Championship

Kerry Lose for the fifth time to Down in the Championship

August 3rd, 2010
by Weeshie Fogarty

It was as inevitable as night follows day that defeat would eventually come knocking on the door of this great Kerry team. And I deliberately and without the slightest hesitation use the word great, because this squad of Kerrymen have written themselves into the pages of Kerry's football story as a side to equal if not better any that has  gone before them since our first All Ireland victory under captain Tady Gorman back in 1903. In the months and years to come the historians and fanatical Kerry GAA followers will debate and argue as to where this team and individual players rate in the pantheon of football legends of the past. That in itself is one of the secrets of Kerry football. And that is one of the reasons why Kerry football will always be admired, envied and always capable of reorganizing, regrouping and returning to challenge all others for the highest honors. And I believe this is the situation the county now finds itself in.

I must admit as not being greatly surprised at the defeat by Down last Saturday. The omens going into the game were not good and I did remark here last week that "this game was a very sticky wicket for Jack o Connors men". I added that I believed Kerry's greater experience would see them through. However while that was not the case at the end it was only that great experience we witnessed in this defeat. Down had all other attributes necessary to qualify for the semi –final. And while I have no doubt the history of four defeats to the same county in championship football had no bearing on the thinking of the Kerry players nevertheless for those of us of an older generation and who had been present in Croke Park for those defeats (the first in 1960) the powerful all action Down display bore massive similarities to all their previous wins over the Kingdom.

They came at Kerry from the very start by winning the throw in and within a minute had the ball in the Kerry net. It was the start they needed and as in previous encounters they were always capable of jumping ahead of Kerry and setting the pace. The qualifying games Down had played gave them a head start on Kerry. They were sharper, faster to the ball, winning the breaks while swarming around the Kerry men and were six points up before the Kingdom began to find their feet. It took nearly fifteen minutes before Kerry become capable of matching the winners and producing some passages of play of which we are accustomed to. The long lay off since the Munster final had taken its toll. However the much maligned centre field pairing began to get on top and Michael Quirk fielded and won an amount of possession and the All Ireland champions were back in the game. It was however very evident that the superb Colm Cooper was the only Kerry fordward capable of beating the Northern defense. Kieran Donaghy and Declan o Sullivan who suffered an ankle injury were well curtailed, Brian Sheehan was off target with some frees and at the end of the game the fact that Down held the All Ireland champions to just three points from play in itself told its own sorry story.

A lot of debate has centered on the disallowed Kilian Young goal as the referee deemed Donnacha Walsh's hand pass was not properly executed. For me this decision highlighted many of the ills in the game to day. That is, non uniformity in the application of the rules by referees in all grades. I am looking at dubious allowed hand passes every day of the week literally hundreds of them (this is no exaggeration) and no whistle. Now this Northern Ireland referee decided to whistle Walsh for the very first hand pass of the game. No Goal. He then disallowed a Down goal in the second half only because in my opinion he had disallowed the Kerry goal. Then he gave a penalty to Kerry which again in my opinion he should not have given. Of course he and Down and Kerry knew at this stage that this penalty decision would have no bearing whatsoever on the result and was completely irreverent. The game was practically over. I make these observations in relation to those decisions on the experience I have had as a former referee. And two wrongs never made a right.

I don't believe the disallowed Kerry goal before half time was the decisive turning point of the match. It was for me without a shadow of doubt the two brilliant saves the Down goalie Brendan Mc Veigh made from Kieran Donaghy who let me add is most dangerous at full fordward and did not contribute half as much in the middle of the field where he spend all the second half.  Down played some superb football. Coulter, Poland, Martin Clarke, Danny Hughes, Ambrose Rodgers and young Kalum King were simply flying and following those two saves they broke away and raised three more white flags to canter to victory.  They might not be good enough to go all the way this year but they are a team for the future. On the other hand Kerry will now need some rebuilding. I would expect to see a number of these warriors retiring.  Every player will know in his own heart when the legs as they say "are gone" and they don't need any "hurlers on the ditch" like me to tell them what is best.  However I do believe sincerely it is imperative that Jack o Connor Ger o Keeffe and Eamon Fitzmaurice remain at the helm and steady the ship. Their experience and vast knowledge allied to Jack o Connors magnificent record as a manager/trainer in all his various Kerry and schools teams is now needed by their county more that ever. Yes it is a massive commitment and consumes every aspect of their lives but maybe the challenge of introducing and trying out new younger men will prove irresistible. Let's hope so.

Finally well done to Down, they were the better side on the day and deserved their victory but I must add one more observation. The loss of Donnacha Walsh (an important man for the future) was also a big blow to Kerry. He and his marker were reported by the linesman for what I would term wrestling on the ground. A yellow card each. Reflect back now to the National League game in Cork last February. Paul Galvin and his man were reported for the very same type incident.  I was there and had a clear view of that. A red card each in that incident which proved so costly to the Kerryman. Some of the national media have accused Kerry of being paranoid or words to that effect. So now maybe The Sunday Game or the others who have given their opinions on what they term "the circling of the Kerry wagons" and the CCCC would explain is this equal and fair treatment? Of course Kerry players have transgressed the rules but the singling out of those incidents involving Jack o Connors men has not been fair and even in my opinion.  The chances of a response from the "experts" are zero.



Sections

Search Articles



 
Radio Kerry - The Voice of the Kingdom