Kennedy: It Will Be No Walk In Cusack Park For Kerry

Former Clare and Kilmurry Ibrickane manager John Kennedy feels his native Kerry will not have it all their own way when they come to Cusack Park for the Munster football semi-final on Saturday evening.

The Kingdom make the trip as they bid to maintain their stranglehold on the province, with 2018 seeing them claim the title for the eightieth time. Since the turn of the decade Kerry have been in all bar one of the provincial finals, with the only blot on their copybook coming in 2012 when Cork were victors over Clare in the final.

Under new manager Peter Keane, Kerry went all the way to this year’s National Football League final before losing out to a Mayo side who were consequently beaten last weekend in the Connacht championship by Roscommon. There are doubts over the likes of David Moran and Paul Murphy for Saturday’s game, while corner-back Peter Crowley, who played in all Kerry’s National League ties, is ruled out for the season after tearing his cruciate ligament. Kennedy says there is mood of uncertainty in the Kingdom ahead of their championship opener.

“It is a strange mood really because it is quite low key and Kerry seem to have a few injuries, so there is a little bit of uncertainty surrounding what the shape of the team will be. Kerry had a successful league campaign in that they kept their Division One status and got to the final but there are still question marks. It is a relatively inexperienced team and for the first time in a while, it means that the line up is hard to pick. Normally with Kerry you could pick 12 or 13 for sure but now there are a lot of places up for grabs. It will be interesting to see what way they go. It could be described as a team in transition because Kerry have lost some great warriors in the last few years but there is some really exciting talent coming through also. I know we have had the five-in-a-row minors and all that but it is a huge jump to go from that to senior, particularly in terms of championship football. We have some really exciting talent in that forward line but there are some questions over the Kerry defence and midfield” he noted.

Clare stumbled over the line against Waterford last time out as they managed just one second-half point before eventually coming through by the minimum. On that same evening, Limerick overturned warm favourites Tipperary to set up a last four showdown against Cork with those sides also meeting on Saturday. Kennedy admits that there is now a chasing pack to assume the number two mantle behind the Kingdom.

He said: “I think it is good for football to have more competition. The worrying thing is how far Cork have dropped and they have now come back into the pack. The other side of that is that Clare have come up a few levels and are competing consistently in Division Two for the last few years. Limerick’s win over Tipperary sent shockwaves through Munster the last day as it wasn’t expected and Tipperary have been tough to beat in championship in recent times. It makes it competitive and I think that can only be good for football really. Whoever comes out to the Super 8’s having come through a tough in their provincial set-up will be in a good position I think”.

Clare’s last outing against Kerry saw the Banner on the wrong side of a 0-32 to 0-10 score-line in Killarney, but Kerry’s last trip to Ennis saw them pushed all the way before registering a 1-18 to 1-12 win. Kennedy spent from 2002 to 2004 patrolling the sideline in Cusack Park as Banner boss, and knows that it is not an easy place for teams to come.

“Home advantage means a lot because you are playing on the pitch that you train on and you know every last inch of it. Kerry know that Clare will always lift their game when they come to Cusack Park. It is always competitive there and the difference in the last few years is that when Clare had their chances against Kerry, they may not always have taken them. When Kerry get their chances they are clinical. In terms of the game on Saturday, I really feel that the middle third will be vital. Any team that has Gary Brennan to patrol out there will always have a chance and he will be a huge influence. It is an area that Kerry have really struggled with in recent years. David Moran is doubtful and may not start and Jack Barry has not really built on the promise he showed. I think it is going to be such a vital area and it is all about what you do with the possession that can be the difference between winning and losing” he said.

With all the talk of Dublin’s drive for five, Kerry are firmly in that chasing pack hoping to derail Jim Gavin’s charges. The first step in that quest comes on Saturday evening, and Kennedy feels the pressure is on the visitors to Ennis.

“I think it is a game that Kerry have to go and win. Getting to the league final was a bonus but I think it actually showed up a few weaknesses in the team in the way that Mayo played and took the game to them. They then turned around at the weekend and got turned over by Roscommon so it just proves championship football is that bit different. From the management’s point of view, they need a victory against Clare and a comfortable victory at that but I don’t think they will get it too handy. If you come out of Cusack Park with a one or two point win, it means that they’re in the Munster Final and that is all they need. They just need the win and that’s what they will be looking for. There have been question marks over the defence for the last few years and Peter Crowley being out is a massive loss. There are questions about who will be full back and who will be centre back. When you are going into a championship campaign, these are pivotal positions and you need them nailed down. There have been those kind of questions asked in Kerry over the last few weeks and that is the mood really, that bit of uncertainty. We have some really natural forwards in Kerry who are playing with a bit of abandon but you have to have the ball to do the damage. Scoring up front is all well and good but if you are leaking at the back it puts that pressure on. There seems to be a bit of a gap in the centre for Kerry that really showed in the later part of the league and we will have to see how they cope on Saturday evening” he noted.

Despite that uncertainty, Kerry are carrying the tag of overwhelming favourites coming into the game. Kennedy feels while it won’t be a resounding victory, it will still be the Kingdom who reign supreme.

“I think Kerry will win but it will be difficult. Clare are going in having just got over Waterford but championship football is all about winning and getting the results. Kerry should get the result after a tough battle and the pressure is on them to do it while there is no real pressure on Clare. I just think that Kerry should be that little bit better and will come out on top by a few points” he predicted.