Win at Croke Park 'better than any Portugal trip' insists Kerry's Barry Dan O’Sullivan
HIGH AND MIGHTY: Matthew Ruane of Mayo contests a high ball with Barry Dan O'Sullivan of Kerry at Croke Park. Pic: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
From trying to avoid becoming the first Kerry team to be relegated from Division 1 in 24 years one Sunday to winning the title the next, Barry Dan O’Sullivan admits the past week was surreal for the group.
“After the Galway game, I shook the hand of a fan and he said, ‘Great stuff, you’re in a league final’ and I didn’t believe him for a minute because it wasn’t on the cards for us,” admits the Dingle man. “We knew we had to beat Armagh and then when Tyrone beat Donegal we knew we had to beat Galway to stay up so it was about avoiding relegation for us.
“I don’t know how long Kerry have been in Division 1 (since 2003) but they have been in there a long time and we didn’t want to be the team to have that stat behind us.
“Getting to Croke Park was a bonus then especially with the new rules because everybody says Croke Park plays differently. We just wanted to get in here and see it for what it is.”
O’Sullivan and Kerry head out to Portugal for a training camp on Saturday but the midfielder feels the extra game will have done them more good. “This game in Croke Park was better than any Portugal trip because you’re getting into Croke Park. It’s just the way it’s fallen that we’re going out on Saturday for four or five days and then all roads lead to the Munster semi-final.”
Kerry didn’t score a single two-pointer in their last three games in the league and their attempts were minimal. Seán O’Shea, who scored four of them before missing the county’s final five fixtures, was responsible for half of the county’s tally in the competition.
O’Sullivan offered an explanation why Kerry have largely steered clear of them. “If you keep tipping away at the ones, you get to press the kick-out. Two-pointers are difficult. Everyone keeps thinking they’re like three-pointers in basketball. I don’t know what the conversion stats are but a lot of people miss them.
“You have very good kickers like the Cliffords and Seánie O’Shea and you don’t want everyone taking them, you want the right people kicking. They can drain you if you keep kicking them short or wide.”
O’Sullivan is a firm supporter of the new rules. “Far more enjoyable for me personally because there’s a lot more high ball and contested kick-outs. I think most people are happy with them.
“Obviously, there were a few gripes early on in the league but with the ground firming up now and the weather improving I don’t think they’re going to be as relevant. I think they’re positive all round. We’re very happy with them.
“Nearly every position you can make a case for them, around the middle and long ball and for the inside forward he doesn’t have to track back 100 yards. The inside defender might have a gripe with it because they’re one-on-one defending but that’s a skill in itself. You see how valuable the likes of Paul Murphy and Tom O’Sullivan are to a team.
“I think it’s very positive because we’ve been looking at hurling the last four or five years and saying, ‘The game is unbelievable’, whereas everybody was doom and gloom about football.”
One of six Dingle men in the panel and eight if you include two of the backroom team which O’Sullivan does, it’s a good time for the club. Sunday’s final was his second start of the season.
With Diarmuid O’Connor injured and Seán O’Brien not fit to start, Tralee-based vet O’Sullivan took his opportunity. “Diarmuid is a Rolls Royce player but while it’s there it’s next man and you try and fill a gap.”
