The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Competitive season gets high quality finale
Timmy Sheehan reflects on the revamped county championship and looks forward to a final brimming with potential this Sunday
THE review and revamp of the County Senior Football Championship was expected to produce a more competitive competition, which it did to a large extent, but, whether it enhanced the quality of the football is debatable, even if, we did have two extremely competitive and enjoyable semi-finals in Killarney last Sunday afternoon.
The pairing of Dr Crokes and Kenmare District in the final wouldn’t have been entirely unexpected at the outset even if many felt that the addition of St Michaels / Foilmore would have put South Kerry in an even stronger position this year.
Dr Crokes, having slipped somewhat in recent years were always likely to regroup and be a front runner, while Kenmare on the back of a win at Under 21 level could well have reached last year’s decider.
So at the start of this campaign both would have been amongst those who were fancied to be involved at the tail end of the season. Shannon Rangers made their exit in the preliminary round in March, in extremely difficult conditions and, while the debate between club and district will continue, it’s extremely difficult for a divisional combination to organise and prepare, so early in the season.
Dr Crokes served early intentions with a twenty two point win over West Kerry, while Austin Stacks, just about got over the line against East Kerry, but didn’t exactly set the world alight and it was the type of indifferent performance which subsequently typified their season, mirrored by the extremes in both of their performances against South Kerry.
Kerins O Rahillys showed early promise, pushing South Kerry all the way, but were sluggish against Feale Rangers. Legion, by beating Milltown Castlemaine and scoring five goals in the process raised expectations about their capability of going one step further this season, but it was a single bright spot in their campaign which subsequently ended with defeat at the hands of Kerins O Rahillys.
Indeed a late scoring flourish just put a more respectable look on the scoreboard, in that particular game. Certainly, it’s been a dramatic loss of form and reversal of fortune for the Killarney side who also were relegated in the League, having gone to within a whisker of claiming the crown in 2015.
James O’Donoghue’s injury was obviously a significant factor. Kilcummin, Feale Rangers, St Brendans, East Kerry, and Milltown / Castlemaine all produced creditable performances before going out of the competition and, indeed, Kilcummin’s display in the relegation decider confirmed fully their credentials as a Senior Championship outfit.
Dingle, having beaten Rathmore lost a pretty bizarre game to Mid Kerry in Killorglin, and, while they subsequently beat Milltown Castlemaine after a struggle, they were a little bit overly dependent on Paul Geaney and had maybe slipped in the pecking order in terms of potential champions.
Crokes very nearly came a cropper against St Kierans, who didn’t at all look convincing in their narrow win over Feale Rangers in the opening round. They subsequently lost out by the bare minimum to Rathmore after extra time, and, their displays against two of the semi finalists suggests that they could well have been in the shake up in the latter stages.
Kenmare, coming in under the radar, had been steady rather than spectacular initially and their win over Stacks in the quarter final wasn’t entirely unexpected even if Stacks indiscipline in the second half afforded Paul O Connor the opportunities to seal the deal.
Having won the Under 21
Championship in some style with a convincing win over Dingle South Kerry’s odds were shortened even further, but a return of just three points from play from their six starting forwards was never going to be sufficient in their quarter-final loss to Dingle, even if the West Kerry side didn’t fare that much better with a return of just four.
Crokes were largely in control against Kerins O Rahillys, but the inability of the Tralee side to provide adequate support for Tommy Walsh close to goal made it a little bit easier for them.
Rathmore pounced for a last gasp victory against Mid Kerry who looked to have done enough to progress, but ultimately paid the price for reverting to defence in the latter stages and last weekend after a storming second half they could well have edged out Kenmare in what was every inch a pretty pulsating encounter.
Crokes were better, just about, against Dingle who will surely wonder what might have been if Marc O’Connor had been available. It could so easily have been a Rathmore, Dingle final and they will feel with some justification that they are well capable of making that final step as will the likes of Stacks, O Rahillys, Mid Kerry with Milltown on board and, indeed, St Kierans who look like a side with a lot of potential.
South Kerry’s strength in depth will always of course keep them very much in the frame, but what we are left with is what most neutrals will look forward to with eager anticipation.
Club versus division it promises to be an intriguing encounter. Crokes will be raging hot favourites given Kenmare’s injury problems and the doubts hanging over Adrian Spillane who was a class apart at times last weekend.
Some might say that Crokes are not the force of old, maybe not, but, they still retain the ability to function as a well oiled unit, capable of producing crucial scores at opportune times.
Kenmare for their part largely resemble a club side with some of their lesser lights regularly producing the goods. They’ve won a lot of games going down the stretch, and, once again in the semi final they had the ability to close out a tight affair.
Seventeen points from play, from nine different players is a statistic which confirms their wide range of skills in all facets of play, and, they won’t be beaten easily, even if, the injury situation, will fully test the strength in depth which they possess.
However, Crokes superior level of experience at this level could well be crucial in a final pairing full of all the right ingredients.
Club versus division promises to bean intriguing encounter. Crokes will be hot favourites