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You are > Home > Kerry to stop Down’s momentum
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Thursday, July 29, 2010
Kerry to stop Down’s momentum
BY BRENDAN McCARTHY
UNTIL Down’s trouncing of beaten Connacht finalists Sligo on Sunday, the Mournemen had made solid if unspectacular progress through the qualifier series.
Ever since the All-Ireland quarter-final draw was made at 6.30pm on Sunday evening, much of the inevitable talk that greets a fixture like Down versus Kerry is being bandied about – Kerry have never beaten Down in the championship, Down will not fear Kerry, etc etc.
While it is true that Down beat Kerry in the All-Ireland finals of 1960, 1968 and the All-Ireland semi-final in 1991, those results will have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on Saturday’s game between the present sides.
Kerry, injuries and suspensions aside, are exactly where Jack O’Connor and his team want to be – in an All-Ireland quarter-final having gone the short route though with tough matches against Cork (twice) and Limerick under their belts.
Allied to this, after a lengthy break from competitive action and with talismanic and vital players like Paul Galvin and Tomás Ó Sé out of the frame, Down are a much-preferred option at this stage, rather than Ulster neighbours Tyrone, or Cork and possibly a resurgent Kildare.
Down began their campaign with a last-gasp extra-time 1-15 to 2-10 win over Donegal in Ballybofey, a hard place to eke out a victory at any time.
As has often been the case, ace attacker Benny Coulter proved the difference between the sides, scoring a lead goal with four minutes remaining in the tie.
Down’s next outing was against Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final and this was a game in which James McCartan’s men really flattered to deceive. After a whirlwind opening where they looked as though they were consigning this great Tyrone team to the annals of history, they fell apart in alarming fashion and ran out far more comprehensive losers than the 0-14 to 0-10 final scoreline suggests.
No honest Down supporter would, or indeed could, argue with the fact that they have been somewhat lucky with the qualifier draws that they received.
First up was Longford, and though Glenn Ryan’s team had beaten perennial, under-achievers Mayo, it was generally expected that Down would overcome this challenge at home in Newry.
They duly did, but Longford, a Division Four side, really put it up to them for long periods of the game.
It was Down who eventually emerged to face Offaly on the third round of qualifiers on a scoreline of 1-14 to 1-10. Australian Rules returnee, Martin Clarke chipped in with 1-5, 1-3 of which came from placed balls.
Offaly, another Division Four team, went stride for stride with Down for much of this game played at O’Connor Park in Tullamore.
Again it was the accuracy of Clarke that in no small part pushed them over the finishing line. Clarke chipped in 0-5 from a final total of 1-12 against Offaly’s 1-10.
Last Saturday’s game must be analysed in the context in which it was played.
Down entered the fray in Kingspan Breffni Park on the crest of a morale boosting winning wave. Momentum is a great thing and it was something that Sligo certainly did not have, six days after a devastating loss to Roscommon in the Connacht final.
Connacht football is going through one of its lowest troughs in decades with not a realistically competitive team amongst them.
With no respect to the efforts of Roscommon and Sligo respectively, the fact that both Galway and Mayo were gone by the business end of the provincial championship says a lot.
It is an impossible and evidently incorrect expectation to ask beaten provincial finalists to tog out six days after a heartbreaking defeat.
Monaghan also proved this on Saturday afternoon against Kildare.
Down’s dangermen are in attack and they have scorers in their front six.
Benny Coulter can create from nothing while Martin Clarke is proving himself one of the most reliable deadball kickers in this year’s championship.
Throw John Clarke, Poland, McComiskey, Hughes and midfielder Ambrose Rodgers into the mix and it is clear to see that Down have a potent forward line.
Rodgers and King form a formidable midfield duo and will more than hold their own against whatever Kerry pairing takes the field.
Defence is where Down have perceived weaknesses, however, James McCartan will be hoping that Dan Gordon will be able to put the shackles on Kieran Donaghy.
For all of their talent, Down have scored an average of 18 points per game in this year’s championship, while they have shipped just a shade over 13.
Taking the Sligo walkover out of the equation, this statistic reads 15 points for and just over 11 against.
Big questions will be asked of Down on Saturday. Can they outscore this talented Kerry forward line and in conjunction with this, will their defence be able to hold them?
And can Coulter and company do enough in Croke Park to get the tally of scores they will undoubtedly need to win?
Kerry have played a better class of opposition in their four games to date – Tipperary, Cork (twice) and Limerick – than Down, with the exception of Tyrone, have.
Verdict: Kerry by at least six points.
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