Four-week break for Kerry following Galway defeat

Kerry are facing into a four-week pre-championship break knowing that there’s plenty of work to be done if they wish to retain their All-Ireland crown.

Last Sunday’s two-point defeat to Galway (1-13 to 0-14) put paid to The Kingdom’s league final aspirations and actually left them in fifth place in Division 1 with their worst away league record in 22 years.

The last time they lost all their away games in a single league campaign was in 2001 when they were beaten by Tyrone, Offaly, Roscommon and Galway – results that saw them relegated to Division 2. They returned to the top flight in 2003 and have been there since.

Although Kerry’s spotty form didn’t result in demotion this time around, it raises questions about their credentials ahead of the championship, which gets underway on Saturday, April 22 with a Munster semi-final against Tipperary or Waterford. If Tipperary win (as expected) the match will be played in Killarney at 4pm. If Waterford win, the semi-final will be played in Dungarvan at 7pm. Kerry haven’t played Waterford in the championship since 2013.

Looking beyond that semi-final, Kerry would expect to be facing Cork in the provincial decider, though The Rebels must overcome the challenge of Limerick or Clare on the more competitive side of the draw.

The winners of Munster will be paired with the Connacht runners-up and two other teams in the new All-Ireland round robin series. Given that Galway, Mayo and Roscommon are on one side of the draw in Connacht, there is a strong possibility that the Munster champions will end up in a pool with one of the teams on the other side – namely Sligo, Leitrim, London or New York.

Meanwhile, the Munster runners-up will be pooled with the Connacht champions and two other teams.

The first placed team in each of the four groups of four will advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals with the second and third placed teams moving on to the preliminary quarter-finals. Only the bottom team in each group will be eliminated at the climax of the round robin series.

If Kerry reach the Munster final, they will have a home game in Round 1 of the group stage. That match against a third or fourth seed will take place on May 20 or 21.

Their second match will be away from home against the other non-provincial finalist in the group. Round 3 will be against the Connacht finalist in the group and that fixture will be staged at a neutral venue.

There will be a week off between every round of fixtures.

Unfortunate

Last Sunday Jack O’Connor’s side were a fair bit off their best against the team they beat in last year’s All-Ireland final, although the result might have been different were it not for an unfortunate error by goalkeeper Shane Murphy. It was the second time a goalkeeping mistake proved costly for Kerry this season – Shane Ryan dropped the ball over his own line against Tyrone – but it would be wrong to lay the blame at Murphy and Ryan’s feet. In truth, such errors were far too common out the field as well and not many players came through the league with extra credit to their names.

The league was never going to be a priority for O’Connor, though, and the absence of a host of key players in the opening rounds weakened his hand. Now the majority of those players are back or nearly back, which is encouraging.

O’Connor has the bones of a month to whip his charges into shape for the important business of the championship. A rumoured training camp in Portugal should help.