PLAY DOWN EXPECTATIONS FOR YOUNG SQUAD

Dublin in Croke Park before taking the notable scalp of Monaghan in Clones in a dour slugfest.

They beat Kerry twice last year, the Championship success being their first over them since 1965.

“I would expect a different type of challenge alright,” Keane said. “I’m not sure their results have been as indifferent as two out of three isn’t bad. Over the last few years if you looked at Galway they have been very competitive. They have been very strong defensively and they gave Kerry a tough game in Tralee last year in the League and obviously they turned us over in the Super 8s.

“So we are expecting a very tough assignment in Tuam.”

The three wins apart, Kerry will surely have gleaned extra momentum from their defeat over Dublin in a pulsating tie in Tralee a fortnight ago. Keane added: “What pleased me most is that the lads went out into what was a cauldron, there is no question about it, there was a tremendous atmosphere. They did not back down from it, they embraced it and they went about their business in the best possible way.

“Yeah, it was tight enough near the end as the legs were tiring but we stayed the course. We had a few opportunities that we should have possibly taken to get ahead even more.

“But we stayed calm, remained cool and we worked away and kept chipping away.” VERDICT: Kerry