The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Hurlers show grit in defeat to Wexford
NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1B
Kerry v Galway Sunday, March 12 Austin Stack Park, 2pm
IT’S a difficult row to hoe this Division 1B for a county such as Kerry. It’s where they want to be, it’s where they need to be, but that doesn’t make it any easier for all that.
The games against the top rank counties – this year Wexford, Galway and Limerick – are never going to be easy and, yet, to stop a team like Kerry stagnating by constantly playing teams at their own level they must be given the chance to test themselves against teams of the quality of Wexford and Galway.
The end result is a lot of heavy defeats such as the one Kerry suffered in the Gaelic Grounds last month. You’d have to imagine that defeat would have been hugely demoralising for Kerry, but the opposite appears to have been the case.
If anything it seems to have inspired this bunch of Kerry hurlers who, according to their manager, attacked training with a renewed venom in the wake of the hammering on the Ennis Road.
They needed all that spirit of defiance when they made the trip to Wexford Park last weekend and came away with their heads held high. Fair enough Wexford rallied in the second half to finish fifteen points clear, but to hold the presumed pool winners to even scores at half-time is not an insignificant achievement.
The only disappointing thing about that first half was that Kerry didn’t score more, they probably could have taken a lead with them at half-time. The good news for this weekend is that Shane Nolan’s suspension has now been served and he’s ready to resume his place in the forward line – a massive boost.
Fintan O’Connor’s hand has also been strengthened by the return from injury of Brendan O’Leary who came on as a second half sub at the weekend. The O’Dorney man is unlikely to start – although we shouldn’t rule it out – but is a great option to have on the bench and Kerry will need all the options they can lay their hands on against Galway this weekend.
Defeating Laois by 3-31 to 1-11 Micheál Donoghue’s men showed they’re not the type of team to give a developing county an easy time of it. Cathal Mannion bagged 1-5, Joe Canning 1-2.
Make no mistake the big boys are coming to town. Galway are genuine contenders for the Liam McCarthy Cup, Kerry will need to be at their absolute best to live with them.
Again the result isn’t the most important thing here, it’s the performance.
Verdict: Galway