Kerry v Armagh, Austin Stack Park, 7.00pm

Saturday, February 11
Allianz Football League Division I
Kerry v Armagh, Austin Stack Park, 7.00pm

Under normal circumstances, Kerry tend not to be overly concerned with results this early in the year. The Kingdom are wont to slowly feeling their way into the League and extending themselves only when the need arises. However, there was a very definite urgency in their play in the Allianz League opening day defeat of Dublin in Croke Park last Saturday.

Granted, Kerry had the added motivation of playing against the side that beat them in the previous year’s All-Ireland final. However, there is a sense that after seeing their two greatest rivals, Cork and Dublin, taking home ‘Sam’ in the last two seasons, 2012 could be a defining year for Jack O’Connor’s side.

In a revealing interview with Setanta Sports last Sunday, Paul Galvin admitted just how important the win over Dublin was to him while also speaking of his desire to pass on some of his experience to some of the youngsters who auditioned for inclusion on a more permanent basis on Saturday night.

Brian Maguire, Peter Crowley, Shane Enright and James O’Donoghue all performed well and look more than capable of plugging some of the gaps that have yet to be filled after the retirements of some high-profile players in recent years.

It was far from a perfect performance from Kerry, but there was enough there for supporters to pin their hopes for a successful year on. In scoring 1-14, Kerry registered 17 wides, but that is to be expected at this time of the year, especially with Colm Cooper out of the picture and Declan O'Sullivan just having returned to the squad.

It’s a pretty daunting trip for a young and inexperienced Armagh side. Their manager Paddy O’Rourke admitted that his players were overwhelmed and a little bit intimdated by Cork in the draw at the Morgan Athletic Grounds on Sunday.

After conceding a dreadful early goal to Paul Kerrigan, Armagh looked in real trouble until they staged a stirring comeback in the second half with Brian Mallon salvaging a deserved draw close to the end. They were, however, fortunate that Cork played with 14 men for most of the game following Kerrigan’s first half dismissal.

With Jamie Clarke and Steven McDonnell unavailable, Eugene McVerry and Aidan Forker, minors in 2009 and 2010 respectively, are very young to shoulder the scoring burden, but O’Rourke had the faith he put in them repaid handsomely with the pair scoring all but three points of Armagh’s 10-point total.

Two other newcomers, goalkeeper Niall Geoghan and midfielder John Kingham, a Monaghan native, were at fault for the soft goal conceded against the Rebels. These things will happen when trying out new players, but the most important thing from Armagh’s point of view is that they did not let their heads drop after such a dispiriting start.

The trip to Austin Stack Park is always a daunting one, but it's one O’Rourke’s young side should gain massive experience from. With Kerry in such promising early season form, though, it’s very likely going to be a losing experience for the Orchard County.