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You are > Home > O’Mahony to return as Kerry prepare for test
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Thursday, July 29, 2010
O’Mahony to return as Kerry prepare for test
BY KIERAN McCARTHY
RETURNING Kerry footballer Aidan O’Mahony is in pole position to replace the suspended Tomás Ó Sé in the Kerry team to play Down in this weekend’s All-Ireland senior football championship quarterfinal.
The Rathmore man, who took a break from gaelic football earlier this summer, is the man that is tipped to fill in for Ó Sé, who serves a one-match ban this weekend.
O’Mahony is the obvious choice in light of Padraig Reidy’s injury as he has the experience and class to slot straight into the Kerry full back line.
That said, question marks must be raised over his match sharpness, as although he has played well for Rathmore in recent games, this will be his first championship match of the year.
Another possible change will see David Moran partner Seamus Scanlon in midfield, in place of Micheál Quirke who is suffering with a calf injury.
Moran has been going well in training and he will add plenty of mobility to the Kerry midfield, though he needs to take his chance this Saturday against Down as he didn’t impress when he started the Munster SFC semi-final replay against Cork, being hauled off in the first half.
The man that replaced Moran that day, Paul Galvin, will serve the second part of his two-game suspension, and that means that Darran O’Sullivan is set to retain his spot in the half forward line.
The introduction of O’Mahony for Tomás Ó Sé, as well as David Moran for Quirke look like being the only two changes to the Kerry line-up for this weekend’s quarterfinal.
In terms of the quarterfinal draw, Lady Luck certainly favoured Kerry but it would be silly to underestimate a Down team that have been building all the way through the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Having beaten Donegal in the first round of the Ulster champions, they then lost 014 to 0-10 against Tyrone in a provincial semi-final.
That sent them into the qualifiers where they have now defeated Longford and Offaly before Saturday’s emphatic 3-20 to 0-10 win against Sligo.
But there is no point in reading too much into that match as Sligo were coming off the back of a heartbreaking Connacht final loss.
That said, Down’s clinical display is worth taking notice of as a score of 3-20 is serious.
Benny Coulter, who is a doubt for the game with a leg injury, is their main man to watch up front while Martin Clarke helps to form what is a strong full forward line, along with John Clarke at full forward.
These three are all capable of scoring so the Kerry full back line of Marc Ó Sé, Tommy Griffin and Tom O’Sullivan need to be a lot tighter than they were against Limerick in the Munster final.
Midfield will be crucial as Down’s pairing of Kallum King and Ambrose Rogers have impressed this year and midfield is not exactly an area where Kerry have set the world on fire this season.
If it is Moran and Scanlon in midfield for Kerry, then they need to break even here and if they achieve that then the likes of Colm Cooper, Declan O’Sullivan and Kieran Donaghy will let their feet do the talking in Croker, once they get the supply of ball.
It’s also worth mentioning the Croke Park factor as Kerry’s players just thrive in the big, open pitch in GAA headquarters. It’s where they really come into their own.
While Down have been gaining momentum through the qualifiers, the rest will have helped Kerry and expect them to start moving towards peak form, with September in mind.
Saturday, August 31
All-Ireland SFC quarter-final
Kerry v Down
Throw-in: 2pm
Venue: Croke Park
* The game will be live on RTÉ
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