Darragh Ó Sé: Kerry and Donegal are operating at a level above because everyone knows their role

Irish Times

4 days ago

You think you were disappointed by the
All-Ireland
semi-finals? Imagine how Pádraic Joyce and Dessie Farrell must feel. I don't think there's any doubt that the two best teams are in the final –
Kerry
and
Donegal
have sprinted away from the pack over the past couple of weeks. But
Galway
and
Dublin
should be kicking themselves for being beaten by
Meath
and
Tyrone
.
They both lost fair and square, no question about it. But they both know that they had the winning of those games and made a mess of them. The Dubs did the same against Armagh in the group stages and didn't learn their lesson. These games come down to more than pure footballing ability. They have to be managed properly by the players on the pitch.
That's one of the things that really struck me over the weekend. Kerry and Donegal are on a roll and they each have a group of players hitting top form at the right time. But beyond the skills of the game, you're talking about two very mature groups who know what they're trying to achieve at this stage.
When I got back from Dublin on Saturday evening, I watched the Kerry game again. And the thing that jumped out at me nearly most of all was Jason Foley's interview with RTÉ at the side of the pitch afterwards. In the space of four or five minutes he talked more sense than the three boys standing next to him had talked in the previous two hours.
There was nothing contrived about it, nothing complicated. It was simple, direct and to the point. It told me that there is great clarity in the Kerry dressingroom at the minute, a sense that everybody knows the plan and their role in it. Don't underestimate how important that is.
When you're talking about a game that's going a million miles an hour, the messages can't be too complicated. Not everyone in your dressingroom is as quick on the uptake as the others. Every fella can only go at his own pace – a few of us often needed something explained more than once or twice.
Tyrone's Eoin McElholm and Kerry's Jason Foley during Saturday's semi-final at Croke Park. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
Donegal are very similar in that regard. Watch them on the pitch – for all the talk about Jim McGuinness, the players are nearly self-policing at this stage. You don't often see them take the wrong shot or play the wrong pass. And if you do, it's followed by one of their team-mates giving them an earful for it. They remind me of Jim Gavin's Dublin team that way. Learn the plan, stick to the plan, execute the plan. That's what wins All-Irelands.
Look at the Kerry midfield and you can see it in action. They've been without Diarmuid O'Connor, who started the year as their number one midfielder. They've lost Barry Dan O'Sullivan, who everyone assumed would be in the mix as well. Nobody went into the championship thinking Kerry would be comprehensively winning an All-Ireland semi-final with Joe O'Connor, Mark O'Shea and Sean O'Brien out around the middle.
But the three of them have settled into their roles. O'Shea and O'Brien are playing their part. Nothing spectacular, nothing out of the ordinary. They're in there fighting for kickouts, wrestling with the big fellas in the opposition, doing the dirty work. And by doing that, they're freeing O'Connor up and allowing him to have the summer of his life.
Joe is a big strong boy. What has impressed me most about him is that he's not one bit shy about being a big strong boy. He knows he's going to take timber when he's tackled but he's bulling into contact anyway. You can see him saying, 'It's going to be you or me here – and it's not going to be me. So either foul me or get out of the way.'
The new rules have moved his game to a whole new level. He was always a decent, consistent player at club level, but in the old game you weren't sure how useful he'd be at intercounty. The simple reason for that is that goalkeepers were going short with most of the kickouts so a big fetching midfielder like Joe O'Connor wasn't going to shine.
Donegal goalkeeper Shaun Patton looks on as smoke from a flare billows onto the pitch during Sunday's semi-final against Meath. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
How could he? Winning kickouts is a skill and like any skill it has to be practised. There's two parts of the equation – it's a relationship between the goalkeeper and the midfielder and you have to learn each other's likes and dislikes. What kind of ball to do you prefer? What side? What trajectory? All this stuff has to be worked on to become second nature in the heat of battle.
But when 80 per cent of the kickouts were being chipped to the corner-back, who is going to know – or care – if a player like Joe O'Connor is worth having in the team? He might only have three or four sent his way altogether in a game. But now there's more chance for him to practice, more chances for him to shine, more room for him to run into when Kerry have possession. You can see he's loving every minute of it.
Donegal are loving the new rules as well. The kickout one is well suited to them with Shaun Patton in goals. I loved what they did for the first kickout of the second half – with the wind behind him, Patton launched a kickout that landed past the Meath 45 and bounced into the arc. Donegal didn't even go and contest it.
It was obvious what Patton was doing. He was sending Meath a message. This is how far I can kick the ball with the wind at my back. If you want to press up on me, knock yourself out. But all it will take is one kick over the top and we're in for a goal. Are ye really going to risk it?
Donegal have gathered themselves for the run at Sam Maguire and they're operating at a level above. You can say the very same about Kerry. It should make for a hell of a final.