Kerry SFC: Permutations ahead of final round of group action

With five already eliminated and four who've booked early quarter-final berths, seven sides will scrap for the final four knockout places

AIMING FOR TOP SEEDING: Eoghan O'Sullivan and East Kerry, right, can take the No.1 slot with victory over Templenoe on Sunday. Pic: Domnick Walsh/Eye Focus 

They’re slowly getting there in Kerry. The senior club championship is out of the way. The lower-tier county championships have reached the concluding afternoon of action. And now, the main event - the race for the Bishop Moynihan Cup - is about to tip from group phase to knockout stages.

The final round of group action this weekend will see the field halved from 16 to eight. Already there have been a couple of early and unexpected fallers. Dr Crokes’ successive defeats to Dingle and Na Gaeil mean the Lewis Road men are out of the qualifying equation going into Round 3.

They are not the only ones. West Kerry, South Kerry, St Brendan’s, and last year’s semi-finalists Feale Rangers are also pointless, winless, and incapable of progressing.

Along with five eliminated, there are four - East Kerry, Templenoe, Na Gaeil, and Dingle - who’ve booked their place in the quarter-finals with a round to spare. That leaves seven teams scrapping for the remaining four knockout places.

Group 1 

Champions East Kerry host Templenoe at Fitzgerald Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Both, as mentioned above, are already out the gap and into the last eight. The winner takes top seed for the quarter-final draw. Stalemate in Killarney will also see East Kerry head the group on account of their superior score difference.

Group 2 

The winner of Kenmare and Rathmore, at the home of the former, will advance irrespective of what happens between St Kieran’s and Feale Rangers. A draw would also take both Kenmare and Rathmore through, provided St Kieran’s didn’t beat Feale Rangers by more than three points. A St Kieran’s victory away to table-proppers Feale Rangers will lift them from third into the knockout places so long as there is a winner at Kenmare.

Group 3 

A draw will suffice for Mid Kerry on home ground against Kerins O’Rahilly’s at Beaufort. If Rahilly’s come out on top and Spa best Shannon Rangers, there will then be a three-way tie on four points.

Spa’s -4 score difference is notably inferior to Rahillys’ +3 and Mid Kerry’s +12, so they would need to record a sizable victory over Shannon Rangers to overtake one of the other two.

But if Shannon Rangers score a first win at Spa’s expense and Rahilly’s fall on their travels, then three teams will be locked on two points in the race for second place. Shannon Rangers’ -11 score difference means they’d need an eight-point win and Rahilly’s to lose by seven to jump from fourth to second.

Group 4 

Dingle welcome Na Gaeil out west for a top-of-the-table clash. All that is to be decided here is who goes through as group winners and who goes through as runner-up. A draw is enough for Na Gaeil.