After coming close to dethroning Dublin last year, Kerry will try again in 2020. They begin their Championship on Sunday against Munster rivals Cork. Cork, sailed to the top of Division 3 and aim to bring that form into Sunday.
For the first time since 2017, Kerry won the National League by capitalising on Galway’s poor results in the last two games. Firstly, a win on the round to Monaghan showed no signs of rustiness after an extended absence. Secondly, a strong performance against Donegal in round 7 reminded everyone why Kerry are serious Championship contenders.
The Kingdom’s full-forward line has been firing on all fronts. David Clifford continues to be a generational talent. Furthermore, Tony Brosnan of Dr Crokes looks to have a place in the first fifteen nailed down.
Further back, Brosnan’s clubmate Gavin White has also made himself almost undroppable. Two outstanding games has seen the half-back nominated for Player of the Month.
In Division 3, Cork had a perfect record. In seven games, the rebels showed they were a class above their opponents. However, without ever being truly tested, it’s been hard to get an accurate reflection of how Ronan McCarthy’s team are shaping up ahead of the Championship.
2012 was the last time they won the Munster Championship. Yet, Cork still often emerged from the qualifiers. But, this year’s competition offers no back door. McCarthy’s side are major underdogs going into this one but they’ve rivalries like this always bring out the best performances.
Cork have had a week longer than Kerry to prepare for this game. Peter Keane has suggested this is an advantage to his opponent given the toll taken by the winter conditions.
The competitiveness of this rivalry has somewhat diminished in recent years. However, there have already been shocks in this year’s Championship. Hence, Kerry can’t afford to take their foot off the gas in Munster.
Paddy Power have Kerry priced at 1/5 as opposed to Cork’s 4/1. A draw is 11/1.
The match is live on RTÉ.
Prediction: Kerry.
Team News
Kerry : Shane Ryan; Jason Foley, Tadhg Morley, Tom O’Sullivan; Paul Murphy, Peter Crowley, Gavin White; David Moran, Diarmuid O’Connor; Stephen O’Brien, Sean O’Shea, Ronan Buckley; Tony Brosnan, David Clifford, Dara Moynihan.
Cork : Micheal Martin; Sean Powter, Maurice Shanley, Kevin Flahive; Kevin O’Donovan, Sean Meehan, Mattie Taylor; Ian Maguire, Killian O’Hanlon; John O’Rourke, Colm O’Callaghan, Ruairi Deane; Mark Collins, Brian Hurley, Luke Connolly.
Subs: Anthony Casey, Sam Ryan, Paul Ring, Michael Hurley, Tadhg Corkery, Paul Walsh, Kevin O’Driscoll, Sean White, Paul Kerrigan, Mark Keane, Damien Gore.
Munster Championship Semi-Final: Cork vs Kerry, Sunday, November 8th, 16:00 (Páirc Uí Chaoimh).
Here are the @PwCIreland GAA/GPA Football Player of the Month nominees for October! #PwCAllStars
Who would you vote for? ⭐
Congratulations to @RoscommonGAA's Enda Smith, @TyroneGAALive's Conor McKenna and @Kerry_Official's Gavin White! pic.twitter.com/U50yDLGxLi
— The GAA (@officialgaa) November 3, 2020
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