Kingdom can lay some old ghosts to rest at the Páirc

| By Adam Moynihan

It isn’t often that Kerry go more than two years without playing at Páirc Uí Chaoimh but that’s how things have panned out.

Since that awful night in November of 2020 when Mark Keane’s last-ditch goal knocked Kerry out of the Covid championship, we haven’t been back. The sides met in Killarney in 2021 and last year’s encounter was staged at Páirc Uí Rinn because of Ed Sheeran.

In fact, it’s even longer since Kerry fans have made the traditional pilgrimage to the banks of the Lee to support the senior footballers. The 2020 match was played behind closed doors, so the last game with Kerry supporters present was 2019.

I was one of the unlucky few to have been present in 2020 and I remember it all too well. The rain came down hard and so did Kerry. It always hurts when your team loses but that one completely floored me. It was such a horrible way to lose a game and I felt so bad for the players as they trudged off the field, soaked to the bone and shaken to the core.

They got some form of payback the following year when they won by 21 in the Munster final, and again last year when they ran out 11-point winners in the semi-final. But something tells me that it would mean a lot more to return to Páirc Uí Chaoimh and do the business there.

It won’t be easy. The final scorelines in the last two games suggest that it was all one-way traffic but that simply wasn’t the case. In 2021, Cork led by 1-5 to 0-4 at the water break (remember those?) and they pushed Kerry hard 12 months ago too. There was nothing in that match right up until the 50th minute, at which point Kerry brought on David Moran and Paul Geaney and ultimately pulled away. You can never really read too much into the McGrath Cup but Cork demolished Kerry in January. Their form since has been spotty but they did well to see off Louth last week, with the returning Brian Hurley (shoulder) kicking eight points in a two-point win. Hurley has proved to be a handful for Kerry full back Jason Foley in the past.

Significantly, John Cleary’s side are strong in a key area where Kerry struggled against Mayo: midfield. Ian Maguire and Colm O’Callaghan scored 0-2 each in Navan (and the latter scored 2-4 in that aforementioned McGrath Cup game at the start of the year).

It is also worth noting that David Clifford has never really shot the lights out against Cork. He has been well minded by Maurice Shanley, Seán Meehan and Kevin Flahive in the past three championship meetings, with the retreating Seán Powter also getting stuck in when needed.

Flahive suffered a cruciate injury late in last year’s game so it will probably be left to Meehan to track the Footballer of the Year this time.

Clifford was one of the few bright sparks against Mayo and he would love to bring that form to the Páirc on Saturday. With vital points on the line as Kerry try to secure a second-place finish (at least), there would be no better time to lay some ghosts to rest.

I expect Clifford and his teammates to do just that. Kerry to win, maybe not by a huge margin, but by enough.