Jackies ready for All-Ireland quarter-final against Kerry

Sun, 4th August 2019

TG4 All Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final – ET if necessary

Dublin v Kerry; Bord na Móna O’Connor Park, Tullamore, (Monday, 4.45)

Dublin stuttered against Westmeath in the Leinster Final before finally coming good to claim an eighth straight provincial title.

The Sky Blues, going for a third successive All-Ireland title, appear to have blown off the cobwebs with big victories over Waterford and Monaghan since then in the group stages of the All-Ireland series, but there may still be a fear that they haven’t been fully tested.

Kerry’s passage to the last eight of the All-Ireland series has been far from straightforward.

They didn’t make the Munster Final but showed improved form to run Galway to four points, before claiming a gritty two-point victory against Westmeath in front of a big Killarney crowd last Sunday to make it through.

Kerry know that they need a huge step-up in performance to match up to Dublin, who have beaten them in the 2018 quarter-final and in the semi-finals two years ago.

Both sides are an hour away from a semi-final slot at Croke Park on August 25, where they’ll meet Cork.

Bord na Móna Park in Tullamore will provide the fitting backdrop to what should be a fiercely-contested tie.

DUBLIN (v Kerry): C Trant; É Rutledge, N Collins, M Byrne; A Kane, S Goldrick, O Carey; L Magee, S McGrath; C Rowe, N McEvoy, L Davey; S Aherne, N Healy, J Dunne.

KERRY (v Dublin): L Fitzgerald; A O’Reilly, E Lynch, J O’Sullivan; A O’Connell, T Breen, C Murphy; L Scanlon, A Brosnan; N Carmody, A Galvin, E Dineen; S Houlihan, L Ní Mhuircheartaigh, H O’Donoghue.