Kerry V Meath AI SF Semifinal 30th August 2009

[NaomhBridAbú]

Ok - we won but a far inferior performance to the dublin game. Then again the conditions weren't great. The pitch was like a skating rink. T o Se, Seamus, Tadgh, Paul and Tommy Walsh were our outstanding performers today. Thought Darragh was quiet especially in the 1st half. The free taking issue raised its ugly head again today - a 45 at one stage was taken short by the Gooch to no avail. All in all we are where we want to be - back in the final and theres no better place to be at the end of August.

why is there so much hatred for Kerry all over the country ?
reading through a couple of threads and it's all anti-Kerry, i don't understand it.
Is is because of Pat Spillane ? I think this Kerry team is fantastic. they weren't good to watch for most of today, but in general, over the last 10 years, they have been brilliant and AI final wouldnt be the same without them

You're not alone in not understanding the anti-Kerry undercurrent on here HH. I've Kerry blood in me, so I am biased but I've nothing but admiration for this Kerry team. I can only presume it is due to the large Tyrone contingent on here.

The match today was cat but it could be the perfect way for Kerry to come into the final now. Semi-finals are for winning, it is all about the result. There's no point in playing exhibition football in a semi-final and then fail to show up at all in the AIF (remember 2001?). I got the impression at the match that Kerry had plenty left in the tank today. The final could be the last hurrah for a few of these Kerrymen (Darragh Ó Sé, Diarmuid Murphy, Tommy Griffin, Mike McCarthy). They won't want their last appearance in Croke Park to be an All-Ireland defeat to the greatest rivals.

two words - mike sheehy

[bcarrier]

Tyrone are off the hook. puke football was created by gerry kinneavy.

[INDIANA]

Leinster are in big trouble
Who is going to come out of Leinster and do anything? Dublin are the Mayo of the province and Kildare, Westmeath and Meath are a league below the big teams.

Mayo are just being Mayo
Promising and pretending but not going to win anything - even that minor team should have been beaten out the gate.
Armagh will eat them.

How so? You say Dublin, WM, Meath and Kildare are below the big teams. This I wouldn't dispute. But, the reality is that there are only three big teams at the moment - Kerry, Cork and Tyrone. Dublin, Meath and Kildare are more than capable of beating the best of the rest as this championship season has proved. Kildare could and maybe should have beaten Tyrone as well but inexperience got the better of us.

Pundits are constantly trotting out the line that the Leinster Championship is useless but there's not much basis to that argument. Granted there's no outstanding teams but is the overall standard any worse than the other three provinces? The rest of Ulster have simply been hanging onto Tyrone's coat tails since Armagh's demise a few years ago. Wicklow put out three Ulster counties in their qualifier run. Kerry Cork is the only game in town down south. Mayo came with high expectations from Connacht but Meath got the better of them when the going got tough.

Kerry, Cork and Tyrone are a country mile ahead of the pack at the moment but none of these teams are getting any younger. Looking ahead to next year it wouldn't surprise me to see the gap beginning to close.

Leinster football makes no impact at all-ireland level unfortunately DH, thats as good a sign as any. I'm not convinced that even Dublin and Meath will have been beaten by the winners . Only Kildare for me look to be setup in the correct manner for this level.

[rrhf]

2003 all ireland semifinal was a classic compared to that rubbish.   Forget about puke this was crap. 

[INDIANA]

Not really Kerry's fault. They just played a team that wasn't at that level and also didn't play well . Meath had to play at the limit of their ability yesterday.

[AZOffaly]

I think we can just discount that game when we are considering the final. 3 weeks is a long time, so I'll be concentrating on the hurling first (can't wait for that one, I think we should have 2 good senior finals this year). Kerry looked very lethargic and sloppy yesterday, but I wonder were there a combination of factors at play? The conditions were certainly one, but that doesn't excuse the lack of movement by likes of Gooch, Dec O'Sullivan and Darren O'Sullivan, especially in the first half. I think complacency may have set in. They were winning ball in the middle of the field, and got off to another flier. Meath never looked like being able to keep the scoreboard ticking over, and I think it just fed into one of those types of games. We've all been involved in them. You're roaring at each other to keep going, but deep down you know you are going to hang on and win. They are the type of game where if the momentum does shift, you get it awful hard to shift it up, and if Meath had managed a goal with maybe 10 minutes left instead of 10 seconds, it might have been very nervy.

However, as much as Cork want a chance to right wrongs against Kerry in Croker, Kerry will be absolutely up for this one as well. If Kerry can stay with the Cork runners (and Galvin and co will have a lot of work to do there), I think Cork might start to doubt themselves again.

[meathie]

Not really Kerry's fault. They just played a team that wasn't at that level and also didn't play well . Meath had to play at the limit of their ability yesterday.

I dont think Meath played to their limit actually but neither did Kerry obviously. I think our limit is somewhere in the last ten mins of the Mayo game. Forwards yesterday couldnt click at all but then ball in was awful and thats when the ball actually came in to them. The over passing,sidelines, mis placing was awful. I would imagine as a neutral this must have been the worst game this year?? Think P O Rourke cost us at least 3,4 points. I feel sorry for him in a way and maybe he would be alot better in 3 or 4 years (he's 20) but we cant have a goalie like that next season. Felt for Bray as well. I would imagine he had a big game in him and to see your captain goin off that early has to have an affect on the team.
overall, Im happy with the progress we've made this year. the Kerrys, Tyrones Corks have worked on their teams for years to get them to this level. We've had one year with this team and I dont think its bad going in that regard. Back to the drawing board, a few changes need to be made for next year but the bones and passion are there again. Realistically we should be looking at Leinster first and foremost. And a few years time we will be up there. Duiblin have had those years to get it right and have not done so. Thats the difference between them and the top 3, nothing to do with  coming from poor Leinster province, you have it or you dont.
as a btw, it realllly annoys me that Tony Davis sat there last night pointing out the difference between Kerry and Meath in forward line. Kerry he said use that terrific diagonal ball, the way it should be done. Meath on the other hand kept kicking high ball hopelessly into the forward line who didnt have the capability of getting their own ball. Roll back to meath Mayo game, Tony Davis.. this is one of things I really like about this Meath team , that direct high ball into the forward line, all of who can catch their own ball.!!!!! sorry but that annoyed me.  make up your mind! 

[Billys Boots]

Kerry never looked uncomfortable yesterday, which suited them down to the ground.  Cork now don't really know what to expect from Kerry in the final, whereas Cork showed what they're capable of in the first 20 against Tyrone.  Cork also showed that they can shut-down a game, which I would have thought is worrying Kerry most about them. 

[Zulu]

it realllly annoys me that Tony Davis sat there last night pointing out the difference between Kerry and Meath in forward line. Kerry he said use that terrific diagonal ball, the way it should be done. Meath on the other hand kept kicking high ball hopelessly into the forward line who didnt have the capability of getting their own ball. Roll back to meath Mayo game, Tony Davis.. this is one of things I really like about this Meath team , that direct high ball into the forward line, all of who can catch their own ball.!!!!! sorry but that annoyed me.  make up your mind! 

That's because they don't analyse Meathie, they simply look at the result and the team that wins did everything right and the team that loses did it all wrong. O'Cinneide said the same thing after the Mayo game, he said Meath stuck to their tactic and it worked out, whereas the reality is it was predictable and Meath required more variation and subtlety to their attacks. But because Meath won the two boys thought everything was fine, which surprised me in Dara's case. While on the topic of Tony Davis did anyone else find him ignorant and limelight hogging last night, he cut across the other two analysts on more than one occasion.

[agorm]

The over passing,sidelines, mis placing was awful. I would imagine as a neutral this must have been the worst game this year?? Think P O Rourke cost us at least 3,4 points. I feel sorry for him in a way and maybe he would be alot better in 3 or 4 years (he's 20) but we cant have a goalie like that next season.

Next season, hopefully Kevin Reilly and Shane O'Rourke will be back and we have certainly learned from this year. Paddy is one for the future but, as you say, he may not be at the level still next year. We conceded too many goals this year and they were a combination of full-back-line & goalie errors.

I think they should try & see if Brendan Murphy would come back in. I can tell you he is playing v well for Trim - even ask some of the Dunshaughlin guys whom they beat in the Feis Cup at the weekend. Brendan would also help develop Paddy. Paddy has a great long kickout but I think he panicked a bit yesterday. With Murphy back in and Reilly, O'Rourke and some of the new players we have seen this year I think we would have a chance to give Leinster a reasonable rattle next year.

[timmykelleher]

"While on the topic of Tony Davis did anyone else find him ignorant and limelight hogging last night, he cut across the other two analysts on more than one occasion."

Yep. What makes it worse is he never adds anything meaningful when he does interrupt. I thought Tommy Lyons was cutting across Brolly once or twice as well.

I don't always agree with Brolly but he makes some interesting points and you can tell he has actually thought about the game. Or a least they would be interesting if he had a chance to make them fully.

Anthony Tohill can be decent enough at times as well. However with the likes of Davis bleating incessantly and with Tohill having the manners not to cut across other he rarely gets enough time to speak.

[Jinxy]

The over passing,sidelines, mis placing was awful. I would imagine as a neutral this must have been the worst game this year?? Think P O Rourke cost us at least 3,4 points. I feel sorry for him in a way and maybe he would be alot better in 3 or 4 years (he's 20) but we cant have a goalie like that next season.

Next season, hopefully Kevin Reilly and Shane O'Rourke will be back and we have certainly learned from this year. Paddy is one for the future but, as you say, he may not be at the level still next year. We conceded too many goals this year and they were a combination of full-back-line & goalie errors.

I think they should try & see if Brendan Murphy would come back in. I can tell you he is playing v well for Trim - even ask some of the Dunshaughlin guys whom they beat in the Feis Cup at the weekend. Brendan would also help develop Paddy. Paddy has a great long kickout but I think he panicked a bit yesterday. With Murphy back in and Reilly, O'Rourke and some of the new players we have seen this year I think we would have a chance to give Leinster a reasonable rattle next year.

I believe 100% that Brendan Murphy would have saved both those goals yesterday.
At least get him back in as a goalkeeping coach.

[Declan]

I can tell you he is playing v well for Trim - even ask some of the Dunshaughlin guys whom they beat in the Feis Cup at the weekend

Heard he played well alright agorm though did we have a weakened team out?

[meathie]

But I dont think he wants to come back at all thats the problem. Maybe he could be coaxed but I heard not.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Ok - we won but a far inferior performance to the dublin game. Then again the conditions weren't great. The pitch was like a skating rink. T o Se, Seamus, Tadgh, Paul and Tommy Walsh were our outstanding performers today. Thought Darragh was quiet especially in the 1st half. The free taking issue raised its ugly head again today - a 45 at one stage was taken short by the Gooch to no avail. All in all we are where we want to be - back in the final and theres no better place to be at the end of August.

why is there so much hatred for Kerry all over the country ?
reading through a couple of threads and it's all anti-Kerry, i don't understand it.
Is is because of Pat Spillane ? I think this Kerry team is fantastic. they weren't good to watch for most of today, but in general, over the last 10 years, they have been brilliant and AI final wouldnt be the same without them

You're not alone in not understanding the anti-Kerry undercurrent on here HH. I've Kerry blood in me, so I am biased but I've nothing but admiration for this Kerry team. I can only presume it is due to the large Tyrone contingent on here.

The match today was cat but it could be the perfect way for Kerry to come into the final now. Semi-finals are for winning, it is all about the result. There's no point in playing exhibition football in a semi-final and then fail to show up at all in the AIF (remember 2001?). I got the impression at the match that Kerry had plenty left in the tank today. The final could be the last hurrah for a few of these Kerrymen (Darragh Ó Sé, Diarmuid Murphy, Tommy Griffin, Mike McCarthy). They won't want their last appearance in Croke Park to be an All-Ireland defeat to the greatest rivals.

Really? I may sound bitter here but I have to laugh at the different reactions to games depending on who plays in them. The game yesterday was imo a far poorer game than the 03 semi final between Tyrone and Kerry and the quality was much lower. Kerry won the game scoring ten times (3 fewer than Tyrone in 03) including a penalty that was a dive.

The reaction above is typical of the general reaction. Spillane said it was a very poor game etc. But excuses were made. Kerry didnt get out of 3rd gear, it sets them up perfectly for final etc. In 03 you would have thought Tyrone had destroyed football with the over the top reaction from Spillane and the rest of the southern media. Tyrone continue to get abuse to this day about that game. There's no way this game will be mentioned for years to come. The only thing Tyrone did wrong in 03 was show hunger and refuse to stand back and let the Kerry players do what they wanted like the likes of Meath/Dublin/Mayo do. Hopefully Cork will show up for the final.