GAA: IAN O'RIORDANreports on the team news from both camps ahead of Sunday's semi-final clash at Croke Park
NOT FOR the first time a tight hamstring has cost Paul Galvin his place in the Kerry team. Having suffered a recurrence of the injury during a training game last weekend, Galvin has been ruled out of the starting line-up for Sunday’s All-Ireland football semi-final against Mayo – although he is listed among the substitutes.
It means there is one change from the team that beat Limerick in the quarter-final last month: Kieran O’Leary from Dr Crokes is called into the forward line, although named at number 15 in an apparent swap with Darran O’Sullivan, who is now listed to start in Galvin’s right wing forward position, alongside Declan O’Sullivan and Donnchadh Walsh.
O’Leary in fact replaced Darran O’Sullivan the last day, after he was forced to retire early with a hamstring scare – having just scored arguably the goal of the championship.
As expected defender Tomás Ó Sé has recovered from the minor hamstring injury he also sustained over the weekend, during the final closed-door squad training session at Fota Island Resort, in Cork, and thus retains his place at right wing back – with Eoin Brosnan also retaining his place at centre back, despite earlier speculation to the contrary.
The dilemma there, it seems, is that defender Shane Enright, who came on against Limerick, and was expected to take over from Brosnan in a re-jigged defence, is also nursing an injury, and therefore not deemed fit to start. Although like Galvin he too is named among the substitutes.
Anthony Maher from Duagh and Bryan Sheehan from St Mary’s will again form the midfield partnership, although interestingly, Tommy Griffin returns to the substitutes, following Michael Quirke’s decision to retire following the win over Limerick.
For opponents Mayo the intention, understandably so, is to name an unchanged team from that which defeated Cork, but manager James Horan is awaiting fitness updates on a couple of key players before announcing his starting line-up for Sunday.
Chief among them is defender Trevor Mortimer and forward Peadar Gardiner, who will undergo further fitness tests tonight before Moran decides whether or not to include them for Sunday’s trip to Croke Park: it means the team is not now expected to be released until sometime tomorrow.
Both Mortimer and Gardiner have been receiving daily treatment for the last week on their respective quad muscle and hamstring injuries, and while Mortimer is still likely to play some role, Gardiner – who was a second half substitute in the quarter-final win – is deemed the more doubtful.
“The management are assessing a few players in the treatment room,” said Mayo press officer Aiden McLoughlin, “and don’t want the team released until some further fitness tests.”
Westport’s Lee Keegan is the player widely believed to come in should Mortimer fail to recover in time, having played in his position at a final practice match over the weekend. There is also speculation that Jason Doherty is pushing hard for inclusion in the full forward line at the expense of Enda Varley while Alan Feeney may also be considered for a place in the defence.
Substitute goalkeeper David Clarke is almost certainly ruled out with a knee ligament injury, which means Kenneth O’Malley, who trained with Mayo last weekend, will come in as the number two to Robert Hennelly.
Ultimately, however, Moran is said to be keen to stick with the starting line-up that beat the All-Ireland champions 1-13 to 2-6 on July 31st – for what was Mayo’s first championship win over Cork since 1916.
Kerry have a definite edge on Mayo at championship level, having won four of their last five clashes. However, Mayo won the last semi-final clash between the counties, in 1996, when they beat Kerry 2-13 to 1-10. Kerry are also back in what will be their 11th semi-final in 12 seasons (they missed out last year after losing to Down in the quarter-final) while Mayo last appeared in the semi-final in 2006, when they beat Dublin.
Should Mayo stick with the same team that beat Cork, only two players will survive from the team that started the 2006 All-Ireland defeat to Kerry; Keith Higgins in defence, and Alan Dillon in the forward line – although Gardiner, Ronan McGarrity and Dermot Geraghty remain on the substitutes list.
For Darran O’Sullivan, meanwhile, that defeat to Down in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final remains the principal source of motivation this summer, and is spurring him and Kerry to get back into another All-Ireland final.
“Not getting to the All-Ireland final last year was a low I had never felt before,” he said. “You find yourselves three or four weeks later asking why we don’t do this or what was I was doing? Watching the game back that feeling got me back training earlier. I couldn’t wait. It drives you on. I couldn’t go through that again.”
