Kerry U14 v Dublin U14 All Ireland Semi Final Preview.

kerry jerseyKerry and dublin jerseysDublin LGFA jersey

Dublin await Kerry in the All Ireland U14 semi-final next Sunday in Banagher with a throw in time of 3.15. 

Kerry come into the game on the back of a very impressive Munster final victory over Cork in Mallow on May 9th when they defeated Rebels on a 3-5 to 0-7 scoreline. The Kerry victory was all the more noteworthy considering that they had fallen to the Rebels in the round robin part of the competition in Fossa last March. Cork won by 5-3 to 1-8 that day, but Kerry had obviously learned a lot of lessons since that encounter and didn’t make the same mistakes the second time round. 

Before Kerry defeated Cork in the Munster Final, they had to play 2 epic battles against Tipperary. Kerry won the first encounter on a 6-3 to 3-11 scoreline, but had to play the premier county for a second time a short time afterwards when Tipperary objected to the result on a technical issue and were granted a replay. The Kingdom youngsters made no mistake the second time round, and defeated their opponents by 8 points on a 7-5 to 3-9 scoreline. 

Dublin lifted the Leinster title after a 3-8 to 2-6 win over old rivals Meath in the Leinster final. The Sky Blues were cruising at various stages of that match , but Meath kept plugging away and were unlucky not to come away with something from the encounter. Dublin had qualified for the final after tight victories over Kildare (2-10 to 2-8) and Meath again (4-9 to 4-8) in the round robin phase of the competition, and they will be battle hardened after these encounters. Players that performed well for them in the Leinster campaign include midfielder and captain Erica Fields, Jane McGurrin, Alice Rudden, Grace Smith and Ava Lambe. 

Kerry are no slouches when it comes to quality either. Although their game plan is very much team based they still possess outstanding individuals such as their captain Amy Harrington ,Ellie O Connell, Heather McNamara, Munster Final player of the match Fonla Ni Chathasaigh and Melaine Higgins amongst others. 

It promises to be a rip roaring battle on Sunday. Kerry and Dublin clashes at every level are generally close affairs, and this one will hardly be any different !