Tomás Ó Sé doesn’t see the All-Ireland Round 3 draw as the woodpile on which Kerry’s season could go up in smoke. Instead, he views it as the spark that could set Kerry’s Sam Maguire defence alight.
Knockout football is arriving in Killarney on Saturday for Kerry and Armagh, sooner than most would have imagined – a combination of surprise defeats and the new championship format setting up a heavyweight mid-June showdown.
Come Saturday evening, one of the two All-Ireland favourites will have been eliminated from the competition. They both hang over the trapdoor right now and in so many ways it would appear to be a pairing neither Jack O’Connor nor Kieran McGeeney wanted. But Ó Sé begs to differ.
“I actually think that this is a great draw for Kerry, I think it’ll bring them to the level where they need to be fairly fast,” says the former county defender who managed Kerry to this year’s All-Ireland under-20 title.
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“If you were a Kerry footballer you’d say ‘Yeah, this is what I want right now.’ Of course you could have got an easier draw, but once that draw came up on the table, as a player you get a gut reaction and I would imagine the gut reaction they would have got is ‘Yes, this is exactly what we want.’ And I think you come out of this one, imagine the (lift you’d get going to the quarter-finals).”
Kerry, like all teams in a championship where every side has suffered at least one defeat, have blown hot and cold this summer. They have been hampered by injuries, sure. But in the Kingdom the next man up is usually expected to fill the gap. Still, there is little doubt the sight of some players returning for last weekend’s straightforward victory over Kildare significantly strengthens O’Connor’s hand.
“I saw them last weekend against Kildare and I think they’re coming to the boil at the right time,” adds Ó Sé. “I think the lads that came back the last day, they got game-time into Paul Murphy and Gavin White, while Brian Ó Beaglaoich started. He made a marked difference, just his aggression, his ability to attack, his ability to ask questions of the opposition every single time he’s on the ball, he tipped in with a couple of great scores as well. Joe O’Connor is coming into brilliant form too.”
[ Darragh Ó Sé: Ger Brennan has made a big mistake ahead of Donegal clashOpens in new window ]
Last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final between the teams swung decisively on kick-outs. The league game between the sides at the Athletic Grounds in March also had very distinct periods where each team had aerial and ground superiority around the middle third.
The pivotal battleground will be in that area again on Saturday in Killarney.
“With Kerry, there’s probably a difference in what they do in the league and championship in terms of kick-outs,” says Ó Sé. “I think it’s fairly agricultural what they do in the league compared to where they go in the championship. And they’re right, because if you throw out in the league what you’re going to throw out later in the championship, you are easier to read.
“You look at the last big championship game between Kerry and Armagh, that’s where it was won and lost, and they just went after it. It isn’t as if Armagh or Kieran McGeeney won’t see what’s coming down the tracks.
“From an Armagh perspective, if they’re not doing well on kick-outs, Kerry will get ball, and if they get enough ball up the field in Killarney (they’ll do damage).
“The fear I would have maybe for Armagh is that they don’t go gung-ho after the kick-outs often enough because they’re fearful of what happens behind them if they do lose it, that they’re exposed.
“And I think that’s the fear that Kildare had the last night. You have to be brave.”
Another factor in Kerry’s favour is having Kieran Donaghy back in the Kingdom. Donaghy was a key member of McGeeney’s backroom team in Armagh – including during their triumphant All-Ireland winning season in 2024.
“It would play a part. Kieran will know how they operate, how they think, so I would say there would be a benefit for Kerry in that side of it.”
Meanwhile, writing in these pages on Wednesday, Darragh Ó Sé suggested Dublin manager Ger Brennan had handed Donegal a psychological advantage by trying to get the Round 3 fixture between the counties played in Parnell Park rather than Croke Park.
But Tomás is not so sure the venue debate will have a major impact on the scoreboard.
“I’m obviously not inside Ger Brennan’s head, but I’d imagine the way things panned out for Ger (with the suspension), I think it was extremely harsh. So was it Ger kind of going against the establishment rather than anything else? Or was it Ger trying to make a statement for the team?
“I don’t know, but you’d imagine at the weekend you’ll have to get your best performance out of Dublin this year if they are to win.
“By the time Sunday comes, I wouldn’t be a huge believer that psychologically the Dublin players would be in a lesser place because of those remarks.”
Ó Sé was speaking at the official opening of the new Maldron Hotel Croke Park on Clonliffe Road.
[ Stephen Rochford: Kerry and Armagh never imagined it coming to thisOpens in new window ]
