Rathmore are well placed to take prized scalp of South Kerry
COUNTY SFC QUARTER-FINAL
Rathmore v South Kerry
Sunday, September 24 Fitzgerald Stadium at 3.15 Referee: Paul Hayes
WHEN the Quarter-final draw was made, this is the match that jumped out at everyone. The 2015 Champions and arguably a rising force in Rathmore meeting would create interest in any circumstances but for South Kerry they enter this with some setbacks in advance.
Their manager William Harmon will not be there on Sunday due to being contractually obliged by the LGFA to be in Croke Park for the All-Ireland Ladies Finals while there is also the setback of Killian Young being unavailable for this weekend. Throw in injuries to Denis Daly, Padraig King, Damien Kelly and the departure of Sean Cournane from the panel and they face a tough task to say the least.
Rathmore have some concerns as well but not to level of their opponents on Sunday. Mark Reen is their big injury doubt however the situation is more positive for Eoin Lawlor, Brendan O’Keeffe and Conor O’Sullivan as they appear to be approaching match fitness ahead of Sunday following recent injuries.
The East Kerry club will be looking to get the better of a third district side in their campaign in their bid to reach a third successive semi-final after defeating their native district East Kerry and Feale Rangers back in May. South Kerry have had to go through the scenic route in getting here after losing to Kerins O’Rahillys on the opening day. They have accounted for Kilcummin and Dingle in the meantime but this is a big test of their resolve against a driven outfit.
Aidan O’Mahony and Paul Murphy will give the club side their spine but it will be interesting to see if Shane Ryan features out the pitch for them after getting the call-up to Kerry Seniors on the goalkeeping front. South Kerry will need huge innings from Bryan Sheehan, Mark Griffin, Brendan O’Sullivan and Niall O’Shea in particular but they once again have to overcome the cohesiveness of a club side in trying to stay in the race for the Bishop Moynihan Cup.
It’s set up to be a cracker, we all know how South Kerry can rise to the top at this stage but with the momentum they have built up over the last few years you feel Rathmore are at their apex at the moment and look best placed to take a big scalp especially with their opponent’s difficulties in advance.
Austin Stacks v West Kerry
Saturday, September 23 Austin Stack Park, 5. 45pm Referee: James O’Sullivan
IT’S been a terrible three months for Austin Stacks. Since they triumphed over Legion in the winners’ round of this competition they’ve been relegated from Division 1 of the County League and, most worrying of all for all concerned, they didn’t really have too many complaints about it. It wasn’t bad luck that saw the Rock drop it was a poor run of performances.
For anybody who was in Connolly Park that Friday evening for their clash with the Legion their precipitous drop has been hard to wrap your head around. In the first half of that game they played some sensational football. Granted their second half was much, much more patchy as Legion pushed back at them hard, scoring seemingly at will.
Stacks’ task this weekend is to find that first half form again and hope to shake off what seems to have taken hold since then. Yes they will benefit from the return of Kieran Donaghy, but it’s more about the players who were there all along refinding their form than hoping for Star to light a spark for them. Then again there’s no better man for the task.
If they do play to their ability Stacks can triumph. If not then West Kerry have to be favourites here. With An Ghaeltacht in a rich vein of form this West Kerry side won’t lack for talent. The quesiton is whether, with an eye on the intermediate final, they’ll be able to cohere sufficiently with their district colleagues. If they do it’s eminently possible they’ll win this game.
Verdict: West Kerry