O’Connor was pleased to see his man hit the back of the onion sack ‘just to keep people quite if nothing else’
A fifteen-point margin of success over a relatively out-of-their-depth Meath at Pairc Tailteann in Navan is not to be sneezed at, any day of the week, but the visitors to the Royal county were somewhat lethargic for spells, and that is something that didn’t escape the Dromid Pearses man.
“The first half was difficult because there was a strong wind there, it was hard to get ball inside and Meath dropped off all the kick-outs and just saturated inside the 45 with bodies. It was quite difficult to kick into it but we got a few good scores,” he said.
“I think we got ten points in the first half from play, a lot of them from our backs. (Brian) Ó Beaglaoich got three, Tom (O’Sullivan) got two, and a couple of long ones from Tony (Brosnan) and Diarmuid O’Connor as well.
“We were happy enough at half-time, just that period after half-time which we’d be disappointed with. We just seemed not to come out of the blocks for ten to fifteen minutes of the second half,” he added.
Leading by seven points, 0-10 to 0-3, at the interval, Kerry didn’t register on the resumption until David Clifford’s 49th minute goal, ending a green flag drought that had gone on since the National League encounter in Roscommon.
“Look, we thought we were very good in the first half against Monaghan, and sometimes it can be hard to replicate a half like that. We hit the targets we were looking for – we went over 20 points, we held them to under 10 points – but there were aspects of our play that we absolutely have to brush up on.
“We weren’t caught up with the goals, but it’s nice to get a couple just to keep people quiet, you know, if nothing else. We wouldn’t be hung up about it, if we can kick enough points. There were just a few aspects of our play that we have been working on that we wouldn’t be overly happy with.
“Sometimes that comes down to a bit of lethargy and fellas just not having the will to get back into the right places to make the proper interventions. We think there is plenty of room for improvement, but we think the improvement is there.
“It may have been (difficult to bring intensity) because we were hearing for the last couple of weeks of how poor Meath are, and no matter what way you talk to players, that seeps into their psyche. They’re human beings, and they hear this stuff, and they think it will be a bit easier than what it actually is.
“You still have to go out and play the game, you have to work, you have to get the tackles in, and so on. I think that aspect was a little bit disappointing, but I’ve no doubt but that we will be better the next day. Louth, after the beating that they gave Meath, will be a bigger challenge.
“Louth certainly appear to have improved, you could see in their two recent displays, against Dublin in the Leinster final and against Meath the last day, you would have to say that Louth certainly appear to have improved under Ger Brennan.”
On the injury list, O’Connor confirmed that defender Graham O’Sullivan remains on the casualty list with an ankle injury, but that everyone else is in a healthy position at this moment in time. Getting more minutes into several squad players in Navan was of huge importance as well.
“The only injury we seem to have at the moment is Graham O’Sullivan. He has an ankle injury, and he’s just trying to get back from that, but he will still be a couple of weeks away yet.
“We’re trying to give game-time to as many fellas as possible because the bottom line is that we feel we need a strong bench, that we need 23 or 24 players who are very competitive.
“The nature of the game is that you’re going to get injuries. Thankfully, we didn’t get any today, but we want fellas ready, willing and able to come in, and do a job for us.
“Joe O’Connor had a fantastic display out there, particularly in the last 20 minutes, where he ruled the roost out there. It’s great for Joe, it’s great after the tough couple of years he has had to come back so strong.
“Brian (Ó Beaglaoich) did very well, and there were a couple of great scores from Tom (O’Sullivan) and by Tony (Brosnan) from distance as well, so happy enough.”
