Byron happy to be facing Kingdom in semi-final

KERRY supporters should not take this up the wrong way, but Laois goalkeeper Fergal Byron is delighted to be playing the Kingdom in the NFL semi-final on Sunday.

To be more precise, the Courtwood keeper is just relieved that, for once, Laois will not be facing an Ulster opponent when it comes to the business end of a national competition.

Ulster has provided the opposition in every one of the last six competitive games the county has played outside the group stages of the national league or Leinster Championship.

In that time, Armagh have faced them three times, Tyrone twice and Derry the other, with Laois' record from those games reading as won two, lost four.

The four defeats two each to Tyrone and Armagh were sobering experiences, so surely nobody was happier than Laois when the northern sides failed to progress.

Kerry were the last non-Ulster team to cross their paths at such an advanced stage of either league or championship and that was back in 2002.

"We haven't had the chance to have a crack at them since then and we relish the thoughts of playing them again," said Byron.

"Same with the All-Ireland series. It would be nice to get a crack at a Connacht or Munster team and avoid the Ulster lads until the final or whatever.

"Kerry are Kerry. Having Mick O'Dwyer here makes it a bit extra special as well. The last time we played Kerry was the Division Two league final in 2002. That was the Gooch's first game that day."

If Laois and Kerry are quite happy in the other's company on Sunday, the same probably can't be said for Galway and Mayo. The likelihood is that both will contest the Connacht final this summer and they would probably have preferred to keep their powder dry until then.

Last year, Mayo went into the provincial decider as favourites but it was Galway who edged a tight, scrappy affair by two points.

For the Tribesmen, it was sweet revenge after a hiding dished out by their neighbours the year before.

"The shoe is on the other foot this year and if we both get to a Connacht final they'll be the ones looking to set the record straight," said Michael

Meehan, who was yesterday named Vodafone Footballer of the Month for March.

"We have two tough games before that though, with Sligo first off and Roscommon then if we do win that."

The league may not be quite so high on the agenda but Sunday's meeting of these old foes has much to recommend it. After harvesting only one point from their first three games, Galway have won four on the spin and Mayo have impressed in all bar the defeat to Dublin.

There was euphoria in McHale Park, Castlebar, on Sunday when a draw with All-Ireland champions Tyrone secured a place in the last four of the league for Mickey Moran's side.

But Austin O'Malley is adamant that the team must return to terra firma immediately ahead of Sunday's test at the hands of Peter Ford's men.

"We have just got to knuckle down again and get our heads right," he said. "We have nothing won yet. We just need to keep our feet on the ground and hopefully it'll be a long summer."

The forward also paid tribute to the team management of Moran, John Morrisson and Kieran Gallagher for showing faith in him.

"I missed about 12 weeks of football at the start when Mickey came in. I broke a couple of fingers and had a back injury," he said.

"Thankfully the lads believed in me and stuck with me, and I'm beginning to turn the corner."

O'Malley has put his indifferent early-season form behind him to be one of Mayo's best players in the last two outings against Dublin and Tyrone.

Ciaran McDonald, meanwhile, is unlikely to figure against Galway due to a hand injury, but Trevor Mortimer, who came on on Sunday last for his first outing this year, has reported no adverse reaction to his leg injury.