THE MANNER IN WHICH Kerry turned around a five point deficit to claim a draw at the death has deservedly earned them plenty of plaudits, but Eamonn Fitzmaurice has a few issues to address before Saturday’s replay in Limerick.
Kerry raced into a five point lead early in the second-half before a ten point swing saw them needing some late heroics from the bench to dramatically secure a replay.
We’ve looked at the five key questions for Kerry after Sunday’s draw.
1. How did they let 14-men dictate the the second-half?
When James O’Donoghue kicked the opening score of the second-half to hand Kerry a 0-10 to 0-5 advantage, Mayo looked in deep trouble.
But whether it was their desperation or Horan’s tactical superiority, Mayo were a different animal from the 36th minute on and Kerry allowed them play the game on their terms.
Mayo stopped launching the ball to the full-forward line and began taking hard-line runs straight at the Kingdom defence, almost making the spare-man redundant. In a crucial 10 minute spell just after the interval, they outscored Kerry by 0-6 to 0-1.
It was telling to see Kerry’s defence retreat further and further, inviting pressure on themselves and allowing Mayo dictate the tempo. Kerry should never have found themselves needing the late heroics of Kieran Donaghy, O’Donoghue and Kieran O’Leary.
2. Can they use Limerick to their advantage?
Mayo boss James Horan labelled the GAA’s decision to move away the replay from Croke Park as “bizarre” and he was equally unimpressed with the venue in question being Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds.
Mayo have little or no experience of the Gaelic Grounds while Kerry have played on numerous occasions over the years – at both underage and senior level.
While Rob Hennelly, Aidan O’Shea and Kevin Keane did defeat Kerry in a minor semi-final replay there six years ago, they will have nowhere near Kerry’s familiarity with the venue.
3. Is it time to start Kieran Donaghy?
With ten minutes to go and in desperate need of a more direct route, Fitzmaurice unleashed Kieran Donaghy from the bench and the Austin Stacks man’s presence underneath the dropping ball around the square caused Mayo’s rearguard untold problems.
While there may be an argument for holding Donaghy back to produce a similar impact from the bench on Saturday, the panic and fear those final few high balls caused when he was stationed at 14 highlighted a big issue in the Mayo defence.
Ger Cafferkey looked uncomfortable marking the the former Footballer of the Year and playing him from the beginning would take some of the focus off O’Donoghue and allow the Legion man a bit more space to work with.
Donaghy’s ball winning ability and unselfishness worked wonders with Colm Cooper down the years. Is he worth a punt to start on Saturday?
4. Have the injuries cleared up?
Kerry went into Sunday’s game with Bryan Sheehan and Declan O’Sullivan on the bench and not 100% fit, while Darran O’Sullivan was left out of the squad altogether because of suffering a twinge to his hamstring during the week.
Elsewhere, young forward Stephen O’Brien limped off during the first-half and there were some worrying whispers before the game about an injury to James O’Donoghue’s shoulder, though he appeared to be fine on Sunday.
Speaking yesterday, Fitzmaurice was confident both Sheehan and Declan O’Sullivan had recovered fully from their knocks during the week, while Darran O’Sullivan should also be fit to reprise his impact substitute role. Stephen O’Brien suffered a quad injury and faces a race against time to retain his starting position.
5. Will Fitzmaurice attempt to finish with his strongest team once again?
Kerry began Sunday with an incredibly experienced bench, consisting of 20 All-Ireland senior medals, 34 Munster senior medals and 7 Allstars, a former Football of the Year and former Young Footballer of the Year.
With the game in the melting pot, Fitzmaurice emptied his bench and Declan O’Sullivan, Donaghy, Sheehan, Barry John Keane, Killian Young and Kieran O’Leary all made important impacts and no doubt improved matters when they were introduced.
While Declan O’Sullivan may replace an injured Stephen O’Brien in the starting XV, it remains to be seen if the Kerry boss chooses to keep the rest of his artillery in reserve with an eye on the final ten minutes once again.
