Colm Cooper is many things but you would never call the Gooch a bully.
In his Irish Times column today, Kerry legend Darragh Ó Sé has attributed Philly McMahon’s huge influence on Sunday’s All-Ireland final to the fact he was able to bully Kerry’s star forward and dictate the play.
The former midfielder does not blame Cooper for this, but instead suggests Kerry manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice should have taken the eight-time All-Star off the influential McMahon, who capped a fine performance with a wonderful point at the end of the first half.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ee7B9GFRaw
Writing today, Ó Sé says that score, to put Dublin four points up at the break, was the beginning of the end for the Kingdom.
“The moment I knew Kerry’s goose was probably cooked was Philly McMahon’s point. He’s been scoring points all year but you wouldn’t worry too much about that on its own. What was really significant was that he sidestepped the Gooch.
“First of all, the very fact the Gooch was back there playing as a defender told you Kerry’s gameplan wasn’t working. Colm was probably always going to have to do a bit of tracking back but this was different. This was him having to face up one-on-one to a guy who was full of confidence and fancied himself for a score. That’s no place for one of our greatest ever forwards to be.
“Secondly, and more importantly, it told you that McMahon had been allowed to become a big factor in the game. That was a serious mistake from Kerry. Throughout the two Mayo games, McMahon was growing in confidence and influence. We all know the sort of player he is and the sort of persona he has for himself. He plays better when he’s getting under the opposition’s skin, scamping and bullying his way around the place.”
McMahon could yet face disciplinary action for an alleged eye gouge on Kieran Donaghy in the closing stages and, while Ó Sé does not address the incident, he does identify the Ballymun Kickhams man as an abrasive player.
“There’s nothing in the way Philly McMahon plays that is designed to surprise you. He doesn’t hide it and he doesn’t apologise for it. And good luck to him. He puts it up to you – what are you going to do about it?,” writes Ó Sé, who argues that, for this very reason, Cooper was on a hiding to nothing.
“Kerry needed someone who was going to bully him back. Somebody who was going to be just as much of a needler of McMahon as he is of others. Fight fire with fire. Kerry didn’t do that. It isn’t Colm’s game and nobody else took it upon themselves. I felt that was a mistake.”
