The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Dingle to come of age and claim U-21 title
ACORN LIFE COUNTY U-21 FOOTBALL FINAL Dingle v South Kerry Tuesday, August 9 in Austin Stack Park, Tralee at 7pm
NEXT Tuesday’s County U-21 Final will bring together two teams from opposite sides of the underage football spectrum in recent years.
There’s a Dingle side who have won nearly every underage title available up along and more pertinently the last two County Minor Championships as they look to continue their rise up the ladder with a first ever win in this grade. South Kerry meanwhile have not had too much underage silverware to show for recent years, one has to go back to 2010 for their last U-21 title after a Noughties that was littered with county titles in most grades.
For the West Kerry club there is a big correlation with their senior set-up as team mentor Paul Fitzmaurice explains.
“As such there is no collective training for our U-21s as they are all involved in the senior set-up. It’s something that is working well for us and the lads that are coming back from the Kerry set-up are coming back in good shape as well. From when they started out this is the 12th County Final for some of the players and the hunger to succeed is still there despite everything else they have won up along,” he said.
South Kerry have a former County U-21 Championship winning manager at the helm in Mi- chael O’Reilly from Killorglin who managed Mid Kerry to the title back in 2013. He admits in one way that it is a big achievement for the district to make it to the decider.
“A good share of this team is made up of last year’s Minors so they have done very well in getting here. We know we are up against it here though against Dingle with what these players have won not only for their club but with Kerry and Pobalscoil (Hogan Cup) also. The one thing that I have enjoyed though about watching the competition this year is how open the football has been in terms of teams playing positively and not focussing on defensive tactics,” the South Kerry U-21 manager said. Although South Kerry received a walkover at the start of the competition when Laune Rangers couldn’t field in the First Round, it proved to be no hindrance to them when they played Feale Rangers at home in the quarter-finals.
“We were probably fortunate against Feale Rangers (2-16 to 1-3 they won) that we just had a bit more work done and a lot of things went our way that night. St Kierans really stretched us in the first-half of the semi-final but Dylan O’Donoghue’s goal was crucial I thought in keeping us in the contest. We made a few changes at half-time and the lads responded well to it, certainly it proved to be it’s as much about the 21 players you use in a game now as opposed to the 15 you start with,” O’Reilly said.
For Dingle the campaign had a pretty difficult start against last year’s runners-up East Kerry. “We were behind at half-time and had a lot to do to get ourselves back into the game but thankfully we managed to get a grip on it in second half and came through,” Fitzmaurice said. “Against Kerins O’Rahillys we showed a lot more composure and to be fair to Dr Crokes (semi-final) I think the scoreline (1-12 to 0-5) was a bit misleading as they were missing a few players on the night. South Kerry got a lot stronger in the second-half against St Kierans so that’s something we have to be conscious of in the Final.”
The club side is reporting a clean bill of health ahead of the match while Darragh O’Sullivan continues a recuperation from injury for the district outfit. South Kerry’s difficulty with emigration has been well documented but their manager is impressed with the commitment the players have put into their preparations.
“It’s great that there are jobs around now again and they players have taken on different and extra shifts to fit around training which is something we appreciate both from them and their employers. Cahersiveen Credit Union have given us great sponsorship as well and the clubs have been supportive of our efforts,” O’Reilly said.
Fitzmaurice, meanwhile, wants to see the right attitude from his side on the night. “What we have won before is no guarantee for success in a match like this and we’re certainly not taking anything for granted.”
The odds will favour a Dingle success in advance, their All-Ireland Minor winning midfield partnership of Barry O’Sullivan and Marc O’Connor, along with Tom and Conor O’Sullivan and Matthew Flaherty gives them a strong spine. Conor Geaney and Cathal Bambury are two forwards in a lethal Dingle attack, while South Kerry will need huge performances from Robert Wharton, Darragh Scanlon, Matthew O’Sullivan, Conor O’Shea and Dylan O’Donoghue to name a few if they are to cause a surprise.
You sense it might just be a year too early for them however. VERDICT: Dingle