The standout statistic from the Munster final was Kerry nailing 16 points from their first 16 point attempts. That shot-to-conversion ratio is off the charts but it also says as much about Cork’s failure to put enough heat on the man in possession than it does about Kerry’s accuracy.
In his column the following Sunday Marc Ó Sé said that it was more like “a tag rugby exhibition” than a Munster final. “No-one was going to get hurt, apart from Cork’s pride that is,” wrote Ó Sé. “They dishonoured the Cork shirt.”
Today’s fixtures
It is always easy for pundits to stick the knife into a team when they are on the ground. It’s even more hurtful for Cork when it’s coming from across the border in Kerry but Ó Sé is well qualified to offer his assessment.
He knows what it is like face a Cork team ready to fight in the way a county like Cork should. Ó Sé played on enough Kerry teams beaten by Cork during his career — on four occasions — while he grew up during a time when Kerry knew very little else only defeat to Cork.
Sunday’s fixture
Their uncle Páidí had always swapped jerseys during his career and he used to stash them in his house in Ard an Bothair. Whenever he wasn’t around, his four nephews — Ferghal, Darragh, Tomás and Marc — would raid his collection, pulling on shirts of every colour to help them re-enact whatever game they had seen on TV.
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It may have seemed odd given the Ó Sé’s history of family and place but Tomas Ó Sé’s favourite jersey was the blood red of Cork.
“Why?” he wrote recently. “Because they were a team of men. So even though, in my adult life, beating Cork became such a fundamental obligation, I grew up with a massive respect for what they represented. Some of the hardest opponents I ever faced in football were Cork men.”
This Cork team has lost more than just big names and characters over the years — they have also lost their soul. Something is missing. The players may have lost faith in the manager, who looks to have lost faith in himself. Hard and strong criticism from the O Sés, and plenty of others, will not necessarily trigger a performance if the players do not believe it is in them anyway. Yet the Cork players should not feel the need to ram all the criticism down the O Sé’s or anyone else’s throat — if they do not have enough pride in themselves to try and deliver a performance against Mayo this evening, they have no business wearing the jersey in the first place.
If Cork are honest and they give this a real go, they have a better chance than many people think. But they have to believe it themselves. The players have to set their own standards. And if that is still not good enough, fair enough. At least the players can say they did what was expected of them, that they honoured the blood red jersey worn by the great men who went before them.
Galway look to answer critics
In the aftermath of the Connacht final, the Galway management and players were taken aback by the vitriolic reaction. Some of the criticism was completely over the top. Some of the text messages and comments read out on Galway Bay FM made it sound like the management and players were responsible for Storm Desmond, which flooded Salthill in 2015.
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The reaction was ridiculous. Galway were expected to beat Roscommon at home but the majority of the same public who fancied them to walk Connacht and rattle an All-Ireland had given up all hope of the same team 13 months earlier, before they played Mayo. Galway underperformed in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final but they were still beaten by Tipperary by nine points.
Galway were outfought and outthought against Roscommon. They had only two less scoring attempts (25-27) but Roscommon took their chances. Roscommon worked harder, too, but Galway were tactically skinned. Despite their big men around the middle, Galway could not handle Enda Smith’s mobility. On such a wet day, Bernard Power’s kicking game may have been a better option than Ruairi Lavelle’s but it is hard to blame the young goalkeeper too. Roscommon pressed Galway’s short kickout game early on to devastating effect but even when Lavelle went long, Roscommon mostly got on top there too, especially Smith, who ended the match taking three marks.
Galway will need to work harder this evening against Donegal but they will need to get their match-ups right, too, especially on Donegal’s big men. Eamonn Brannigan will probably track Ryan McHugh wherever he roams, while Liam Silke will surely be chained to Patrick McBrearty. Managing Michael Murphy is another conundrum. Suspensions also leave Galway vulnerable. Donegal’s pace and running game is another headache but the tighter confines of Markievicz Park may suit Galway, who often struggle on a bigger pitch. Either way, Galway need to deliver to get the locals off their backs.