Kerry v Tyrone
Croke Park, Saturday, 5pm − Live on RTÉ2 and BBC Two NI
In theory this is an ideal set-up for a typical Tyrone ambush. Kerry are coming into an All-Ireland semi-final having produced their most destructive sequence of the year – the 15-minute, 14-point barrage that dismantled champions Armagh in the second half of their quarter-final.
Will that be a new starting base for Jack O’Connor’s team or a peak whose recapture proves unattainable?
There are arguments either way. Certainly, the way in which all of the Kerry parts moved in unison during the relevant quarter of an hour and the accuracy of the marksmanship. Ten points and two orange flags with Seán O’Shea, David Clifford and, importantly, Paudie Clifford rampant, gave a graphic demonstration of the team’s potential, if not ceiling.
RM Block
However, does that 15 minutes redeem the underwhelming nature of Kerry’s displays for the rest of the season to date?
[ Dean Rock: Tyrone need to try something unexpected to shock KerryOpens in new window ]
Tyrone have reached the semi-final much as Kerry got to the quarters – without hitting their best form. The defeat of Dublin was polished by a strong finale and a slightly flattering margin of victory but for much of the match, the Ulster side were laboured in putting away a match in which they were clearly better.
Malachy O’Rourke’s team have performed that way for much of the season. The outlier display came in Ballybofey when they ran Donegal out during 70 hectic minutes, including an endgame when the Ulster champions looked certain to seize control.
Yet that didn’t lead to them kicking on. Tyrone lost the next match to Mayo.
[ Ciarán Murphy: It’s fundamental to the sport that Kerry win this All-IrelandOpens in new window ]
Can they improve? Michael McKernan is back in the panel after injury, so yes, and they can definitely be better than Armagh proved when their match with Kerry hit the critical red zone. Not alone were Kieran McGeeney’s team transfixed by a malfunctioning kickout, they also lost composure in the vital task of keeping their own scoreline ticking when a handful of opportunities arose.
Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan hasn’t been in the best of form this championship but he is unlikely to keep repeating a failing strategy and is well equipped to adopt the emergency solution of belting the ball as far away as possible from his own goal.
He also has a high-performing centrefield pairing of Brian Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick to contest more vigorously than Armagh managed.
Both teams demonstrated an impressive aptitude for two-pointers in their quarter-finals. The early scores helped to keep Tyrone afloat when Dublin had the better of the opening quarter – all told, they scored five. After a long time of protesting that they preferred to chase goals than two-pointers, Kerry used the lovely weather and top class surface at Croke Park to also kick five.
O’Shea’s exceptional kicking technique made him a likely exploiter of the new score and he used it masterfully, pulling in Armagh at crucial stages, like in response to the Tiernan Kelly goal, and to accelerate the second-half response.
It is perfectly possible to see Tyrone taking more of a grip on the breaks from Gavin White and Joe O’Connor to disrupt Kerry’s momentum but can they finally detonate Darragh Canavan and get Darren McCurry back on track after a lacklustre quarter-final.
All these things may be possible but we have yet to see them.
Verdict: Kerry
Donegal v Meath
Croke Park, Sunday, 4pm − Live on RTÉ2 and BBC Two NI
The All-Ireland quarter-final took Donegal to the precipice. Just six days after they had beaten Louth, Jim McGuinness’s team landed in Croke Park. Mindful of how sticky opponents Monaghan could be – having experienced that first-hand in the Ulster championship – Donegal might have been thinking about going all out to finish the match early and remove from the opposition any lingering conviction that a shock was on the cards.
Goal opportunities didn’t come to fruition and wides materialised unexpectedly, as with Michael Murphy’s missed free, and by the end of the second quarter Monaghan had seized the moment and went in at the break seven ahead.
Even allowing for the new reality that seven points is nothing in football, it all appeared a serious challenge for a team on their ninth match in just under 12 weeks – nine and a half matches, according to McGuinness, counting extra time in the Ulster final.
They produced terrific football to overcome Monaghan and defy fatigue.
This weekend, with a fortnight’s break under their belt, Donegal take on a Meath team that has been the biggest mover of the championship. As has been mentioned, they have defeated all of the counties level with or ahead of them on the All-Ireland roll of honour.
The wins over Dublin and Kerry were conspicuously the worst performances of vanquished teams’ season but Galway in the quarter-final were reeled in after a scoring burst looked to have pushed the match beyond Meath. They have also managed to achieve all of this with significant players lost to injury.
Their key assets have been the speed of their transition on defensive turnovers and the quality of their attack, as well as being early adopters of the two-pointers which they have wielded effectively, including the four kicked against Kerry.
Jordan Morris top-scored for Man of the Match against Galway and showcased the space and opportunity of the new rules for aggressive forwards.
In Donegal, they face a team with the same asset of speed and facility on the turnover but one with a defensive structure that is unlikely to grant the same space as Galway did.
A year ago, when the Ulster champions played Galway, their pace was negated by the opponents’ ability to hold the ball for long periods and construct scores methodically.
Encouragingly, perhaps, for Meath was Donegal’s first defeat in last year’s championship when the pace of Cork in transition and their predatory instincts led to McGuinness’s team’s hitherto pristine goal concession being broken three times.
Donal Keogan, Seán Coffey and Ciarán Caulfield have been good counter-attacking options from the half-back line, well able to cover ground and take chances – not that that will be easy for either team in the weekend’s heatwave.
Robbie Brennan will also take comfort from the difficulty Shaun Patton experienced with his restarts in the first half against Monaghan. Meath have been capable at centrefield, especially with Bryan Menton back in business, and would welcome such opportunity.
Yet the overall picture is of a Donegal team accustomed to high-tempo challenges and the intensity of Ulster football as well as a group of death in the initial All-Ireland stages.
The knockouts have eased a little with a run of Division Two opponents, the latest of whom are Sunday’s. Meath have been very impressive in getting to this point but there’s farther to go.
Verdict: Donegal
Tailteann Cup final
Kildare v Limerick
Croke Park, Saturday, 2.30pm − Live on RTÉ2
The two form teams in the Tailteann duly make the final day. Limerick had to make a major scramble in the semi-final to survive Wicklow’s challenge but on the season’s activity, the winners as Division Four winners confirmed their status.
They have been fired from the front by the scoring exploits of James Naughton, who set a new league record of 4-12 (24 points, including one two-pointer) against Waterford – or equalled Tyrone’s Frank Donnelly’s 5-8 (23 points) against Fermanagh in 1956.
Naughton had been an injury doubt along with Emmet Rigter but both are named to start.
Kildare were runners-up in Division Three and so have a status advantage even if their semi-final against Fermanagh was a more turgid affair than Limerick’s. Callum Bolton, who has been dogged by injury since the Leinster semi-final against Louth, is deemed ready to start and if he does, will be a very positive addition to the team.
About half of Brian Flanagan’s named starting 15 features players from his under-20 side of a couple of years ago, who will be important for the county’s future.
This weekend, led by Kevin Feely, Kildare’s immediate future looks like silverware and a guaranteed place in the 2026 Sam Maguire.
Verdict: Kildare
