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Gavin O’Connor looks at the Kerry v Mayo, Allianz National League Division 1 Round 5 match in Castlebar on Sunday (2:30pm – Highlights on RTE League Sunday)
Kieran Donaghy comes away with the ball against Donegal in round 4 of the Allianz National Football League Division 1. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
THESE two old rivals will face each other with recent history in the league firmly on the side of the men from the west.
Last week, Kerry came through what was dubbed the ‘Battle of Tralee’ against Donegal, while Mayo registered long overdue points on the road in Monaghan (1-12 2-11).
Mayo are still in dire need of a couple more wins to guarantee survival. A loss this Sunday will have them staring at the drop with two matches left in the campaign.
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After last week’s firestorm in Austin Stack Park, Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s rejuvenated side are looking up instead of down. Kerry are now in with a real shout for a semi-final spot after two wins against Down (0-6 – 0-22) and Donegal (1-13 – 1-8).
New Mayo manager, Stephen Rochford, will once again be without the services of Cillian O’Connor and Keith Higgins. He will still have All-Stars Aidan O’Shea and Lee Keegan at his disposal.
Mayo were unlucky not to get anything out of games against Dublin (0-7 – 0-9) and Donegal (1-14 – 1-12). It looked like it was going to be a similar story in Monaghan when they lost Aidan O’Shea to a black card 10 minutes in, but they dug deep to earn two valuable points.
Kerry will be without Alan Fitzgerald who received a straight red last week for striking Neil McGee (you may have heard about this!). Killian Young, Tommy Walsh and David Moran are still recovering from knocks so will once again be unavailable.
However, the panel did receive a boost this week with the return of Mikey Geaney to full training following surgery on his back at the end of 2015, though this match may also come too soon for the Dingle man to feature.
Castlebar has not been a happy hunting ground for the Kingdom, who over a decade have only won twice at McHale Park.
In fact the recent National League record against Mayo makes for grim reading across the board. Since 2005, Kerry have played Mayo on 12 occasions, winning a paltry two times, drawing one and losing seven.
Unfortunately, I feel that trend will continue because the thought of relegation can put a real rocket underneath a side.
Lee Keegan spoke during the week saying “it’s all championship from here”, the graveness of the situation hitting home for the Westport native.
Will Kerry approach this like a championship match? Doubtful. Are Mayo too good go down? Yes.
Verdict – Mayo by 3
