Intermediate champs can start senior life with a win

COUNTY SFC ROUND 1 Mid Kerry v An Ghaeltacht Saturday, August 25 Beaufort at 6pm Referee: Paul Hayes

A VERY interesting contest in prospect in Beaufort between a Mid Kerry team that hasn’t been the force it was in recent years hosting the 2017 Intermediate champions who are striking it out on their own this year.

There was no shame in Mid Kerry being beaten by Dr Crokes by 11 points in Round One last year but a 13-point loss to East Kerry saw their championship over by the end of May.

Quite what manager Sean O’Sullivan has done with them in the meantime remains to be seen but talents like Peter Crowley, Donnchadh Walsh, Darran O’Sullivan, Gavan O’Grady, Mike Breen, Ronan Murphy and Liam Carey jump out as a group of individuals that really should have quarter-final ambitions at the very least.

An Ghaeltacht are enjoying a really successful period in the club’s storied history and players like Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Eanna Ó Conchuir, Roibeard Ó Sé, Sean Mici Ó Conchuir and Tomás Ó Sé are young, talented and hungry for more championship success.

An Ghaeltacht strong county league form suggests they will come into this fixture the more cohesive, settled team, and it might take Mid Kerry a little while to get to the pace of their first competitive game in well over a year.

Both teams have explosive forwards that could make this a high scoring contest, and difficult to call because of that.

Verdict: An Ghaeltacht