The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Kerry ladies face daunting quarter-final against Dublin
TG4 ALL-IRELAND QUARTER-FINAL
KERRY will take on All-Ireland champions Dublin in the quarter-final of the TG4 All-Ireland Championship next Sunday in Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon, the scene of their last game against Donegal.
It will be a daunting task for the Kerry girls as Dublin have been motoring with effortless proficiency in the championship thus far, and they certainly look like the team that have the strength in depth to claim their second All Ireland in a row.
The Dubs claimed their seventh Leinster title on the bounce in July when they firmly hammered Westmeath on a 5-11 to 2-8 scoreline in the final. Their veteran star Sinead Ahern was on fire that day and finished with 1-5, while 2017 Footballer of the Year Noelle Healy also chipped in with a handy 1-2. Their bright form continued into the qualifying campaign with a 5-17 to 2-13 victory over Cavan, whilst they strolled to a 3-11 to 1-8 victory over Mayo in the second qualifier.
The manner of the Dublin wins were very impressive especially due to the fact that they hardly needed to get out of second gear to achieve victory. Like their male counterparts, the Dublin ladies have serious strength in depth and can afford to bring on quality replacements when the game reaches the latter stages. As well as the likes of Ahern and Healy, another veteran Lynsey Davey is still playing great football as is Sinead Goldrick, Sinead Finnegan, Olwen Carey and Nicole Owens.
The Dubs also come into the game on the back of a very successful National Football League campaign in which they won 6 out of their 7 games before eventually claiming their first ever Division 1 title with a comprehensive 3-15 to 1-10 win over Mayo once more. Ahern starred again that day and claimed 1-9 as their dominance over the westeners continued. Dublin had already defeated Mayo in the All Ireland final in 2017. Kerry travelled to Dublin for the very last game of the league campaign and were defeated by 1-11 to 1-16. Kerry were without a manager at the time after the resignation of former manager Graham Shine, and the closeness of the scoreline was seen as a form of a moral victory for the rattled Kingdom players.
Kerry will still come into the game as distinct underdogs despite the promise shown in that game. The manner of their 5-13 to 1-10 Munster final defeat to Cork must still hurt, although a subsequent 3-13 to 2-10 victory over Tipperary in the qualifiers helped ease the pain. A one point loss to Donegal in round 3 sparks great hope however, as Kerry showed glimpses that day of the form that they can be capable of producing.
The problem is this lack of consistency. Eddie Sheehy is well aware of what his team is capable of but admits that he needs to get his team to perform at a high level for the full 60 minutes of the game.
“Against Cork, Tipperary and especially Donegal, we played really well at times. It’s trying to do it right through the game that we need to achieve. I think that we are capable of getting a good performance against Dublin on Sunday. We know that if we keep trying to do the right things that we can beat anyone on our day. Dublin are well organised of course and they have some lethal forwards, but we will have a plan for them and hopefully things will fall into place for us.”
Kerry suffered a 5-10 to 0-11 defeat to Dublin in the All Ireland semi final a year ago. They will retain just 8 of the starting line up that went down so disappointingly that day, and Sheehy says that it is a defeat that will not burden his side. “We aren’t looking at the past with this team. It’s all about now and the future. We have introduced some new players and they have been doing brilliantly. We were unlucky against Donegal the last day and I think that our team is improving every time that we go out on the field. If we go out and give a performance that we are capable of we will give Dublin a fair rattle.”
Kerry can still call upon seasoned campaigners like Lorraine Scanlon, Sarah Houlihan, Aislinn Desmond, Amanda Brosnan and Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh. Their impact will be vital if Kerry are to gain victory. Whilst they have seen disappointing days in a Kerry jersey, their influence and experience has had a very positive influence on the younger players in the squad. Players like Andrea Murphy, Kate O’Sullivan, Aishling O’Connell and Emma Dineen have shown that they have the quality to perform to a high standard at this level.
Sunday’s game may be a step too far for this emerging Kerry side though. Dublin are purring along nicely and are firm 4/9 favourites with the bookies to win the championship outright. In contrast Kerry are coming in at 14/1. Although the bookies are rarely wrong, and with the carrot of an All Ireland semi final against either Galway or Mayo at stake, Kerry shouldn’t be too far off it in the finish.