they made their physical presence know. Yellow cards were shown and Cork walked away from it knowing a better referee would have identified the instigators and shown red. Nolan looked afraid to show red. Any bit of momentum Kerry should have gotten out of Walsh's goal ebbed away as the game was restarted. Again smart play by Cork but not attractive to watch. The second half started more or less like the first with Kerry seemingly not caring too much about the outcome. It was as if they had conceded defeat and I counted 10/11 Kerry wides. With Sheehan off Moran was the designated free taker, but he too had an off day with the boot. As Cork introduced more and more of their big(ger) guns the game ran further and further away from Kerry and it looked like an impromptu practice session more than a March league game. Kerry walk away from the match knowing the result matters little if they win at least two of the other matches. Staying in division 1 gets tougher now but not impossible and not unlikely. In the end Cork felt like they had a point to prove and they did. Cork meanwhile have their strongest team out and are firing at all cylinders already. I hate to say they are peaking too early, but we have seen it before. Kerry have a lot of talent still to come back and lost a game hat they most likely wouldn't have won even if the full team was available.it meant the world to Cork, their players, their supporters and management to beat their worst enemies, but I doubt Eamon FitzMaurice will lose much sleep over it. Kealy had a good game and it will be good to see whether Kelly can keep him out of the squad this year. Kilkenny too played very well for the second game in a row as did Griffin so we are certainly on the right track. Fionn meanwhile struggles in the corner and it might be time to put him back on the wing, but he is often put on the opposition's top forward so maybe I'm being too hard on him. Lyne was up against it today and like Sherwood, Murphy and Young paid the price for Kerry not making better midfielders count. Cadogan made a nuisance of himself all day but taking the ball straight off Maher and Moran and it was amazing how a player who isn't a midfielder in any way did so well in midfield. I doubt he will get another chance to do that though. Cadogan was lucky to stay on the pitch and a better referee would have shown him the sideline. When Enright came on for Fionn things didn't improve so maybe it was Cork's brilliance at executing their plan rather than Fionn's failure. I'm not sure though that Fionn should be kept in the corner. Geaney and Buckley did well with Buckley fielding some lovely ball but like the others the mantra for the day seemed to be to kick high balls into Donaghy. I was surprised they didn't go for scores themselves. Both Paul O'Donoghue and Alan Fitzgerald showed potential so they should be given more chances. It was a very tough day for a Kerry supporter but in the end I went home looking forward to inviting Monaghan down to Tralee. Win that game and things look a lot more upbeat now that Dublin seem to be in more trouble than us and Derry look sure to go down.
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Post by donegalman on Mar 8, 2015 21:18:51 GMT
Cork could be training a lot, probably not 5 nights a week, but they more than likely have their eyes set on the league to get a bit of momentum and confidence going. There is nothing wrong with this, as every team that has had a barren spell has to start somewhere. I would say that Cork had their homework done on this game. I think that over all other games in the league, this is their most important one. The question is whether kerry felt the same way about it, I dont think they did, as they didnt need to. A bit of work left for youse to finish the league strongly, but 2 home games is probably going to be a good platform.
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Post by givehimaball on Mar 8, 2015 21:24:58 GMT
I think it will be very interesting to see what the shooting stats look like for this game.
Cork seemed to barely hit a wide all day while Kerry had an absolute litany of efforts that went wide or dropped short.
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Premier
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Post by Premier on Mar 8, 2015 21:48:46 GMT
Certain people got carried away last weekend after we beat Dublin. Certain people will get carried away this week after our hiding today. So be it. Might be no harm at all. Very few plusses today. Was good to see a bit of fight in the lads after a few switches were made and we 9 points? in arrears at that stage. The row that ensued suited Cork actually because it killed the momentum we had built up. Anthony Maher was outstanding in that period of about 7 minutes. Himself and Eoin Cadogan were at loggerheads during that period and Maher dominated him. Our friend Eoin regrouped though and for me he ran the show. Cork were full of running and really were up for this one. Their point taking was top drawer!! It was a tough day at the office for our over ran defence. Tommy Walsh was a plus and showed glimpses of what he will bring to the table. Much improved from the Derry game. Barry John is another man who can hold his head high. He was only drip fed possession but when he was on the ball he was a constant threat. We'll move on from this defeat. Previous posters said we looked flat and it certainly seemed that way to me. There was no ambition whatsoever in the second half. It really was a matter of what Cork were going to score. Just when we thought it wasn't going to get any worse Donnacha O Connor came on and raised the white flag on a few occasions. A big 2 points at stake today week!! I thought Tommy Walsh was cat, asides from the goal and one high catch he kicked away an amount of ball. Apparently he thinks he has a good left leg too but clearly that isn't the case
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Post by 6 in a row on Mar 8, 2015 21:52:11 GMT
I was up today and it was a very below par performance by kerry but there is no sliverware handed out in March. Apparently Cork are training 5 nights a week I was told today. BJK showed very well was the only positive really. Can anyone enlighten me on Kieran O Leary? His place on the subs went to Thomas Hickey. His he injured or he is not good enough anymore? Anyone know about Kieran O Leary
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kerryexile
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Post by kerryexile on Mar 8, 2015 21:52:49 GMT
League results now fluctuate randomly based on the amount of physical work the team has done in the previous week. They have no choice, this is the time of year for stamina work. Sometimes it appears that a manager tones it down to make sure of the points in a particular week or their programmes is at a different stage to the opposition, and they appear much fresher on the Sunday. That happened today - Cork were much fresher.
That said, when a team is in the position that Kerry were today it can be very revealing. In the circumstances players revert to their natural instincts to salvage the situation and we see what each player is made of without the lustre they show in September after a summer of rehearsal.
IMO only two starters did well - Kilkenny and Keane. Most looked like they need a lot of tuning up and one in particular has a lot of work to do not to prove he was not a one hit wonder. Crowley is by a distance the best defender in the Kerry squad.
Games like this also reveal what the team as a whole is like without micro tactics and two old hardy annuals came back to haunt us - players racing through the centre and lack of security around the square. The vast majority of Kerry fans, official etc seem to be oblivious to the fact that these issues have cost us a number of major championship games in the last 10 years.
All in all I suppose "it is only the league". Hopefully lessons were learned. I believe we will stay up and and if we have two in a row in September this will be a distant memory.
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Post by sullyschoice on Mar 8, 2015 22:05:27 GMT
I have not been impressed with what I have seen from Tommy Walsh in the last few weeks. His running looks very awkward.
The only positive I took from today was that the traffic back to Dublin was very light and its a lot easier to get to Flower Lodge than the 1970'sEast German Ediface by the river
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Post by Seoirse Ui Duic on Mar 8, 2015 22:16:30 GMT
I have not been impressed with what I have seen from Tommy Walsh in the last few weeks. His running looks very awkward. The only positive I took from today was that the traffic back to Dublin was very light and its a lot easier to get to Flower Lodge than the 1970'sEast German Ediface by the river The new development will have tunnels under the river that lead to underground railway stations from where bullet trains get you into the 150 largest towns in Ireland in less than 40 minutes. Or so Frank Murphy told us. Traffic towards Douglas and into town was a shambles and I wonder why none of the stadiums in Cork be it for soccer, rugby or GAA have any parking nearby. It has to be one of the worst plans for a city in Ireland, especially with the one way system around the quays. Glad to be back in Carrigaline and glad that at least PCD won against a Rochestown outfit with a lot of Carrigaline fellas on it on a day when the hurlers and footballers both Lost well.
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Post by hurlingman on Mar 8, 2015 22:30:08 GMT
I was up today and it was a very below par performance by kerry but there is no sliverware handed out in March. Apparently Cork are training 5 nights a week I was told today. BJK showed very well was the only positive really. Can anyone enlighten me on Kieran O Leary? His place on the subs went to Thomas Hickey. His he injured or he is not good enough anymore?I for one have never taught he was good enough. Been in and around the panel for almost 10 years and what has he really done? His point in the semi final last year and thats about it. Hes never been able to hold down a starting place in the team either. Only for the fact he was supposed to be the captain last year he would'y have gotten half as much game time as he did. Re Tommy Walsh. I think he was rushed into the team. He would have been much better served playing with Strand road for the last few weeks and got used to playing ball again
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Post by An Tarbh Rua on Mar 8, 2015 22:34:08 GMT
Remember that levelling point v Mayo last year from KOL Hurlingman!!!!
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Post by A.N. Other on Mar 8, 2015 22:57:39 GMT
Very disappointing today, outplayed all over the field. Corks forwards were on song though and they looked very good, as they did in ASP last year. Three positives from our point of view that I took out of todays game though..
1. Barry Johns performace, he was very good when he got the ball. Scored 5 points and was our biggest threat up front, he's steadily improving from game to game and making a claim for that number 13 shirt for the championship.
2. Buckley was very good today too. Was sort of a one man show at one stage for us. Winning balls, carrying it, and ferocious tackling. Despite a poor collective performance he was very impressive.
3. It's only March.
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Premier
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Post by Premier on Mar 8, 2015 23:20:22 GMT
Remember that levelling point v Mayo last year from KOL Hurlingman!!!! He did mention it?
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Premier
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Post by Premier on Mar 8, 2015 23:23:38 GMT
Very disappointing today, outplayed all over the field. Corks forwards were on song though and they looked very good, as they did in ASP last year. Three positives from our point of view that I took out of todays game though.. 1. Barry Johns performace, he was very good when he got the ball. Scored 5 points and was our biggest threat up front, he's steadily improving from game to game and making a claim for that number 13 shirt for the championship. 2. Buckley was very good today too. Was sort of a one man show at one stage for us. Winning balls, carrying it, and ferocious tackling. Despite a poor collective performance he was very impressive. 3. It's only March. Also about Buckley, did ye not notice his man was causing absolute havoc in the first half especially raiding up the field and creating scores. McCaffery did the same last week. While Buckley's tackling and ability to be a 3rd midfielder are very important to the team, opposing teams are targeting him as too slow to keep up with fast wing backs
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Post by homerj on Mar 9, 2015 0:37:19 GMT
Kieran O leary pulled out due to Injury.
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Post by Ballyfireside on Mar 9, 2015 2:26:07 GMT
Were they still drained after last week and lucky Donegal also got beaten.
It is worrying and fellas are under some pressure if what I saw is anything to go by. Moran kicked a solo into his opponents hands and then the wides; it even crossed my mind that they might be protesting over Galvin! Ah sure that's sports and you'd feel sorry for players with such demands and also holding down jobs or studying.
Cork smelt blood at the outset and saw an opportunity to rub our noses in it. We have been through worse and went on to returned an even nicer compliment. Cork were good and very accurate snipers.
No Veteran report?
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Post by colinsworth1 on Mar 9, 2015 3:14:44 GMT
I was listening to the game on radio kerry and was driven mad by amount of times Steven o Brien Seemed to loose his footing slip and fall to the ground. I was swearing would he not go buy a decent pair of boots or at least make sure he and all players have the correct studs. Alex Ferguson famously fired Diego Forlan for constantly slipping and falling and refusing to wear the long studs.
The laws of Physics just dont work with our puny backs versus hefty forwards Eamon and co please see if ye can find a few stronger backs in the whole county of kerry has Ardfert got anything or Brosna anyone. Look at how Mc Brearty ripped us asunder in the AI for the few minutes he was on the field ,scary. if we are going to work with these current backs can we give a bit more respect to Colm o Neill and Brian Hurley and John o Rourke and get in an extra defender to help out . Our backs needed one if not two sweepers today to stay afloat and keep the game alive. Another thing that came accross on the radio was Donnacha O Connor introduction he seemed to light the place up like i ve never heard before , hello, every thing seemed to go to him but we failed to deal with it . We are going to improve no doubt but we seem to be depending on only two or three out of six forwards to score Our half forwards are almost no threat on goal there is no need to mark them they score little If im the opposition manager id play attacking wing backs rather than defensive wing backs maybe even put a natural wing forward in that slot because there is little defending to do !! Donnacha and Mike Geaney and Brian and Johnny when is the last time they scored a goal they play far away from goal all the time at least they should be a danger now and then to keep the defenders honest . This leaves our full forwards isolated and or double marked, with no support when is the last time one of our half forwards made a one two move with the inside line while going towards goal
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Post by Mickmack on Mar 9, 2015 8:15:58 GMT
By John Fogarty GAA Correspondent
Cork 3-17 Kerry 2-9 With 28 minutes of normal time remaining, Eamonn Fitzmaurice was left with one substitution. If he was allowed he’d have doubled the amount of switches he made.
Such was his Kerry’s uncharacteristic lack of verve. Such, essentially, was Cork’s dominance.
The game was up on the All-Ireland champions long before a couple of Fitzmaurice’s players shied out of committing to a couple of 50-50 challenges. But that lack of heart will be particularly grating when he comes to review the footage.
For Brian Cuthbert and his charges, this scenario is familiar but just as suspicious.
And yet what could they do only go out and win the game? That they did so in a style just as convincing as 11 months ago in Tralee won’t fill them with optimism given what followed last summer.
But time has moved on. Cork aren’t as naive as they once were. They don’t have to hold their punches to prove that.
Here in the first half they slugged it out with their keenest rivals where in recent matches they’ve operated a more considerate defensive system. Sure, they utilised James Loughrey as a sweeper, freeing up Jamie O’Sullivan who impressed having been relieved of the role he filled last week. But their half-forwards weren’t as mindful here of their rearguard duties as they were so vehemently against Monaghan and Donegal. The record will show Kerry added just three second half scores but they also posted nine wides.
It wasn’t until the hour mark that Cork themselves registered their first wide after half-time. By that stage, they had struck nine second-half points to Kerry’s two as the visitors were compelled to move Kieran Donaghy from full-forward after his supply had dried up.
Losing Anthony Maher to a head injury at half-time went some way to blunting Kerry but there was little evidence they wanted the game more than Cork. From the outset, it was the men in red who looked inspired. Pouncing on a Jack Sherwood error, Fintan Goold looked good for goal in the second minute and while his rifling shot struck woodwork Colm O’Neill capitalised on the rebound.
A nice combination involving Mark Collins and O’Sullivan then laid on the first of John O’Rourke’s goals in the seventh minute. However, it was quickly cancelled out by Donaghy’s effort at the other end when Ken O’Halloran fumbled a Maher delivery.
Either side of Paul Murphy’s second black card in two games, O’Neill was twice denied a second goal: first by a Brendan Kealy save in the ninth minute followed by Mark Griffin’s goal-line intervention five minutes later.
Kerry were reeling and much of the pressure was coming through the middle. Brian Hurley’s surging run in the 17th minute was the impetus for O’Rourke’s second goal, which gave them an eight-point cushion.
Sherwood and Bryan Sheehan, two of the best against Dublin in Killarney, were the first to be sacrificed. “It was just a bad day at the office, this happens, we’re not going to be doing anything just because of a poor 20, 25 minutes,” said Fitzmaurice. “When you’re in the management, you feel you have to make a change just to arrest what’s going on. Jack and Bryan Sheehan were the two fellas unlucky to be taken off early today. The way it was going, you could have taken off three or four more fellas.”
With Peter Crowley and Tommy Walsh introduced, Kerry recovered with a series of points before Maher won a free and from it Donaghy collected to set up his former twin tower partner Walsh for a goal.
That preceded a melee, which saw both sides pick up a brace of yellow cards. After 14 minutes without a score, Cork were able to dust themselves off to string together three points to lead 3-7 to 2-5 at half-time.
O’Neill and Hurley, so poorly served in Donegal the previous weekend, were major benefactors here and between them notched Cork’s first four scores of the second half. When Colm O’Driscoll claimed a made-to-measure pass from O’Rourke to find his range in the 47th minute, Cork were eight up and out of sight. The arrival of a sharp Donncha O’Connor for the final 20 minutes where he fired over four points gaped Kerry’s wounds.
Cork did struggle on a number of occasions retaining their own kick-out but then that was equalised by how competent they were when Kealy was restarting.
“When you are conceding such size it is a huge problem,” said Cuthbert, “but I would have felt to be honest only for the 10-minute spell where Kerry had the bit of dominance a lot of it caused by them winning primary possession, only for that I thought in the second half we mixed it up quite well and did quite well on their kick-out. We got a bit of joy off them.”
“A bit” being the operative words. Cork will enjoy this for nothing more than it was: a third spring win.
Scorers for Cork: C O’Neill (1-6, 0-5 frees); J O’Rourke (2-0); D O’Connor (0-4, 2 frees); K O’Driscoll (0-3); B Hurley (0-2); C O’Driscoll, C Dorman (0-1 each).
Scorers for Kerry: BJ Keane (0-5, 2 frees); K Donaghy, T Walsh (1-0 each); A Fitzgerald (0-2); S O’Brien, P Crowley (0-1 each) Subs for Cork: D O’Connor for J O’Rourke (49); C Dorman for Tomás Clancy (52); P Kerrigan for C O’Driscoll (57); J Hayes for C O’Neill, D Goulding for B Hurley (both 63); N Galvin for Tom Clancy (65).
Subs for Kerry: K Young for P Murphy (black, 12); K Young for J Sherwood, T Walsh for B Sheehan (both 20); A Fitzgerald for A Maher (inj, h-t); S Enright for F Fitzgerald (42); P O’Donoghue for D Moran (63).
Referee: A Nolan (Wicklow) CORK: K O’Halloran; Tom Clancy, J O’Donoghue, J Loughrey; J O’Sullivan, M Shields, Tomás Clancy; E Cadogan, F Goold; K O’Driscoll, M Collins, C O’Driscoll; C O’Neill, J O’Rourke, B Hurley. KERRY: B Kealy; F Fitzgerald, P Kilkenny, M Griffin; J Lyne, J Sherwood, P Murphy; A Maher, D Moran; M Geaney, B Sheehan, J Buckley; S O’Brien, K Donaghy, BJ Keane.
Game-changer
Cork were already four points to the good when they added another four between the 41st and 47th minutes to put the game out of Kerry's reach.
Talk of the town
Can we really believe what we saw unfold here considering the 22-point reversal between these counties' league and championship encounters?
Did that just happen?
At a time where we can rightly bemoan a drop in the rate of goals in Gaelic football, we were spoiled with five in the first half.
Best on show
A lot of standout Cork performers but Mark Collins had the most impressive afternoon. Michael Shields gave a commendable performance manning centre-back.
Black card watch
Paul Murphy picked up his second in the space of seven days. Pa Kilkenny was fortunate not to join him on the sideline for a trip.
Sideline superior
It wasn't that Eamonn Fitzmaurice didn't try but he wasn't giving too much away here. Cork played more offensively than recent games and it worked although they may have let Kerry clear the defensive lines too easy at times.
The man in black
Anthony Nolan may have take sterner action than dishing out yellow cards for the couple of melees that broke out between the players.
What’s next?
A repeat of last year's All-Ireland final in Tralee on Sunday. The same day Cork head north once more to take on Tyrone
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Jigz84
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Posts: 2,017
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Post by Jigz84 on Mar 9, 2015 9:23:57 GMT
Very disappointing today, outplayed all over the field. Corks forwards were on song though and they looked very good, as they did in ASP last year. Three positives from our point of view that I took out of todays game though.. 1. Barry Johns performace, he was very good when he got the ball. Scored 5 points and was our biggest threat up front, he's steadily improving from game to game and making a claim for that number 13 shirt for the championship. 2. Buckley was very good today too. Was sort of a one man show at one stage for us. Winning balls, carrying it, and ferocious tackling. Despite a poor collective performance he was very impressive. 3. It's only March. He was our best performer in the second half but along with the rest of the half-forward line was abysmal in the first half. Anyone of the 3 could've been taken off.
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Mar 9, 2015 9:25:30 GMT
Certain people got carried away last weekend after we beat Dublin. Certain people will get carried away this week after our hiding today. So be it. Might be no harm at all. Very few plusses today. Was good to see a bit of fight in the lads after a few switches were made and we 9 points? in arrears at that stage. The row that ensued suited Cork actually because it killed the momentum we had built up. Anthony Maher was outstanding in that period of about 7 minutes. Himself and Eoin Cadogan were at loggerheads during that period and Maher dominated him. Our friend Eoin regrouped though and for me he ran the show. Cork were full of running and really were up for this one. Their point taking was top drawer!! It was a tough day at the office for our over ran defence. Tommy Walsh was a plus and showed glimpses of what he will bring to the table. Much improved from the Derry game. Barry John is another man who can hold his head high. He was only drip fed possession but when he was on the ball he was a constant threat. We'll move on from this defeat. Previous posters said we looked flat and it certainly seemed that way to me. There was no ambition whatsoever in the second half. It really was a matter of what Cork were going to score. Just when we thought it wasn't going to get any worse Donnacha O Connor came on and raised the white flag on a few occasions. A big 2 points at stake today week!! I thought Tommy Walsh was cat, asides from the goal and one high catch he kicked away an amount of ball. Apparently he thinks he has a good left leg too but clearly that isn't the caseRemember the two beauties he kicked in 09 Final with his left?
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Mar 9, 2015 9:41:40 GMT
From being at the game, here are my own humble thoughts:
1. Both full-back lines were poor but the ball to our inside line was of poor quality.
2. Sherwood is a fine footballer but lacks physicality. Crowley is our 6, end of IMO.
3. Fionn Fitzgerald is a stylish, natural footballer but should be out the field if anywhere. He's not a man-marker and was destroyed from the off yesterday. Maybe needs a break?
4. Anthony Maher is the engine of this Kerry side and was sorely missed in the second half.
5. David Moran won't have a worse afternoon in 2015.
6. Tommy Walsh still seems laboured but yet showed glimpses of what he can do. Fetched a huge ball in the first half before ruining it with a foul hand-pass. He also looks to have trouble measuring the weight of his kicks. His wides all tailed off to the same side. It will come.
7. Bryan Sheehan is an extremely frustrating player.
8. Donaghy is trying far too hard to do everything. Still seems to have trouble gathering and holding any ball that hops in to him.
9. Alan Fitzgerald should be given a few more runs, looked good when he came in.
10. Stephen O'Brien seems to have lost some pace and constantly falls to ground.
10. Cork played some nice stuff, were cute with possession and kicked some fine scores. Can they do that in Killarney in July?
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fivenarow
Senior Member
If it aint broken, then dont fix it!
Posts: 924
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Post by fivenarow on Mar 9, 2015 10:18:46 GMT
A vey disappointing performance yesterday but then again like someone else said theres nothing won in March. Cork were jumping out of their skins but the big question is will they be doing the same in July or September. Coming out of Austin Stack Park this time last year theres no way I thought we'd win the AI so after that I'd throw my hat at it & I dont tink I'll ever again take notice of what happens this time of year. We've quality players to come back in & with another 2 -3 months of football & training we wont be far off come September - we never are!
What was more shocking yesterday was the Radio Kerry commentary - I've heard bad ones before but that must have been a new low. Weeshie was trying his best to keep it going but your man Tim hadnt a clue what he was at, he didnt know who either the Kerry or Cork players were & then at one stage there was some bit of a scuffle & he started talking about Kim Kardashian, WTF? RK would want to wake up - people deserve better than that.
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Post by veteran on Mar 9, 2015 10:30:36 GMT
It is impossible to salvage anything from the debris of yesterday. The phrase "complete system failure" must have been invented for matches like this. It didn't take long for a pattern to develop. Not unlike last Sunday, a dozy half forward line, particularly our wing forwards, were chasing shadows as their opponents careered forward. Naturally this put unbearable pressure on a jittery full back line. Allied to this was the influence of Mark Collins at centre half forward. I have always had great time for this cerebral player. Repeatedly, he got on the ball and either ran with it or , more often, punted it forward cleverly, always giving the intended recipient the advantage. In those circumstances, it was no surprise that a porous back line wilted and goals followed. Three in the first fifteen or twenty minutes . Cork's dominance was temporarily stymied when an alert KD fortuitously was on hand to punch home a dropped ball by the Cork keeper. Cork continued to shine but Anthony Maher now threatened to dominate midfield and through his efforts the margin was at one stage reduced to two points courtesy of a goal well finished by Tommy Walsh but made by KD. As far as I can recall the margin was four points at half time. Not a lost cause, one felt.
Anthony Maher did not reappear after the break, presumably due to injury. Now, it is very likely that Cork would still have gone on to win the match but it is very unlikely that Kerry would have fallen apart the way they did if Anthony had been around. But fall apart is as good a way as any to describe Kerry's second half display. Nobody was a better exemplar of this than David Moran. David has been colossal since last August, up to and including last Sunday against Dublin. Yesterday, he looked no better than a junior club player. It is my view that it wasn't due to the quality of his opponents he looked so clumsily ineffective. He seemed ti be unable to catch or kick it. But why? I cannot answer that puzzle. Perhaps, somebody else can.
In a perverse way, I am pleased for Cork and above all their manager, Brian Cuthbert. He was treated like a pariah after last year's Munster final but yet he always carried himself with dignity. I always found it strange that people, including the bulk of Cork people, paid so much heed to the Munster final debacle but seemed to ignore that Cork nearly beat Mayo, who nearly beat Kerry who who went on to win it outright. This victory will give respite to Brian Cuthbert. He deserves it.
It is hard to credit that it was Kerry both Dublin and Cork played in the space of a week, such was the disparity in Kerry's level of performance one Sunday as opposed to the next, even allowing for Cork's superb exhibition. If one is looking for any hint of consolation it will not be found by reviewing yesterday's game but rather by gazing back at what happened last March in Tralee and subsequently in the Munster final. Wishful thinking or cold analysis. Time will yield the answer.
The second half against Dublin aside, Fionn has been struggling badly. Likely to be rested nest week, when we will be meeting an even stronger full forward line. Marc Griffin continues to be a bit giddy. Poor Jack Sherwood, so impressive so far, was riddled by Mark Collins, Kerry's destroyer in chief. Jack surely deserves another day out, even though Peter Crowley tightened up matters to an extent when he came on. Another black card for Paul Murphy? Must steady up, Paul.
BJK was very lively all through. Stephen O'Brien was quieter than usual. As against Dublin, Johnny Buckley was much better in the second half. When KD got any reasonable ball he troubled Cork. Scored a goal, made a goal and got a free for our first score but an old malady manifested itself again too often for my liking. Very often he was left contesting a ball on his own with nobody near by to collect a break. I cannot understand why the likes of BJK and Stephen O'Brien are not instructed to be constantly be sniffing around for the crumbs which inevitably fall from KD's table.
Bryan Sheehan was once again removed from the action. He wasn't being very effective on the forty, no worse though than a host of players, but could he not have been shifted into corner for his frees alone. I am a devout believer in nailing your frees. He did miss one in the first half but slipped when in the process. We had the spectacle in the second half of BJK not having the confidence to convert a reasonably placed free. Rather he choose to kick it short but it was intercepted. I say convert your frees or die. I am afraid, Michael Geaney gave another one paced display. The bell must surely be about to toll for Michael.
Next week, it is get off the pot or do the business.
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Post by 6 in a row on Mar 9, 2015 12:25:03 GMT
I was up today and it was a very below par performance by kerry but there is no sliverware handed out in March. Apparently Cork are training 5 nights a week I was told today. BJK showed very well was the only positive really. Can anyone enlighten me on Kieran O Leary? His place on the subs went to Thomas Hickey. His he injured or he is not good enough anymore?I for one have never taught he was good enough. Been in and around the panel for almost 10 years and what has he really done? His point in the semi final last year and thats about it. Hes never been able to hold down a starting place in the team either. Only for the fact he was supposed to be the captain last year he would'y have gotten half as much game time as he did. Re Tommy Walsh. I think he was rushed into the team. He would have been much better served playing with Strand road for the last few weeks and got used to playing ball again Yes I agree only for Crokes winning county championships he wouldn't get a look in. He has got several chances to nail down a starting place but failed miserably. He started the first league game against Mayo and he is no where to be seen now. He has done nothing really only the point against Mayo last year in the drawn game oh and his acceptance speech last year and he not even a starter.
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Joxer
Fanatical Member
Posts: 1,364
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Post by Joxer on Mar 9, 2015 13:20:11 GMT
It is impossible to salvage anything from the debris of yesterday. The phrase "complete system failure" must have been invented for matches like this. It didn't take long for a pattern to develop. Not unlike last Sunday, a dozy half forward line, particularly our wing forwards, were chasing shadows as their opponents careered forward. Naturally this put unbearable pressure on a jittery full back line. Allied to this was the influence of Mark Collins at centre half forward. I have always had great time for this cerebral player. Repeatedly, he got on the ball and either ran with it or , more often, punted it forward cleverly, always giving the intended recipient the advantage. In those circumstances, it was no surprise that a porous back line wilted and goals followed. Three in the first fifteen or twenty minutes . Cork's dominance was temporarily stymied when an alert KD fortuitously was on hand to punch home a dropped ball by the Cork keeper. Cork continued to shine but Anthony Maher now threatened to dominate midfield and through his efforts the margin was at one stage reduced to two points courtesy of a goal well finished by Tommy Walsh but made by KD. As far as I can recall the margin was four points at half time. Not a lost cause, one felt. Anthony Maher did not reappear after the break, presumably due to injury. Now, it is very likely that Cork would still have gone on to win the match but it is very unlikely that Kerry would have fallen apart the way they did if Anthony had been around. But fall apart is as good a way as any to describe Kerry's second half display. Nobody was a better exemplar of this than David Moran. David has been colossal since last August, up to and including last Sunday against Dublin. Yesterday, he looked no better than a junior club player. It is my view that it wasn't due to the quality of his opponents he looked so clumsily ineffective. He seemed ti be unable to catch or kick it. But why? I cannot answer that puzzle. Perhaps, somebody else can. In a perverse way, I am pleased for Cork and above all their manager, Brian Cuthbert. He was treated like a pariah after last year's Munster final but yet he always carried himself with dignity. I always found it strange that people, including the bulk of Cork people, paid so much heed to the Munster final debacle but seemed to ignore that Cork nearly beat Mayo, who nearly beat Kerry who who went on to win it outright. This victory will give respite to Brian Cuthbert. He deserves it. It is hard to credit that it was Kerry both Dublin and Cork played in the space of a week, such was the disparity in Kerry's level of performance one Sunday as opposed to the next, even allowing for Cork's superb exhibition. If one is looking for any hint of consolation it will not be found by reviewing yesterday's game but rather by gazing back at what happened last March in Tralee and subsequently in the Munster final. Wishful thinking or cold analysis. Time will yield the answer. The second half against Dublin aside, Fionn has been struggling badly. Likely to be rested nest week, when we will be meeting an even stronger full forward line. Marc Griffin continues to be a bit giddy. Poor Jack Sherwood, so impressive so far, was riddled by Mark Collins, Kerry's destroyer in chief. Jack surely deserves another day out, even though Peter Crowley tightened up matters to an extent when he came on. Another black card for Paul Murphy? Must steady up, Paul. BJK was very lively all through. Stephen O'Brien was quieter than usual. As against Dublin, Johnny Buckley was much better in the second half. When KD got any reasonable ball he troubled Cork. Scored a goal, made a goal and got a free for our first score but an old malady manifested itself again too often for my liking. Very often he was left contesting a ball on his own with nobody near by to collect a break. I cannot understand why the likes of BJK and Stephen O'Brien are not instructed to be constantly be sniffing around for the crumbs which inevitably fall from KD's table. Bryan Sheehan was once again removed from the action. He wasn't being very effective on the forty, no worse though than a host of players, but could he not have been shifted into corner for his frees alone. I am a devout believer in nailing your frees. He did miss one in the first half but slipped when in the process. We had the spectacle in the second half of BJK not having the confidence to convert a reasonably placed free. Rather he choose to kick it short but it was intercepted. I say convert your frees or die. I am afraid, Michael Geaney gave another one paced display. The bell must surely be about to toll for Michael. Next week, it is get off the pot or do the business. Pretty much right on the Money, Veteran, as usual. Nothing to disagree with there. Whether we'll get a similar reaction to such as defeat as we got last year, remains to be seen as you suggest. Cork certainly looked far more advanced in their training than Kerry did...Pat Flanagans influence showing well? At any rate, we obviously have a good deal of work to do but also have the time to do it in. If the minds are right, the ability is there as we have seen in the recent past. Do we now get into more serious heavy training and 'abandon' the league. At least we need to preserve our Div.1 status if we can..will one more win be enough? Hard to know and much for the management to ponder. I suspect they'll look to kick-on in the league and subject to how next Sunday goes, make a decision on the approach to the final two games. Its still only the league and it is early...as always, its never less than interesting!
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Jigz84
Fanatical Member
Posts: 2,017
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Post by Jigz84 on Mar 9, 2015 13:46:34 GMT
It is impossible to salvage anything from the debris of yesterday. The phrase "complete system failure" must have been invented for matches like this. It didn't take long for a pattern to develop. Not unlike last Sunday, a dozy half forward line, particularly our wing forwards, were chasing shadows as their opponents careered forward. Naturally this put unbearable pressure on a jittery full back line. Allied to this was the influence of Mark Collins at centre half forward. I have always had great time for this cerebral player. Repeatedly, he got on the ball and either ran with it or , more often, punted it forward cleverly, always giving the intended recipient the advantage. In those circumstances, it was no surprise that a porous back line wilted and goals followed. Three in the first fifteen or twenty minutes . Cork's dominance was temporarily stymied when an alert KD fortuitously was on hand to punch home a dropped ball by the Cork keeper. Cork continued to shine but Anthony Maher now threatened to dominate midfield and through his efforts the margin was at one stage reduced to two points courtesy of a goal well finished by Tommy Walsh but made by KD. As far as I can recall the margin was four points at half time. Not a lost cause, one felt. Anthony Maher did not reappear after the break, presumably due to injury. Now, it is very likely that Cork would still have gone on to win the match but it is very unlikely that Kerry would have fallen apart the way they did if Anthony had been around. But fall apart is as good a way as any to describe Kerry's second half display. Nobody was a better exemplar of this than David Moran. David has been colossal since last August, up to and including last Sunday against Dublin. Yesterday, he looked no better than a junior club player. It is my view that it wasn't due to the quality of his opponents he looked so clumsily ineffective. He seemed ti be unable to catch or kick it. But why? I cannot answer that puzzle. Perhaps, somebody else can. In a perverse way, I am pleased for Cork and above all their manager, Brian Cuthbert. He was treated like a pariah after last year's Munster final but yet he always carried himself with dignity. I always found it strange that people, including the bulk of Cork people, paid so much heed to the Munster final debacle but seemed to ignore that Cork nearly beat Mayo, who nearly beat Kerry who who went on to win it outright. This victory will give respite to Brian Cuthbert. He deserves it. It is hard to credit that it was Kerry both Dublin and Cork played in the space of a week, such was the disparity in Kerry's level of performance one Sunday as opposed to the next, even allowing for Cork's superb exhibition. If one is looking for any hint of consolation it will not be found by reviewing yesterday's game but rather by gazing back at what happened last March in Tralee and subsequently in the Munster final. Wishful thinking or cold analysis. Time will yield the answer. The second half against Dublin aside, Fionn has been struggling badly. Likely to be rested nest week, when we will be meeting an even stronger full forward line. Marc Griffin continues to be a bit giddy. Poor Jack Sherwood, so impressive so far, was riddled by Mark Collins, Kerry's destroyer in chief. Jack surely deserves another day out, even though Peter Crowley tightened up matters to an extent when he came on. Another black card for Paul Murphy? Must steady up, Paul. BJK was very lively all through. Stephen O'Brien was quieter than usual. As against Dublin, Johnny Buckley was much better in the second half. When KD got any reasonable ball he troubled Cork. Scored a goal, made a goal and got a free for our first score but an old malady manifested itself again too often for my liking. Very often he was left contesting a ball on his own with nobody near by to collect a break. I cannot understand why the likes of BJK and Stephen O'Brien are not instructed to be constantly be sniffing around for the crumbs which inevitably fall from KD's table. Bryan Sheehan was once again removed from the action. He wasn't being very effective on the forty, no worse though than a host of players, but could he not have been shifted into corner for his frees alone. I am a devout believer in nailing your frees. He did miss one in the first half but slipped when in the process. We had the spectacle in the second half of BJK not having the confidence to convert a reasonably placed free. Rather he choose to kick it short but it was intercepted. I say convert your frees or die. I am afraid, Michael Geaney gave another one paced display. The bell must surely be about to toll for Michael. Next week, it is get off the pot or do the business. Pretty much right on the Money, Veteran, as usual. Nothing to disagree with there. Whether we'll get a similar reaction to such as defeat as we got last year, remains to be seen as you suggest. Cork certainly looked far more advanced in their training than Kerry did...Pat Flanagans influence showing well? At any rate, we obviously have a good deal of work to do but also have the time to do it in. If the minds are right, the ability is there as we have seen in the recent past. Do we now get into more serious heavy training and 'abandon' the league. At least we need to preserve our Div.1 status if we can..will one more win be enough? Hard to know and much for the management to ponder. I suspect they'll look to kick-on in the league and subject to how next Sunday goes, make a decision on the approach to the final two games. Its still only the league and it is early...as always, its never less than interesting! It's quite possible a team will be relegated on 6 points. Kerry need to win their next two games to ensure Div 1 status, and 8 points might also be enough to sneak a Semi spot.
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Post by skybluezone on Mar 9, 2015 14:06:15 GMT
Anyone else think that Tommy Walsh' kicking technique looked very "laboured", for want of a better word. It looked to me that he was having to think about what he was trying to do, and as a result his technique just didn't flow in a natural manner. Not a criticism mind you as I'm sure we'd agree that he has a job on his hands just trying to fit seamlessly back into a GAA type skill set. But it looked to me as if his kicking also affected his confidence and he looked cumbersome trying to get around the park. He has a bit of work to do for sure.
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