Don’t necessarily expect another classic, but Kerry and Derry clash could still be special

The last meeting between these sides could be fairly described as the game of the summer.

Granted last year’s championship was far from vintage, even so the All Ireland semi-final clash between the pair was a genuine corker. A game that had been billed as a likely arm-wrestle instead emerged as a rollercoaster ride that left everyone on the edge of their seat, gasping for breath.

Inside the opening sixty seconds there was a pair of goal-scoring chances down either end. The first goal followed four minutes in. It was practically non-stop, end-to-end action.

And Derry, well Derry were simply sensational. In the first half particularly so, they ended it with a simply sensational 84% rate of return on chances created. It doesn’t get more clinical than that.

The trouble was, of course, that the Oak Leaf county were never going to be able to replicate that in the second half, and Kerry did as Kerry do, they adapted, they found a way to turn the tide as Derry lost their way a little.

Even so, for the Derry faithful (not to mention players and management) there must have been a gnawing sense of one that got away. They were that good, and had Kerry lost they would have had few complaints about it.

Derry have had the bones of seven months since to ruminate over the defeat, to consider what might have been, which might add a little bit of spice to this latest meeting, the Celtic Park outfit’s first competitive game since letting that place in the All Ireland final slip.

While we probably shouldn’t expect a game of equal quality again, it’s still January after all, or even the same sort of swashbuckling football, there’s enough on the line here to make this one of the ties, if not the tie, of the round.

Newly promoted Derry will want to get points on the board as soon as possible, while Kerry have the look of a side very determined to hit the ground running this year after a somewhat sluggish start to 2023.

Oh, yeah, and Derry have a new management team in place, headed by no less than Mickey Harte, a man who has been a thorn in the side of Kerry on more than one occasion over the years.

While there might be a sense that Harte is past his peak years in management, the Tyrone native still has a tack-sharp mind and reading of the game, and wouldn’t have taken on this Derry challenge if he hadn’t seen an All Ireland title as an attainable goal.

A bit like his counterpart, Jack O’Connor, Harte seems to have set out his stall early this year. Derry have been near flawless in the McKenna Cup, winning the final against Jim McGuiness’ Donegal by double scores, 0-12 to 0-6.

Of course, one wouldn’t want to read a whole pile in the pre-season competitions, except maybe for vibes and the vibes are good out of Derry, as they are out of the Kingdom.

Even though the green and gold missed out to Cork in the McGrath Cup Final on the weekend, Jack O’Connor’s men got enough out of the exercise to suggest they’ll be well set for the start of this year’s National League.

Players like Joe O’Connor, Armin Heinrich (in his first start), Dylan Geaney and Cillian Burke have shown enough to give a fresh impetus to the Kingdom’s starting fifteen.

Others such as Dylan Casey and Seán O’Brien won’t be far off it either, while others such as Keith Evans maybe looked a little bit raw still, albeit with obvious potential that needs nurturing.

The fact that the Clifford brothers, Paudie and David, are due to sit out the opening few rounds of the league might weaken the Kingdom a little in the short term, but it’s a case of short-term pain, long term gain as there’s a sense that the young guns who’ve impressed to date need to be be given their head in this contest as Kerry really do need to boost their options this season.

Derry boss Harte has been thinking along similar lines, giving players like Diarmuid Baker game time in pre-season.

“It is always good to have more players who are capable of playing at the level you want. I suppose to prove that, they have to get experience of playing at that level,” the Tyrone native said after victory over Donegal on the weekend.

“If you can introduce them in a competition like this, you can begin to see who can hold their own at this level. That gives them the confidence to believe they can to it as well.

“That would be a really good outcome of this competition, that we have three or four more players that we could be into an intense kind of game in Division 1 in the National Football League and you would know they could do proud of themselves.”

Still it’s the core Derry players who Kerry will be most wary of, guys like Chrissy McKaigue, Gareth McKinless, Brendan Rogers and Shane McGuigan (who can expect to resume battle against Kerry full-back Jason Foley).

What, though, of the Glen players? How many of those should we expect to return to the fold this weekend following their heroics against Roscommon’s St Brigid’s in Croke Park on Sunday?

“Well, that’s the six million dollar question,” Harte commented wryly.

“It depends who if any of the Glen players feel they want to travel and want to be available. I really don’t know who that would be, but if any of them put their hands up then we will be glad to have them.”

Without the Glen contingent – led by inspirational captain and club final hero Conor Glass – Derry will be a formidable foe for the Kingdom this weekend, as will Kerry be for the Oak Leaf county.

“It is a different ball game, a higher level but we will go there and give it our best shot,” Harte said.

“This doesn’t guarantee anything in Kerry. It means we will have to work twice as hard in Tralee as we did tonight to get anything.”

It’s a tie that’s sure to draw a large crowd to the John Joe Sheehy Road, it’s a game that’s going to be hard-fought for the very simple reason that it’ll go a long away towards setting the tone for the following weeks.

The Kingdom won’t want to start off the year on the backfoot and at home they’re generally very hard beaten. Derry could do it, but on this occasion we think the odds favour the green and gold, just about.

Verdict: Kerry

ALLIANZ NFL DIVISION 1, ROUND 1

Kerry v Derry

Saturday, January 27

Austin Stack Park, 5.30pm

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