'We know we face a bigger test in two weeks’ time' - Jack O'Connor lines up Armagh semi final

Jack O'Connor.

IN THE POST MATCH press conference, Kerry manager Jack O’Connor got straight into it.

“Probably wasn’t a game for the purists because it was defensive. But we were happy to play the game on whatever terms we came across. Derry set the terms early on. They got a rake of men back and made it tough for us to find space,” said O’Connor.

“I just thought we were playing around the periphery in the first half. In the second half, we made an agreement that we would go at the game aggressively. I thought we started to find pockets in the second half and just showed a bit more intensity and a bit more energy.”

A little more introspection and we will leave it there. Later on, O’Connor was asked about the potential changes the Football Review Committee can bring, given that former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice sits on said committee.

“Sure we’d love to play open football, that’s the way we want to play it.

“I was even talking to Eamonn yesterday, I met him down at Mícheál’s (Ó Muircheartaigh) funeral down in Dingle, and some of the changes are very promising.

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“Sure look, we’ll play it any way it’s put in front of us but of course, look, traditionally, Kerry want to play that more expansive type of game. We have to adapt with the times. But some of those changes are obviously very promising. I hope they get a good airing and a good hearing.”

Back to the present, grim as it feels like after a game such as this.

It has become O’Connor’s custom to watch some, if not all, of the first half of games up in the stand. All the better to see the shape of teams rather than the view from the sideline that can lack perspective.

After 20 minutes though, Jack was back on the line, getting a closer look at the switches he was going to have to make.

“Half-time is important. You’re up in the stand some of the time and you can see the shape of the game. I just thought we had two issues. First of all, we were allowing Derry come into our 45 without putting a finger on them. We needed to make contact higher up the pitch and stop leaving a good bit of space in front of McGuigan.

“The second thing then was we weren’t testing their defence enough, getting runners in to occupy their defenders. That takes a lot of energy and it takes bravery as well because if you turn over the ball then, you have to get back 100 metres,” he said.

Either way, the chat around Kerry is that they had met nothing of great worth up until today.

“Well today was a test. It felt like a real battle,” he said.

“It was physical, it was intense. There was a lot of running in it.

“For today, that’s a good test. We know we will face a bigger test in two weeks’ time. Remember Armagh beat Derry comprehensively a month or six weeks’ ago. We will be under no illusions about the magnitude of what we are facing in two weeks’ time.”

He admits he might break out some video on Armagh.

“I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t been watching them overly closely. I obviously watched their game with Derry and that’s enough for me. To know that they are a serious team. They went to Derry and dismantled Derry’s defence,” he said.

“And we found it tough to break their defence today. So they are a team on the crest of a wave with huge support and momentum behind them. That’s always a dangerous combination.”