Allianz National Football League Division One: Kerry v Donegal
(Sunday, Austin Stack Park, 2,30pm, live on TG4)
PAT SPILLANE doesn’t always get it right, but he was on the money when asked to comment on last weekend’s Newry meeting between Down and Kerry.
No proper analysis of Kerry’s current standing could be undertaken in the aftermath of their crushing defeat of the Mourne men, said the Kingdom great. With 16 points to spare by the time Marty Duffy mercifully blew his whistle at Páirc Esler, the game amounted to little more than a challenge match for Kerry.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice was in the enviable position of being able to empty his bench, bringing on the likes of Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper and Barry John Keane to register a few morale-boosting scores.
The contrast with what was taking place in Ballybofey at the same time could hardly have been more stark. Regular sparring partners in league and Championship during recent years, no quarter was asked for or given as old foes Donegal and Mayo went at it as though playing in the height of summer.
While Kerry were confronted with a gun-shy Down forward line and a defensive line seemingly unable to lay a glove on their illustrious opponents, the Tir Chonaill men - just back from warm weather training in the Canary Islands - had to dig deep to get the better of the westerners.
The intensity that ensued was preordained by the rivalry fostered between the two. Last Sunday marked the first time Donegal have got the upper hand since an early blitz from Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden put one hand on Sam Maguire in the 2012 All-Ireland final.
Super-sub Leo McLoone finished off a brilliant team move that started on the Donegal half-back line to turn the tie in their favour and the strength of the Tir Chonaill bench will have given Rory Gallagher huge confidence heading to Tralee on Sunday.
“The performance of the subs was very important,” said assistant boss Maxi Curran.
“Martin McElhinney came on and made a massive impact, followed by Anthony Thompson at half-time and then you had Leo McLoone and Christy Toye coming into the frame in the second-half. It gave us a big lift at a time when the game was in the melting pot and we were probably on the back foot. Mayo had got a goal from a penalty and a point straight after, so their tails were up.
“At that stage, the writing was on the wall and it would have been easy for our boys to throw the towel in, but they came back all guns blazing and showed their character.”
Having racked up a total of 6-46 in their three wins so far, an average of over 21 points per game, Donegal will present an entirely different proposition than Fitzmaurice’s men faced last weekend. Of that tally, 3-15 came against Down in the National League opener. They went one better than Kerry then, beating the Mourne men by 17. It would be foolish, though, to use Eamonn Burns’ beleaguered outfit as any kind of yardstick for comparison.
In the absence of the injured David Moran (wrist), Kieran Donaghy and Bryan Sheehan lorded midfield in Newry. And with Sunday marking the official reopening of Austin Stack Park, ‘Star’ will be keen to make his presence felt on his home patch.
Donegal have mixed and matched their midfield combinations thus far. Odhran Mac Niallais and Hugh McFadden was the preferred combination against Down and Mayo, with captain Michael Murphy brought back for the victory over Cork. The return of Rory Kavanagh to the fold gives Gallagher another option at centrefield, where Mac Niallais in particular has caught the eye coming onto the ball from deep before deploying that sweet left foot.
Last week, full-forward Alan Fitzgerald, defender turned attacker Paul Murphy and league debutant Aidan Walsh caught the eye as the Kingdom took the first step on what they hope will be a road to avoiding relegation.
Maxi Curran has watched on as the Kingdom have mounted late escape acts in the past under Fitzmaurice and is wary of being caught by a sucker-punch on Sunday: “I know a bit of form’s important, but Kerry are Kerry.
“I don’t care if Kerry had lost four or five games in the league, when they have to do it they are capable of doing anything. You saw that on the last day against Tyrone a few years ago [in 2013]. They’ll be looking at Donegal as a key game for them.”
With further away days to come against All-Ireland champions Dublin and Ulster kingpins Monaghan, as well as at home to on-song Roscommon, Donegal can keep their momentum going against a Kerry side who - that easy win over Down aside - have yet to find top form.
TEAM NEWS
Kerry: B Kelly; M Ó Sé; M Griffin; S Enright; P Crowley; A O’Mahony; F Fitzgerald; K Donaghy; B Sheehan (c); D Daly; P Murphy; D Walsh; D O’Sullivan; A Fitzgerald; S O’Brien; Subs: B Kealy; P O’Connor; A Walsh; C Cooper; BJ Keane; P Kilkenny; B O’Sullivan; J Buckley; J Sherwood; P O’Connor; C Cox.
Donegal: TBC.
