ISSUES IN DEFENCE EASE FOR KINGDOM
É AMONN FITZMAURICE has defended his decision to re-introduce Paul Geaney after taking him off during the dramatic draw with Monaghan last Sunday, saying he did it because Kerry needed a goal.
Geaney was substituted in the 50th minute, but the Kerry boss brought the talented inside-forward on for the frantic final few minutes in Clones.
‘It was to get a goal,’ Fitzmaurice explained.
‘We needed a goal and he is one of our best goal-scorers. At the end, we ended up with Paul, James [O’Donoghue] and David Clifford — all fellas who are capable of getting goals. That’s all it was.’
Fitzmaurice is hopeful that Kerry’s defensive injury crisis has abated ahead of their final Super 8s game with Kildare in Killarney next Saturday. Jason Foley, Tadhg Morley and Shane Enright were all not available to him last week while Killian Young also had to serve a onematch suspension after his dismissal in the defeat to Galway.
‘We’re hoping everyone will be available. Jason and Tadhg are making strides but we won’t know until the middle of next week whether they are good to go. Killian will obviously be back from suspension, Shane Enright is back too. We are over a week out from the game. We have a couple of sessions left to go but at the moment, we’re in a good place-injury-wise, once Jason and Tadhg make the final few steps they need to make.’
He also revealed that Daithí Casey is only returning from injury, which was why the creative Dr Crokes forward played no part in the match in Clones. But having relied on the gifted Clifford to salvage an unlikely draw against Monaghan and keep their summer alive, knives are being sharpened in the Kingdom for Fitzmaurice but he insisted that he is feeling no extra pressure, even though Kerry’s fate is effectively out of their own hands next weekend.
‘I’m sure the chat is going on, that goes with the job, I know that but I haven’t heard anything. For us, we are just keeping the head down, especially the week after the Galway game when we had a good bit of regrouping to do to get ourselves organised for a tough away game the following weekend, a game that our season was riding on. I’m sure there’s plenty being said but a couple of wins always sorts that out.’
And Fitzmaurice has called on the Kerry supporters to create plenty of noise when the Lilywhites come to visit.
‘The Tyrone game in 2012, there was a huge Kerry crowd there that night and it helped the team, it drove on the team I’d be expecting something similar. The fact that there is so much at stake and it’s a new young Kerry team coming to the fore you would expect a big support there. We are always claiming we are a football-mad county — you would like to see everyone come and show that.’