The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Munster final: Rebels offer no resistance to a rampant Kingdom
Kerry on quarter-final collision course with Mayo or Donegal
A WEEK after helping Kerry to a fifth successive Munster SFC title, some of the county men will be back in action for club and district when the county SFC resumes with four Round 3 knockout matches. Top scorers last Sunday, James O’Donoghue and Paul Geaney will be in action for Legion and Dingle respectively against West Kerry and South Kerry.
The Dingle versus South Kerry is arguably the tie of the weekend with the Geaney cousins, Paul, Mikey and Conor, and Dingle’s emerging young talent, coming up against a more hardened, experienced South Kerry team that will hope to have Bryan Sheehan recovered from the injury that kept him out of the Munster final win over Cork.
O’Donoghue will lead a Legion team looking to get their county championship title challenge back on track against West Kerry.
In the other two fixtures Anthony Maher will be in opposition to Stephen O’Brien and Sean O’Shea when Feale Rangers take on Kenmare Shamrocks in Fitzgerald Stadium on Sunday, while Jack Barry should be a dominant force for St Brendans as they take on East Kerry.
The four winners of these round three games will go into the quarter-final draw on the opposite side to Dr Crokes, Kerins O’Rahillys, Austin Stacks and Rathmore.
Meanwhile, Eamonn Fitzmaurice said after Sunday’s win over Cork that team captain on the day, Fionn Fitzgerald, will be assessed over the coming days and weeks after suffering possible concussion in a second half collision that saw the Dr Crokes man removed from the pitch on a motorised stretcher car.
“Initially, there were fears for his jaw, but I’d say he’s concussed,” Fitzmaurice said. “He was bleeding from the nose as well. I think it was one of our fellas he collided with. Thankfully he’s back to himself,” he added, after Fitzgerald joined club mate Johnny Buckley in accepting the Munster Cup.
“The lads will go back to their clubs and we have three weeks to be ready, then, for Croke Park,” Fitzmaurice added. “The qualifiers are fraught with threatening opposition this year, so whoever we get in that [All-Ireland] quarter-final will be a good test and it’s something to look forward to now.”
That quarter-final could see Kerry face Mayo or Donegal - the last county to beat Kerry at that stage of the All-Ireland series (in 2012).
Mayo travel to Ennis to play Clare this weekend, with Donegal facing Meath in Navan. The winners of those two games will play Cork and the beaten Connacht finalist, Galway or Roscommon. The winner of those two Round 4 Qualifiers will, in turn, face Kerry and the Connacht champions.