LOUD & CLEAR

COLM SHALVEY
TALKING POINTS

Monaghan supporters who made the long journey south would have hoped to have seen added freshness and hunger to their team’s performance, but there was little of that to be seen in a one-sided first half where Kerry set the terms of engagement. Monaghan were punished time and again for cheap turnovers as Kerry brought real intensity to their tackling, inviting opponents to run down blind alleys into heavy traffic. Monaghan coughed possession up 11 times during the first half, with Kerry turning many of those errors into scores.

Vinnie Corey admitted that his team’s start had been the worst of his tenure, saying: “It was a terrible first half. We didn’t see that coming, it was as bad a first half as we’ve had. Two points in a half of football. We had plenty of ball, but we just gave it all away and Kerry punished us.” The visitors did manage to put up a better showing in the second half, albeit with Kerry seeming to ease off. It amounted to little more than crumbs of comfort, but it salvaged a glimmer of hope from a halftime position that suggested that an even more damaging…