Killarney

by Adam Moynihan



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National League: Division 1



Kerry v Mayo



Sunday at 4pm



Croke Park



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There was a time when Croke Park felt as much Kerry’s home as it did Dublin’s. A place where generation after generation of Kerry men and Kerry women found comfort and happiness. When rivals stepped inside that towering cauldron on Jones’ Road to face the green and gold, the prospect was anything but inviting.



In recent years, however, Kerry have been strangers in their own house. Since the county’s last All-Ireland title in 2014, they have won at HQ on just eight occasions, losing 10 games and drawing thrice during the same period. Of the five Croke Park finals and semi-finals (league and championship) they have participated in over the past four seasons, they have prevailed in just one.



Overall, Kerry have only won two of their last 11 matches in the capital.



With those numbers in mind, the importance of their next sojourn to Dublin City – Sunday’s league final against Mayo &#8211; is magnified. Kerry might have earned praise during the early stages of Jack O’Connor’s third term as manager but, when it comes to Kerry football, reputations are forged in Croke Park and nowhere else. And no one will be more acutely aware of that than Jack O’Connor himself.



There are other things at stake: certain players are trying to nail down a starting place for the upcoming championship; beating a fellow All-Ireland contender is rarely a bad thing; there’s a major trophy up for grabs.



But perhaps most importantly of all, victory over Mayo on Sunday will go some way towards restoring Kerry’s confidence at their home away from home.



RIVALRY



While Dublin and Tyrone have been Kerry’s toughest rivals in Croke Park since the turn of the century, Mayo have, in general, been less bothersome. That was up until 2017 when the Connacht side dumped Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s Kerry out of the All-Ireland semi-final after a replay. The most recent meeting between the teams in Croker came in 2019 when a young Kerry side fell short in the National League final (2-10 to 3-11).



Although Kerry bounced back to defeat Mayo in the championship later that year, and league wins followed in 2020 and 2022 (Mayo were in Division 2 in 2021), you still get the sense that Kerry owe them one.



For his part, the current Kerry manager knows exactly how important the league can be for building momentum. O’Connor used Division 1 triumphs as a springboard for championship success in both of his previous “first” years at the helm (2004 and 2009).



Kerry have fielded strong teams throughout the spring and only when their spot in the league final was already assured did they falter. Last weekend’s home loss against Tyrone was unpleasant but, with nothing really to play for, the players can be forgiven for having one eye on the final.



O’Connor and his management team of Micheál Quirke and Diarmuid Murphy, along with coach Paddy Tally, will not tolerate such complacency this weekend.



TEAM NEWS



Perhaps the biggest team news for both sides is centred around their substitutes. For Kerry, Seán O’Shea is fit enough to return to the squad and take the No. 25 jersey, and veteran midfielder David Moran will wear 26 after recovering from a nasty groin injury.



Mayo’s all-time leading scorer Cillian O’Connor is also set for a comeback after being named amongst the substitutes for the first time this season.



On the pitch, Kerry welcome back Shane Ryan, Gavin White, Jack Barry, Paudie Clifford, Adrian Spillane and Dara Moynihan.



For Mayo, Pádraig O’Hora, Enda Hession and Conor Loftus start.



The westerners will lean on the likes of experienced defender Lee Keegan, accomplished midfielders Jordan Flynn and Matthew Ruane, and the free-scoring Ryan O’Donoghue.



James Horan’s team won four of their seven league games and ultimately booked their place in the final with a relatively comfortable victory over Kildare.



That last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists have reached the final is quite remarkable considering the fact that they effectively played all of their matches away from home. As the pitch at MacHale Park was being resurfaced, their designated home games were staged in Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim.



That being said, there’s no denying that the reigning Munster champions are coming in as favourites. With White and Paudie Clifford back in the starting 15 and O&#8217;Shea and Moran potentially featuring as well, Jack O&#8217;Connor&#8217;s men look to be in decent shape.



Verdict: Kerry by two.



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Follow <a href="http://www.twitter.com/adammoynihan">@AdamMoynihan</a> on Twitter for all the latest updates from Croke Park.



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