David Clifford is worth a look. The rest is dull and sad to see how our game has become

This is what the greatest community organization in the world has been for. On the bright side, we don’t have to put up with Horan reading through the GAA’s book cliché: “Look, we’re in for one game at a time,” “Look, we need to follow suit. process and we didn’t do it out there tonight.” “Look, we make life very difficult for ourselves out there and when you miss that kind of opportunity, we make you look. yourself thoroughly.”

The 12,000 sold out people suffered a very bad match. Kerry has sold off their great tradition of attacking, adventurous football. They traded glory for Paddy Tally.

So they pass the ball back and forth with their hands and run a lot without getting anywhere, namely backing down in numbers and refusing to kick the ball. When Paddy coached Derry (we moved from Division 1 to Division 4 over the next three seasons), he quickly scrapped our tradition of risk-taking and transformed us into a room-oriented team. The first defense is safety. We are just beginning to recover.

In Tralee, only David Clifford is worth seeing. The rest is stupid. Desperate for possession, he kicked three great points in the first half. It was in the 23rd minute of the first half before the first long ball was thrown at him.

Kerry, meanwhile, kept Mayo in the game by passing the ball with his hand in the narrow area and was repeatedly tackled.

The Kerry Golden Years are a distant memory. Mayo missed two great first-half scoring opportunities, both because of poor technique. In the 21st minute, Aidan Orme made a forehand pass with his left foot after a deft pass from Aidan O’Shea. He panicked and shot the ball too soon, narrowly sending the ball wide of the post. The three basic rules of scoring are not followed: Simulate, pause, pass into the net in the direction of your run.

In the 34th minute, it was Diarmuid O’Connor’s turn. Another interception after a pass from Kerry was rehearsed and he had a clean sheet. Instead of the dummy, pausing and passing into the net, he electrified it and kicked the keeper. Only a brilliantly executed goal (Clifford’s deft hand in luring the defense then knocking them out with a disguised hand pass was key) was the difference in the first half.

That’s when Pat Spillane got his corn. Marty asks Pat what is the difference between the teams so far. “I suppose Marty, the goal is the difference between the teams,” says Pat, in the way Stephen Hawking reveals his theory about the universe.

If Mayo had been a serious team, with the wind in their back, they would have won the game. Especially with the mysterious fact that Kerry seems to completely ignore the fact that they have the best striker of his generation at the full-back position.

Ignoring Clifford is like Phil Jackson telling his Chicago Bulls, “Don’t give the ball to Jordan.” Yes, David received the ball for the first time in the second half in the 47th minute, and quickly burned Mayo’s defense to score a stunning opening goal. Then like La Belle Dame Sans Merci, he stood on the square, “alone and prowling”. After 55 minutes, he politely granted his brother a free kick from 14 yards that Paudie had kicked into the keeper’s arm.

At the time, the game was up to Mayo to win, but David Clifford’s patience with his brother was limited. He kicks a free kick, then wins it with another easier one. It was a bad game. More than that, it is sad to witness what has become a once great sport.