Louth to wait on Kelly's fitness

ANYONE connected with the Louth football team could be excused for suspecting the gods are conspiring against them. It's bad enough having to face defending Leinster and All Ireland, champions Dublin at the best of times, but the prospect is even more daunting when You are hampered by injuries.

And that is exactly the position Louth find themselves in as they prepare to take on the champions in the provincial semi final at Pairc Tailteann, Navan, on Sunday.

Colin Kelly, the team's star forward and free taker is battling against a hamstring injury, sustained in training Nicky Malone, who suffered an ankle injury in the quarter final win over Offaly, has just resumed training, and, of course, full forward Redmond O'Neill, another ankle injury victim, has already been ruled out.

The only piece of good news for Louth is the return to fitness of full back Gareth O'Neill, a brother of Redmond. He failed a fitness test on his injured knee prior to the encounter with Offaly, but has fully recovered and is almost certain to be included in the side which will be selected after training tonight.

But there are genuine fears about Kelly, who was injured in training last Saturday. And, when he could only manage, some light training on Tuesday night, the decision was made to defer team.

I don't really know the extent of the hamstring injury, said Louth manager Paul Kenny. I am hopeful he will be able to play, no more than that. How ever, we will give Colin as long as we can to rove his fitness."

A decision on corner forward Kelly will be made tonight "at the earliest," according to Kenny, but the likelihood is that the attacker will be given until the weekend. Malone, who made his championship debut against Offaly, when he suffered the ankle injury, has recovered well and is back in contention for a starting place.

Apart from the injuries, Louth's preparations were also affected slightly by the decision to, proceed with club matches. "Most players have had two club matches since the Offaly match and we didn't have them together at all for a week after that game although I wouldn't dwell on that too much," said Kenny.

Nevertheless, the mood in the Louth camp is positive even if the majority of fund raising match forecast cards for a local club are allegedly, predicting larger winning margins for Dublin and the team's belief is that they are capable of pulling off a major upset. Indeed, Louth did beat Dublin in the National Football League campaign and their Under 21s also dumped Dublin out of the provincial championship.

"Dublin are certainly a very formidable team. After all, they are the All Ireland champions. But I would be hopeful we can play well on Sunday. We're just hoping for the best," said Kenny.

Can Louth improve on their display against Offaly? "We played poorly, okay, but I think Offaly were a far better team than people expected or gave them credit for. They have a great tradition and are always a difficult .side to beat, especially in championship. Still I hope we can improve on that performance I'm sure we can, he added.

Kenny incidentally, won't be allowed in the Louth dug out on Sunday, after being, censured by the Leinster Council for alleged misbehaviour during the Louth Offaly match. He was unable to attend a Leinster Council hearing last week due to work commitments and was subsequently barred from the sideline.

"I haven't really thought about that, but I'm sure we will decide on something over the weekend," he commented.

Dublin's selectors may have kept faith with the same side as that which comfortably overcame. Westmeath in the quarter final but there are lingering doubts about the fitness of full forward Joe McNally and, to a less extent wing back Paul Curran.

McNally, who made an impressive return to championship duty in the win over Westmeath, is attempting to shrug off a hamstring .strain sustained earlier in the week. The St Anne's clubman is receiving treatment for the complaint but is expected to play.

Curran, meanwhile, has been I, troubled by a niggling knee injury for the past week and didn't train on Tuesday night as a precautionary measure.

The Dublin substitutes area scheduled to be named after training tonight, but a doubt still exists about the well being of Jason Sherlock who is struggling with a calf injury.

. More than 140,000 support have attended hurling championship matches in Leinster and Munster so far this year, an increase of over 40 000 for the same stage in the campaign last year.

The largest increase has been recorded in Leinster, with figures up by 67 per cent on last year. There has been a 32 per cent increase recorded, in Munster. And, with the Limerick Tipperary Munster final on Sunday week an all ticket affair, the figures, are confirmation that live television has not affected attendances.