The forgotten men

INJURED Kerry football star David Moran is backing his team-mates for All-Ireland glory and in the process ease some of the pain he has felt after a frustrating spell on the sidelines.

A season-ending cruciate ligament injury, suffered in a National League match away to Monaghan in April, robbed the Kerry midfielder of the chance to nail down a starting spot in Jack O’Connor’s team this season.

It means Moran will be sitting in the stands when his Kerry team-mates face Dublin in the All-Ireland final.

Moran revealed: “I’ll be there as a fan, just like everyone else, with my family. It will be something different and hopefully it’s not something that I will get used to.

Well on the road to recovery, following an operation on the injured knee on May 20, Moran’s latest meeting with his surgeon, just three weeks ago, showed everything is well on course for a successful comeback next year.

Moran has put his disappointment to one side as he cheered his team-mates on every step of their All-Ireland voyage, and a win over Dublin on Sunday would certainly ease the pain he has felt in the last few months.

“It’s always frustrating being injured, and more so with a long-term injury like this. You just have to get on with it, grit your teeth. It’s irrelevant that I won’t be involved. You just change from a Kerry player to a Kerry fan.”

Moran admits Kerry’s big day experience may not be as crucial as some pundits predict.

“These Kerry guys are experienced campaigners, they have been involved in successful teams in the past and they know what is needed. That experience could work to Kerry’s advantage but look at the other side of the coin too, look at how Gooch, Donaghy and Declan O’Sullivan played in their first All-Ireland finals, it seemed to spur them on. It could be the same for the Dublin guys on Sunday because while none of them have played in an All-Ireland final before, the fact that it is a final could actually spur them on.

And in terms of predictions? “I have no doubt that the way the Kerry forwards have been going that it will be almost impossible to mark them all individually. Dublin will be trying to crowd it a bit like any other team and the more that they crowd the backs then the more space they have up front. It’s very hard to mark some of those Dublin forwards. I think it’s going to be a very tight affair. A one-point win would do it for Kerry. And Dublin will feel likewise.

“But my head and heart both say Kerry.”

LITTLE more than 12 months ago, Niall Corkery was consoled as he walked off the Croke Park turf following their All-Ireland semi-final loss to Cork.

The defeat was galling; the Rebels turning a five-point deficit into a one-point success, but despite the defeat, Corkery remained defiant and insisted there was an All-Ireland title in this Dublin team.

Tomorrow, Corkery returns to Croke Park but this time he will be seated in the stands rather than lining out on the pitch, one of many ex-pat Dublin fans who have returned home for the big day.

A first-team regular in the 2010 season, the Kilmacud Crokes man moved to London last November to work as a trader for a large US company. His career had to come ahead of football.

While the transition from player back to fan isn’t the easiest, Corkery is looking forward to tomorrow’s decider.

“Tickets are pretty scarce but thankfully I’ve somehow managed to find myself one,” he said.

“I’m really looking forward to it. It should be a great game and hopefully Dublin can do the business against Kerry. I believe there’s an All-Ireland in this team and I’m not going to change that view now. I think Dublin have proven this summer that they can play football but also grind out wins when they have to as they did against Donegal.”

Back in May, Corkery caught up with his former teammates when they were in London for a training weekend at London Irish’s base in the south of the city. With the London footballers back in Ireland — in Dublin, incidentally — for a couple of challenges, Corkery managed to arrange for the Dubs to play his new club, Parnells, at Ruislip.

That weekend Corkery noticed the determination and desire to write the wrongs of the previous summer. The Cork defeat hurt, but the quarter-final win over Tyrone was a significant step, one that proved they could compete with the big boys. They were starting to believe.

“They looked so confident,” Corkery said.

“They had no fear about playing anyone in the championship, and have proved just that. Although we didn’t think it at the time, the experience of losing an All-Ireland semi-final stands to you. Dublin have learnt from it and come back stronger this year, and now they’re in an All-Ireland final.”

It’s likely that Corkery would be part of Sunday’s panel had he remained in Ireland but he’s not one for dwelling on what could have been.

“I suppose I wouldn’t have gotten that emotional about it in the past, but now I know a lot of the lads well. It’ll be a pleasant experience watching them,” he said.

His inter-county career may be on hold for the time being, but Corkery is making waves on the London club scene. Last weekend Parnells defeated one of the favourites for the London SFC, Kingdom Kerry Gaels, by seven points to clinch a spot in the semi-final.

“I’ve been surprised by the standard over here,” he admitted.

“I didn’t expect it to be taken so seriously. People come to London to work, not to play football. You have to make a lot of sacrifices, and there’s a lot of travelling involved for training and matches, but if I finish the summer with a medal in my pocket it would make it all worthwhile.”