No one-man show in Kerry as O'Connor aims for steady Kerry performance against Donegal

RTÉ News​

22-07-2025

Jack O'Connor can't help but smile when it's hinted that Kerry might be something of a one-man show.
The men from the Kingdom are aiming for title number 39 on Sunday, and a second Sam Maguire triumph in four seasons.
And any game involving Kerry sees David Clifford being put under the microscope.
The preeminent forward of his era continues to deliver in every game, hitting 1-05 from play against Tyrone and 0-07 against Armagh.
But O'Connor is quick to point out that it's more than a one-man show, with others having stepped up, particularly Seán O'Shea, who hit 10 points from play against Armagh.
"It's always the mantra by us that we want the burden shared," he tells RTÉ Sport ahead of the big game.
"We've managed to do that fairly well in different games. The likes of Joe O'Connor, Seán O'Shea, and different players have stepped up on different days.
"I don't think we're a one-man team, the way some people try to portray us," the Kerry manager adds with a grin.
O'Connor has a remarkable record with the game's most successful county, having led them to All-Ireland and National League doubles on no fewer than four occasions; 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2022.
Twice, those successes bookended Munster titles - in '04 and '22 - and there's a chance to complete another "treble" on Sunday with victory over Donegal.
Paul Geaney and Paul Murphy have two All-Ireland winners medals already, from 2014 and 2022, while much of the panel were involved in their most recent triumph three years ago.
"You never treat it as normal because All-Ireland final day is a big day in the players' lives," O'Connor points out.
"There's a good share of experience in the room. Most of them are going into their fourth All-Ireland. A couple of them - Paul Murphy and Paul Geaney - are going into their sixth All-Ireland.
"There's a good bit of experience and that always helps."
And that experience drove them on after a shock loss to Meath in the All-Ireland group stages in Tullamore.
They went down by nine points but had a favourable draw in the preliminary quarter-finals to get the show back on the road.
That's what we'd be looking for the next day, a good, steady, even performance
It's often said that if Kerry had to play in Ulster, they'd struggle having to face tougher opposition in the provincial championships.
But, they saw off Cavan before putting in hugely impressive performances against defending champions Armagh and 2021 winners Tyrone to reach this point.
And they'll be aiming for a fourth consecutive win over an Ulster county to land the ultimate prize on Sunday.
"It's a very intense season and there's bound to be a blip somewhere," O'Connor says of the loss to the Royals.
"That was our blip. We were coming off a league where we had eight games in nine weeks, very intense.
"We played five games in a row because our first game with Donegal didn't go ahead. That's tough going and somewhere along the line, players are going to take their foot off the gas.
"Unfortunately that was against Meath. And that's taking nothing away from them, I thought they played particularly well on the day and we were down a good share of important players.
"We managed to regroup and get our season back on track the following week against Cavan. Thankfully, we've continued to improve since.
"We just hit a great patch in the second-half in that game [against Armagh], we weren't perfect by any means. There was a spell in the second-half when we were five points down.
"It was a funny game. For a 15-minute period we got a stranglehold on the kick out and that was the game there really. We scored 14 points in that period.
"So I thought the Tyrone game was a truer reflection because we struggled early on and then from there for most of the rest of the game we were quite steady.
"That's what we'd be looking for the next day, a good, steady, even performance."
A consistent performance over the 70 minutes, yes, but like any manager going into a final, O'Connor will be hoping that his players can deliver their best performance when it matters most.
Opponents Donegal, with Jim McGuinness back in charge, and talisman Michael Murphy returning, give the sense of a group that feels there is another set of Celtic Crosses in them after 2012.
And O'Connor says they're dangerous all over the park.
"I'm expecting a ferocious challenge," he says.
"In the semi-final, they seemed to be peaking at the right time. They've a lot of weapons all over the field.
"Starting with their goalie, who is probably the best goalie in the country at the moment, with the weapon he has on his kickouts.
"It'll take a massive performance by us to get the job done."