It should be third time lucky for Kerry

NO matter what way you look at it, Cork footballers face an intimidating challenge in taking on Kerry for the third time in six weeks in tomorrow’s Bank of Ireland championship semi-final in Croke Park (4pm).

The fact that Kerry failed to beat them on consecutive weeks in the two Munster finals is only of minor significance because of a remarkable recovery of form in the interim period.

Most of all, Kieran Donaghy’s metamorphosis from a midfielder into a rampaging full-forward represents a serious threat to Cork ambitions of making the final for the first time since 1999. He’s a star in the making, except that he needs to learn to behave with more dignity on the field.