IN RECENT times, we’re told that Kerry’s bogey team are Tyrone and, in the context of the last decade, it’s impossible to argue with that.
But long before Mickey Harte unleashed his skill, fury and brilliance on the national stage, it was the Mourne County men who were the bane of the Kingdom’s lives.
Old wounds heal the hardest, and there are still those down Kerry way who remember those All-Ireland final defeats in 1960 and ’68 when the men of Down were simply unstoppable.
Over the decades, the sight of a Kerry jersey has placed fear in the hearts of opponents, but it seems Mourne County men are immune.
And this week, Down forward John Clarke said he and his teammates were relishing the chance to topple the reigning All-Ireland champions.
“Obviously, it’s a tough draw, probably the toughest draw we could have got,” Clarke said, adding: “We want to pit ourselves against Kerry, and it will be a good test for us and one we will look forward to. Kerry are the best in Ireland at the minute, so it will be a big challenge for us.”
There are injury worries on both sides ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final. In their comprehensive qualifier win over Sligo, Benny Coulter and Damian Rafferty were forced off and manager James McCartan says it’ll be a race against time for them to be fit to face Kerry.
He said: “Damien has an arm injury and Benny got a kick to the leg, and there was no way that either of them could continue in the match. It’s always a worry when players pick up an injury, and with only a week until our next match (against Kerry), the two lads don’t have much time to recover from their injuries. We won’t know until later in the week how the two of them are fixed for next weekend.”
A trio of Kerry players — defenders Padraig Reidy, Killian Young and midfielder Seamus Scanlon — are all currently on the treatment table with the former two both rated very doubtful.
With Paul Galvin and Tomas Ó Sé suspended for the meeting with the Mourne County, Jack O’Connor will be keeping his fingers crossed that there’s good news from the team medics before the week’s end.
The winners of the Kerry-Down game will play whichever side prevails in the Leinster derby between Meath and Kildare, where the Lilywhites will aim to answer their manager Kieran McGeeney’s call for a more improved performance than the one they gave in the win over Monaghan.