Kerry, the greatest ever: How they stumbled

Offaly's victory in this year's All Ireland Football Final was no fluke. This was a victory for a side which not only was so defensively disciplined that it was able to knock Kerry out of their usual freeflowing style, but which was also confident enough to attack with boldness. Both teams in this final proved that the days of a rigid 3-3-2-3-3 in GAA Football line up are numbered. It is to Offaly's credit that they were able to outplay Kerry with such a brand of total football.

Offaly's victory in this year's All Ireland Football Final was no fluke. This was a victory for a side which not only was so defensively disciplined that it was able to knock Kerry out of their usual freeflowing style, but which was also confident enough to attack with boldness. Both teams in this final proved that the days of a rigid 3-3-2-3-3 in GAA Football line up are numbered. It is to Offaly's credit that they were able to outplay Kerry with such a brand of total football.

Almost from the throw-in Offaly signalled that it was not their intention to allow themselves to be overawed either by the occasion or by the opposition. Given the pre-match build up and given the respective records of both sides, it would not have been surprising had Offaly lined out with a very defensive formation. Instead, the tone of the game was immediately set for Offaly by the fact that two of their first three points were scored by half-backs Liam Currams and Pat Fitzgerald.

Nor was Offaly's audacious attack merely foolhardy.

The extent to which key Kerry players were less effective than usual was a reflection of the pressurising of the Offaly defence. Nowhere was this more obvious than in the extent to which Eoin Liston was subdued by Liam Connor. It has long been a Kerry ploy that when all else is failing, there is always the option of hitting the long ball into the square, aimed at Liston, who if he cannot make a clean catch will at least get a fist to the ball and redirect it into the path of one of his forward colleagues arriving at speed. This ploy did not succeed against Offaly and for this Liam Connor must take the credit.

Offaly's defence so consistently cut down the midfield space available to Kerry, that the Kingdom's forwards rarely got their quick, close passing, linking one-two movements going. Proof of this fact is that Kerry failed to score a goal against Offaly and that they were forced to take the majority of their scores from far out.

Kerry, of course, did not help themselves. Two crucial tactical mistakes were made from the sideline. The ease with which the Offaly defenders moved forward to score those early points made the sideline men so anxious about their defence that they committed the folly of recalling Jack O'Shea to play as an extra defender for most of the second half. The main result of this was that Offaly won more than their share of midfield possession. Not only was this move unnecessary since the Kerry full back line seemed to be holding its own, but it radically reduced Kerry's midfield competitiveness.

The uncharacteristic anxiety which led to this ill-inspired Kerry move had already been underlined by the decision to bring on Pat Spillane instead of Ogie Moran at half time. The Kerry thinking was clearly influenced by the fact that Pat Fitzgerald had been able to come away from Moran and move up field on more than one occasion and also score one point. However, bringing Ogie Moran off seemed an overreaction. His replacement, Pat Spillane, wonderful player though he has been when fully fit, was simply not fit enough for an All Ireland Final. He is scheduled to have major surgery on his knee before the end of the year and in his present condition has got limited mobility. Apart from an early point, Pat Spillane's contribution was, by his own standards, negligible.

Offaly's cause was of course further helped by an entirely illegal penalty save by Martin Furlong. When one considers that the GAA goal is a yard narrower than the soccer goal, then it is obvious that if the goalkeeper is allowed by the referee to advance three steps, then he will have made the penalty kicker's angle very narrow indeed. Furlong's save was a credit both to his skill and his experience, in that he read correctly which way to dive and then did so with aplomb. However, his skill and cunning do not obliterate the fact that he moved three steps forward before the kick was taken. The referee hardly helped himself in this instance by standing with his back to the goal until the very last instant, but his behaviour reflects the great malaise of incompetence that ails the whole area of refereeing. The incident is more a comment on the confusion and inconsistency that is basic to almost all GAA refereeing, than any reflection on Martin Furlong.

From the start, so confident of their own ability were Offaly that they refused to base their strategy on Kerry's strengths. On the contrary they were able to stamp their own pattern of play on this match to such an extent that they knocked Kerry out of theirs. The fact that Kerry, at no stage, looked assured champions is explained not by big match nerves but by Offaly's tremendous pressurisation of them in defence and almost reckless commitment to throwing players forward in attack.

In the end this final hinged on a goal which entirely summed up much of what had gone before. Despite being two points down with three minutes to go, Offaly retained their composure. Again one of their defenders, this time full back Liam Connor, moved forward into an attacking position directly from an intelligently taken free kick. When Connor's hanging ball came into the square, Tom Doyle, in a move which was characteristic of the Kerry side's unease all afternoon, mistimed his jump through anxiety and allowed Seamus Darby in behind him. Darby's opportunism and fearless finishing did the rest.

Even then, with at least one minute remaining, Kerry panicked unnecessarily. There was still time to score an equalizing point but Kerry had lost their composure at this point as was confirmed by the erratic kicking away of possession by the usually more constructive Charlie Nelligan, Mikey Sheehy, Tom Spillane and Tim Kennelly (in turn).

On reflection, though, Offaly played like men whose achievement motivation was at an all time high. Theirs was an achievement which can stand comparison with any in sport.

Kerry: An Appreciation

Despite their All Ireland final defeat, the present Kerry team still epitomizes the best in Gaelic football. Their fitness, skill and teamwork have been of such a consistently high standard over the past five seasons, that they have clearly been the outstanding team of the era.

First and foremost Kerry's generally very high level of fitness has enabled them to play a very mobile, total football which sees 8-10 players involved in an attack and likewise up to 10 players defending. Half backs Tommy Doyle and Paudie O'Shea as well as midfielder Jack O'Shea are all asked to go forward, whilst in defence players like Pat Spillane and Jack O'Shea again fall back to help out.

An important aspect of the style evolved by Kerry has been this positional flexibility. It is obvious if the centre forward, Eoin Liston, follows an opponent back to the halfway line, harrassing him and closing down his space, that effectively the Kerry

defence has an extra man.

The definitive Kerry play of the last five seasons has involved the refinement of all the obvious, and some not so obvious, skills. The ability to bend the ball round the defender and to inswing it onto its target, delicate chipping, clean fielding, and deftly executed one-twos amongst a fast moving attack are but some of this side's skills.

Perhaps one of the most pleasing features of this Kerry side is their teamwork, their understanding of one another's play.

Familiarity with different traits and habits has been fostered by years playing together. But on top of that they help one another throughout a game by good calling, which lets the player in possession know if there is an opponent closing in on him, if conversely he has time to turn and look up, if a good immediate pass is on.

Good support play has been another of the features of Kerry's play. It is some measure of Offaly's achievement that this year's final represented one of the few matches where Kerry players were regularly caught isolated and unsupported. More usually the Kerry player in possession has a variety of options both in front of him and behind him in his immediate vicinity. On top of that the Kerry players not immediately near to the player in possession have refined the technique of making themselves available in space for a long pass John Egan and Eoin Liston, in particular, often fill this role.

Mobility, flexibility and good understanding as a team are some of the most obvious Kerry characteristics. However, much of the credit for the side's success must go to coach Mick O'Dwyer. His detailed approach to all matters concerning the team's preparation from medical back up and practice facilities right through to the timing of the team's training so that the side will peak for the important championship games has been outstanding.