'I was having flashbacks to 1992 when Clare last beat Kerry'
After receiving his marching orders in the first half against the Banner, Kingdom wing-forward Donnchadh Walsh was particularly relieved to see his team-mates get over the line.
FEW PEOPLE WERE more relieved to see Kerry finally shake off a dogged Banner outfit last Sunday than Kingdom wing-forward Donnchadh Walsh.
The 2015 All-Star was given his marching orders for a second yellow card by referee Padraig Hughes with just 32 minutes on the clock.
Even on the scoreboards, but not so in personnel, Kerry found themselves in a real provincial contest as they headed to the Cusack Park sheds, and minus one of their most formidable weapons.
Four days on, Walsh reflects on his dismissal candidly, but one suspects that may not have been the case had Kerry suffered an embarrassing defeat a la their provincial final loss to Clare 25 years ago.
Walsh admits he was fearing the worst when Hughes sent him to the line. The blame game would have been played in the south-west, and he would have been a prime target for the finger-pointers.
“I was very disappointed at the time, I was kind of having flashbacks to maybe 25 years previous to ‘92 when Clare last beat Kerry,” Walsh said in Dublin today.
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“But I soon refocused myself and said ‘how can I be a positive influence on this dressing room?’
“I just said a quick word to myself and said: ‘look, it’s about the team winning’ and I just tried to contribute positively to the lads to help them some way to the performance.
“The performance they put in in the second half was brilliant. We dug out a good win in the end. It was a huge relief.”
Kerry forward James O’Donoghue was instrumental in the Division 1 league champions securing their spot in next month’s provincial final. After a couple of years plagued with injury issues, the 2014 Footballer of the Year kicked nine points, four from play, in the 1-18 to 1-12 victory.
While Walsh concedes his Kerry team-mate was invaluable at the weekend, he believes O’Donoghue still isn’t quite back to the form that saw him awarded the highest individual honour in the inter-county game.
“James had a great game and we are delighted to have him back,” adds Walsh.
“He’s flying fit and he was looking sharp in the second half the last day so hopefully James will be able to push on from that.
“Is he back to his best? I think he can probably be even better this year, hopefully.”
Kerry's Donnchadh Walsh at the launch of SuperValu’s #BehindTheBall campaign at Croke Park. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Kerry will be hot favourites for the Munster final on 2 July on the basis of Cork’s stuttering form. With the game now set to be played in Killarney owing to the delays with Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the odds seem to be stacked against a Rebel upset.
But Walsh, 32, has been around Munster football long enough to know Cork will see this year’s provincial decider as the ideal time to ambush their old enemy.
“Even though we are highly fancied they’ll see how Clare put up a good 40-minute performance against us and they’ll pick out weaknesses in us as well.
“Every time they see a Kerry jersey it makes them perform better. They’ve often performed well against us in Killarney even though they mightn’t have gotten the wins over the last number of years. The form book does go out the window. ”
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'I was having flashbacks to 1992 when Clare last beat Kerry'
FEW PEOPLE WERE more relieved to see Kerry finally shake off a dogged Banner outfit last Sunday than Kingdom wing-forward Donnchadh Walsh.
The 2015 All-Star was given his marching orders for a second yellow card by referee Padraig Hughes with just 32 minutes on the clock.
Even on the scoreboards, but not so in personnel, Kerry found themselves in a real provincial contest as they headed to the Cusack Park sheds, and minus one of their most formidable weapons.
Four days on, Walsh reflects on his dismissal candidly, but one suspects that may not have been the case had Kerry suffered an embarrassing defeat a la their provincial final loss to Clare 25 years ago.
Walsh admits he was fearing the worst when Hughes sent him to the line. The blame game would have been played in the south-west, and he would have been a prime target for the finger-pointers.
“I was very disappointed at the time, I was kind of having flashbacks to maybe 25 years previous to ‘92 when Clare last beat Kerry,” Walsh said in Dublin today.
“But I soon refocused myself and said ‘how can I be a positive influence on this dressing room?’
“I just said a quick word to myself and said: ‘look, it’s about the team winning’ and I just tried to contribute positively to the lads to help them some way to the performance.
“The performance they put in in the second half was brilliant. We dug out a good win in the end. It was a huge relief.”
Kerry forward James O’Donoghue was instrumental in the Division 1 league champions securing their spot in next month’s provincial final. After a couple of years plagued with injury issues, the 2014 Footballer of the Year kicked nine points, four from play, in the 1-18 to 1-12 victory.
While Walsh concedes his Kerry team-mate was invaluable at the weekend, he believes O’Donoghue still isn’t quite back to the form that saw him awarded the highest individual honour in the inter-county game.
“James had a great game and we are delighted to have him back,” adds Walsh.
“He’s flying fit and he was looking sharp in the second half the last day so hopefully James will be able to push on from that.
“Is he back to his best? I think he can probably be even better this year, hopefully.”
Kerry will be hot favourites for the Munster final on 2 July on the basis of Cork’s stuttering form. With the game now set to be played in Killarney owing to the delays with Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the odds seem to be stacked against a Rebel upset.
But Walsh, 32, has been around Munster football long enough to know Cork will see this year’s provincial decider as the ideal time to ambush their old enemy.
“Even though we are highly fancied they’ll see how Clare put up a good 40-minute performance against us and they’ll pick out weaknesses in us as well.
“Every time they see a Kerry jersey it makes them perform better. They’ve often performed well against us in Killarney even though they mightn’t have gotten the wins over the last number of years. The form book does go out the window. ”
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