1. Kerry’s ‘butchered’ goal chances as they come up short
Jack O’Connor didn’t mince his words when assessing his team’s attacking output in the second half last night in Tralee. His spirits may have soared with the sight of Conor Geaney and Dylan Casey raising green flags in the final quarter, but Kerry’s ultimate defeat left him frustrated that they had not despatched the ball more often to Odhran Lynch’s net.
“I’m not sure how many goal chances we butchered there in the second half, but we certainly left two after us, if not a third one.
“You’d have to say on the balance we probably deserved something out of the game. Even if we got a point out of it, wouldn’t be the worst result in the world, but at this juncture, it feels like a bad loss.”
O’Connor’s disappointment was rooted in the fact that Kerry’s hustling and harrying of Derry in the second half did not yield league points in the bag. But it also stemmed from their early sluggishness which left them chasing the game. They were wiped out at midfield early on and undone by Derry’s greater slickness in attack.
O’Connor last week spoke about his desire for Kerry not to be ‘chasing their tail’ this year, but a rare home league loss on the opening night would not have been factored into that plan. February tests against Monaghan, Mayo and Dublin await.
2. Derry get reward for long trip
For this current Derry group, long trips to Munster for league outings are no novelty. In February 2019, they landed in the Fraher Field in Dungarvan, operating off-Broadway in Division 4 at the time, and they clipped Waterford by seven points.
In March 2020, Páirc Uí Chaoimh hosted a game where themselves and Cork shared six goals, Derry losing out narrowly just before the Covid-19 disruption kicked in. In February 2022, it was in Ennis where Derry opened their shoulders and blew Clare away by nine points. Last March they were back on Leeside, drawing with Cork in a game which carried little consequence as they were already assured of a promotion spot.
All those experiences are lodged in the bank, yet their latest away day success in Tralee carried an extra layer of sweetness. They reversed last year’s All-Ireland semi-final loss, made an early statement as they adjust to life in the top tier of the league after 2023 promotion, and showed the necessary clarity of thought in a frantic finale to respond tellingly to Kerry’s goals.
In February 2014, Derry landed in Killarney and upended the home team by two points. They also achieved a league victory in Kerry in their 1993 All-Ireland winning season
Another positive outcome last night, a pleasing start for Mickey Harte’s team.
3. Derry welcome back stars and Kerry test newcomers
At exactly 40 minutes before throw-in at Austin Stack Park, the Derry GAA bulletin on social media revealed ‘a number of late changes’ to their team. Some were positional, some wore different numbers, but the real significance lay in personnel alterations.
They would have been forgiven for watching on TV in Maghera, still basking in the warm glow of tasting the ultimate success their club in Croke Park six days before. Yet the Glen boys were out on the pitch warming up in wintery conditions. Conor Glass lined up at midfield, Ciarán McFaul and Ethan Doherty were in the wing-forward spots.
An early burst of acceleration from Doherty paved the way for Glass to score, McFaul picked off a vital score in the finale. The three were all on the field at the final whistle, McFaul the only one who had experienced some respite when off the pitch briefly due to a black card offence. It was a testament to their conditioning and their attitude that they were so integral to this success, marking their rapid inter-county returns on a winning note.
Yet it’s key to note that Derry were ‘more or less fully loaded’ as Jack O’Connor put it afterwards. They started with 13 of the team that contested last year’s All-Ireland semi-final. Kerry had seven starters from then, the Clifford brothers notably absent.
Kerry gave debuts to Sean O’Brien and Cillian Burke, it was a first league start for Dylan Geaney, and his brother Conor came off the bench for his first taste of senior action in five years. There was a novice feel to Kerry’s make-up from midfield up, demonstrated by the manner in which Derry wiped them out in that sector in the first half.
The identity of the personnel involved will temper any suggestion of arriving at major conclusions following this one.
