KERRY will be without two of the players who contributed to the defeat of Down in the quarter finals of the National Football League when they face Laois in the semi final at Croke Park on Sunday.
Out of action because of injuries suffered in that match are Dara O Cinneide and Gene Farrell both of whom were replaced during the second half of the Down match.
Brian Clarke who replaced O Cinneide at full forward is now selected in his own right while John Crowley is standing by, having replaced Gene Farrell in the quarter final. The selectors have left the right corner forward position vacant.
Under the selectorial microscope at last night's Munster under 21 championship final against Cork in Tralee were Barry O'Shea, the senior Kerry fullback for Sunday from O'Rahilly's in Tralee and Denis O'Dwyer at left half forward from Waterville also included for Croke Park.
Also being watched in that game for an appearance on Sunday were James O'Shea and Mike Frank Russell.
The loss of O Cinneide and Farrell will certainly weaken the Kerry side but there are many options' open in spite of this setback. The selectors can call two other members of the under 21 side into service namely, John Brennan, a corner forward from Castle Island and John Crowley, who came in as a sub in the half forward line in the match against Down and made a very good impression.
Much, however, will depend on Pa Laide who scored a goal and two points in the match against Down and Maurice Fitzgerald.
The vacancy at right corner forward was caused, indirectly, by the injury to O Cinneide in Kerry's victory over Down and a decision that neither he nor Farrell would be fit for the semi final was made early in the week. There are fears that both may be out of action for some time, however, and there is genuine concern about their availability for the championship.
O Cinneide has badly torn ankle ligaments and Farrell has had serious knee trouble which has not been helped by the fact that, apart from his commitments to Kerry, he has also been playing for his club and in the Sigerson Cup as well, thus not giving the injury sufficient time to heal.
The Kerry selectors did not name a list of substitutes when they announced the composition of the side yesterday morning but they are expected to include several other members of the under 21 side provided that they have come through last night's match unscathed.
The fact that the selectors have continued to play Maurice Fitzgerald in the corner of the attack has surprised many but the fact that he scored nine points in the match against Down removes most of the criticism.
The point, however, is that only two of those points were from play, and this begs the question as to whether or not he could be a more potent force as a scoring forward, in any of the half forward positions.
The Kildare selectors have postponed selection of their side until tonight with doubts being expressed about three crucial positions.
Their centre half back Glen Ryan has a niggling knee injury for which he has been having treatment since Kildare's narrow quarter final victory over Offaly. Also in fitness trouble is centre forward Declan Kerrigan, who hash a back strain problem, while full forward Martin Lynch has a hamstring injury which is reported to be responding to treatment, but slowly.
Laois, meanwhile, have indicated that there will be no changes in their team for the match. The only question seems to be about the actual starting spot of Hugh Emerson. He tore the Derry defence to shreds in the quarter final and ended up with a personal tally of 3-1 as Laois ran up a winning score of 4-10 to 1-13. Emerson's switch to full forward on that occasion was what finally unlocked the Derry defence and it will be interesting to see where he lines out on Sunday, a piece of information which we will not be able to glean until the match is actually under way.
The Telecom Eireann football inter district tournament is being held in Killarney this weekend. On Saturday the Limerick division will meet Portlaoise while Drogheda will meet Sligo at the Spa Ground. At the Legion pitch, Cork will play Waterford and Galway will play Dublin. The semifinals and final will take place at the Legion club on Sunday.
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