Traynor Cup quarter-final fixed for end of the month

OSCAR TRAYNOR CUP

THE postponed Oscar Traynor Cup quarter-final between Kerry and Sligo/ Leitrim will be played at The Showgrounds in Sligo on Friday evening March 30 at 7pm.

Kerry have only played one game to get to this stage of the competition beating Limerick DL at Mounthawk Park 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out after the game ended 1-1. They got a bye in the next round to progress to the last eight.

That Limerick DL game was played on November 22, which is four months ago so any appetite players had after that game has well subsided by now. However they are at an advanced stage of a national competition so they will be going into the game with one objective in mind and that is to win.

Team manager David Hennessy has drawn up quite a formidable panel of players for the game are they are quite capable of churning out a win. In thedrawngameagainstLimerickthe manager introduced five subs and they all had a big impact on the game.

It is a long journey to travel for a game on a Friday evening and they face a stern test but if they play up to scratch they may be able to squeeze out a win. On paper they have the players to win the game, but they will have to play out of their skins if they are to win this one.

With a semi-final place in the national competition up for grabs there is plenty of incentive to win the game. Kerry have never won the Oscar Traynor Cup, but they did get to the final six years ago, losing out to Dublin AUL.

Quite a few of the players involved with that team are on the present squad so they won’t be lacking in experience and who knows they may upset the apple cart later this month.

Should Kerry win this game they will be away to Carlow in the semi-final of the competition.

SQUAD: Brian O’Connor, Chris Hegarty, Jason Hickson, Aidan O’Callaghan, Sean Foley, Sean Cournane, Ryan Downey, Gary Keane, James Sugrue, Wayne Sparling, Peter McCarthy, Danny Roche, Sean Foley, Matt Keane, Con Barrett, Cathal O’Shea, Ashley Kelliher, Lorcan Seymour