Championship

Kerry face Down in Croke Park 2010

July 27th, 2010
by Weeshie Fogarty

I must admit as having felt a little tingle of excitement when I heard the draw for the All Ireland quarter finals to be played next weekend.  I mentioned in this column early in the year that one of my wishes would be to see a Kerry/Down encounter in the championship.  Kerry v Down will bring memories flooding back for Kerry supporters all over the world and lets be very honest about this, all those memories that remain etched in the mind are sadly all poor ones.  Yes indeed it's amazing that in this instance Down remain the only county in Ireland who have a 100% winning record against the kingdom in championship football. Kerry has beaten them in Croke Park in league games.  So exactly what kind of a back ground is Kerry facing when they race on to the magnificent green sward of Croke Park next week-end. Let's remind ourselves of previous clashes between the counties.  Down are the only county Kerry have played and never beaten in the championship (Kilkenny, Donegal and Westmeath are the three that Kerry have yet to meet).Down have won all four meetings with the Kingdom:  1960 All-Ireland Final saw Down run out comfortable winners on a 2-10 to 0-8 scoreline; the 1961 All-Ireland semi-final was closer, but the Mournemen still prevailed on a 1-12 to 0-9 scoreline, while the 1968 All-Ireland Final was the third time in the decade that Kerry lost, going down on a scoreline of 2-12 to 1-13.It was not until 1991 that the sides met again...and again Down prevailed outscoring Kerry 2-9 to 0-8.Kerry have not scored a goal from play against Down...the 1968 goal was from a free by Brendan Lynch. This came from a fourteen yard free at the railway end, Kerry were well behind and as time was nearly up Brendan went for the goal and hit a rocket of a shot from the free with his deadly left foot to the back of the net. It was too little too late however. In my memory I have never seen a Kerry player score a goal from a fourteen yard free in an All Ireland final before or since. Another stat tells us that Down have scored at last one goal every time against Kerry.

So what will all this mean next weekend? Absolutely nothing as everything has changed and changed utterly since the sides last met in 1991. New players, new rules, new stadium, new style of football, new levels of fitness and more importantly from Kerry's point of view is the fact that this is the most experienced Kerry squad that has ever made a championship appearance in Croke Park. Jack o Connor will send his men on a mission of attempting to reach their eleventh successive All Ireland football semi-finals. In this day and age it is an astonishing declaration and when push come to shove against Down the next day it is this vast well of experience I expect will tip the balance in the Kingdoms favour.

The Kerry side line generals will be under no illusions what so ever but that this is going to be a very sticky wicket and Down will provide a very stiff test indeed. Kerry is in my opinion very vulnerable for this game. The loss of so many great players from last year would have decimated many other counties, but Kerry being Kerry has re-grouped and their two games against Cork and that very hard fought battle with Limerick showed to one and all that they were quite capable of retaining their title. Now however the loss of Thomas o Se and Paul Galvin due to suspension has definitely weakened the chances against Down. Now, not for one moment am I casting aspersions on any of the panel that might re-place these two men. The appropriate word here is EXPERIENCE. However it is impossible to re-place Thomas o Se, a man who in my opinion is the best right half back that I have ever seen playing for Kerry. To have scored 3-25 from defense in championship football is phenomenal and irrespective who replaces the Gaeltaght man the loss of his driving, beautifully surging balanced and penetrating runs into the heart of the opposition thus drawing the defenders from their own men simply can not be replaced. The same applies to Paul Galvin. He is at the moment playing his best ever inter county football and his vast Croke Park experienced especially in the white heat of battle when the chips are down and the sides are battling for supremacy entering the final minutes is invaluable.

And then you have the niggling injury situation involving Seamus Scanlon, Michael Quirke and Padraig Reidy. I expect to see Darren o Sullivan, Donnacha Walsh, Barry John Keane, David Moran, Anthony Maher and especially Aidan o Mahoney to figure at some point in the game. It is immaterial who starts from this group. The way the selectors have been operating has worked well. When a player is tiring or not on form just bring on a fresh man. This has been the norm around mid field especially and Downs two men out here Ambrose Rodgers and young Kalum King will prove a hand full for any Kerry pairing. Down have run up big scores in their march to the quarter final. They are on what is called "a roll", so will Kerry's rest since the Munster final or Downs run of four games in a row decide the final outcome. It is fascinating and the specter of Kerry/Down previous meetings while not mattering a whit to Jack and his men will only add to the expectations for those of us who were present at all previous encounters between the two counties. I have the utmost faith in the men responsible for selecting and training this Kerry squad. Their experience together with that of our players, their freshness and superb physical condition should se us through against Wee James McCartan men in red and black.

Fogra: Check out my new terracetalk.com website launched just last week. There is something for everyone there and the response from far and wide has been absolutely amazing. Moyvane native Alan Groarke based in Boulder, Colorado is the man responsible for this wonderful addition to Kerry GAA and other sports. Author  Niall Flynn and Tim Slattery (Tralee)are also putting a massive amount of research work into this project which will now go on and  I believe establish itself as a must to visit for sports fans all over the world. It is for all involved a sheer "labour of love".  http://www.terracetalk.com new to your screens.



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