The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Super 8 date with Galway
Kerry crush Cork to collect 80th Munster title
KERRY’S senior footballers will play Galway in Croke Park in just over two weeks time in the first game of the new All-Ireland Quarter-finals Group Phase - the Super 8s - after collecting the county’s 80th Munster title with a crushing 17-point win over Cork.
It remains to be seen whether Kerry’s opening Super 8s game is on Saturday or Sujnday, July 14 or 15, but Eamonn Fitzmaurice and his players can start preparing for a reprise of last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final with the Tribesmen in Croke Park. Kerry managed a less than impressive 1-18 to 0-13 win 12 months ago, but this latest fixture between the counties is expected to be somewhat more competitive, notwithstanding how impressive Kerry were in dismantling Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh last weekend.
Galway won promotion to Division One last year and went unbeaten through the regulation phase of the League this spring before losing the League Final to Dublin in early April. Galway’s unbeaten run across those first seven games includes a 0-14 apiece draw with Kerry in Tralee.
On the matter of facing Galway in under three weeks Fitzmaurice said: “They dominated that [League] game so we are looking forward to having another chance to take them on.”
Kerry’s other Group 1 Super 8 opponents won’t be known until the week before the Galway game, but it will be beaten Leinster finalist Laois or the team that beats them in Round 4 of the Qualifiers, and beaten Ulster finalist Fermanagh or the team that beats them in the final Qualifers round on July 7.
Were Laois to come through it would mean Kerry travelling to Portlaoise to face the team managed by Renard native John Sugrue, who trained the Kerry team that won the All-Ireland title in 2007 under Pat O’Shea.
Meanwhile, the Kerry minor team also made it a sixth consecutive Munster Championship title with a comprehensive win ove Clare in pairc Ui Chaoimh on Saturday and they will now play the Connacht Championship runners-up, who are as yet unknown. That game is scheduled for the weekend of July 28/29, the free weekend between Round 2 and 3 of the Super 8s.