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Post by dc84 on Aug 10, 2019 9:25:46 GMT
This game won't be easy on the eye. Forecast is bad. Tyrone play a defensive system which ruins the game as a spectacle. Think we will be ok weather wise, looks to be dry form 11 or so onwards in Croker. Great news ! Very hard to play our style when it's greasy and by God does croke park get sloppy when it's wet. Jesus wish it was game time!
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Post by Seoirse Ui Duic on Aug 10, 2019 9:56:27 GMT
Delighted the pundits tip Tyrone and say our lads are not battle hardened and too young. Also too inexperienced. Apparently Tyrone had tough battles against Donegal, a game they lost, Cork (which they could have lost), Roscommon (were quite lucky to win) and in the qualifiers v Kildare and Longford. Kerry have only beaten Clare, who went on to beat Leitrim and Westmeath before finally being beaten by Meath in a very close game. A Meath team that ran many teams quite close this year. Kerry then bate a very impressive Cork, who surprised everyone by hammering Laois, before running Roscommon, Dublin and Tyrone very close. Kerry hammered Mayo, the team tipped to make it to the final. Kerry drew with Donegal, a team that hammered Tyrone and were favourites to topple Dublin. Kerry put Meath away, the team that have improved most this year. So, if they believe that Kerry are not battle hardened and Tyrone are then it is a mantle we would gladly cary. Kerry by two.
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Post by Mickmack on Aug 10, 2019 10:09:15 GMT
Battle-hardened Tyrone can make their experience count
Ulster side may extend young Kerry side’s wait for a Croke Park breakthrough about 5 hours ago
Malachy Clerkin
It is going to happen some day, of this we can be sure.
Tyrone will not spend the rest of their lives and ours continuing to lose to Kerry, Mayo and Dublin. After beating all three in the space of six weeks to win the 2008 All-Ireland, Tyrone have lost 10 straight games against that trio in the 11 years since. To win this All-Ireland, they’ll have to beat two of them, starting with Kerry tomorrow. It’s going to happen someday.
This day?
Well, they’ve probably never been in better shape across the second half of the Mickey Harte era. You have to go back to Stephen O’Neill in 2005 for the last time they had the leading scorer in the championship. This year, Cathal McShane is 14 points up on Seán O’Shea with at least one game apiece to go. Short of an injury, you’d imagine he’ll see it out.
Add in the fact that Peter Harte is only two points behind O’Shea. And that Mattie Donnelly is the best part-time inside forward in the game outside of Michael Murphy. Whatever Tyrone may have lacked in other years, they’re not short of a cutting edge this time around.
They are also – and this hasn’t always been the case either – the more battle-hardened side here. This is Tyrone’s fifth All-Ireland semi-final in seven years. Just over half of their likely starting team remains from the 2015 last-four defeat to Kerry. That’s a lot of hard lessons learned and bitter shots downed.
By comparison, only five of the Kerry starters that day will feature here. In fact, there’s almost as many representatives of the Kerry minor team that beat Derry in the curtain-raiser back then as there are men still standing from the senior game.
Jason Foley, Gavin White, Tom O’Sullivan and O’Shea have been given battlefield promotions in the meantime. Throw in David Clifford and Diarmuid O’Connor from the following two years of minor crops and you see how Kerry are comfortably the youngest of the four remaining teams.
Those younger Kerry players also come with the small (and obviously fixable) footnote that they haven’t yet won a senior game in Croke Park. The same is true of Shane Ryan, Killian Spillane, Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Micheál Burns, Dara Moynihan and others in the 26.
Most of them have played there four times and only have the draw against Donegal a few weeks ago to show for it. It’s not a thing yet but lose tomorrow and it could feasibly be on its way to becoming one.
Major question So Tyrone have the experience. The major question hanging over the game is, have they got the game plan? Given how Kerry like to set up in defence, with two man-markers in the full-back line and nobody covering in front of them, it would surely be bordering on perverse for Tyrone to do anything other than start Donnelly alongside McShane inside.
While going with McShane up there on his own wouldn’t quite be playing into Kerry’s hands, it would at least be leaving a question unasked. This is no time to be driving home with such an obvious what-if rattling around in your head. Especially since the alternative – Tyrone’s default massed defence game with one player ploughing a lonely furrow up front – has been shown time and time again not to work at this altitude.
If Donnelly and McShane do both play in there, the onus will be on Peter Harte and Niall Sludden to keep them fed with long, arrowed kick-passes. Assuming Peter Keane doesn’t suddenly decide to employ a sweeper, Kerry’s hardest work will be done around the middle third, flooding the area between the 65s with bodies, tackling hard and at the very least causing those deliveries from Harte and Sludden to be rushed.
Of course, this is all arguably the wrong way to be looking at the game. Yes, Kerry have to have a plan for McShane and Donnelly. But equally – and possibly more to the point – Tyrone have Clifford, O’Shea, Spillane, Paul Geaney and Stephen O’Brien to contend with at the other end.
If Clifford’s second season hasn’t quite been as whizz-bang-wow as his first, he was still electric against Mayo and gave Cork plenty of it in the Munster final.
Stephen McMenamin marshalled him through fair means and foul in the Donegal game and he can expect more of the same here. But Geaney is having his best season since 2016, O’Brien and O’Shea are both no more than a good half away from being All Stars and Spillane has quietly scored three from play in both of his last two games. Kerry can be relied upon to put up a score.
Can Tyrone better it? They must. Kerry’s young folk won’t go on failing to win in Croke Park forever and by the time Tyrone next meet them on this stage, there’s a fair chance Kerry will have improved a good distance past them. If it’s going to happen, now is the time.
Verdict: Tyrone Last meeting: All-Ireland semi-final 2015; Kerry 0-18 Tyrone 1-11 Just the ticket: Hill 16 €35; Cusack/Davin/Hogan €50; Student/Senior €40 Odds: Kerry 5/6, Tyrone 11/8, Draw 15/2
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Post by Mickmack on Aug 10, 2019 10:13:10 GMT
Kerry defence playing a dangerous game Tyrone will seek to exploit
With no one to sweep around the ‘D’, Kingdom’s full-back line inordinately exposed about an hour ago Malachy Clerkin
How Kerry defend, a story in three scores.
Actually, it’s kind of a story in four scores because the first one worked so well it counted double. We’re in Killarney on July 14th. There’s 20 minutes gone and Mayo are coming down the left flank of Fitzgerald Stadium, three points down but not plummeting through the floor just yet.
Aidan O’Shea plays a kick-pass into the Mayo attack, looking for James Carr. Carr has Tom O’Sullivan clamped to his back and the Kerry defender disrupts him enough that Carr need two goes at it to collect the ball.
By the time he does, he’s 20 metres further from goal than when he started, just out past the Kerry 45. He turns and looks to play a kick-pass inside, aiming for Darren Coen near the top of the D. Shane Enright reads him like a book though and pounces out to intercept. He feeds David Moran who plays a glorious 60-metre kick pass to Paul Geaney, who in turn finds James O’Donoghue and it takes a fine David Clarke save to prevent a goal.
For the kick-out, Kerry flood the Mayo half. Four Kerry forwards push up inside the Mayo 45. In all, 11 Kerry players are beyond the midfield hash mark as Clarke lines up his kick-out. He goes long and high and Adrian Spillane beats O’Shea to the ball and sends Gavin White on his way. White feeds David Clifford and 11 seconds after kicking the ball out, Clarke is watching it sail between his posts again.
When Kerry are defending well, that’s what it looks like. It’s flooding the middle third in the first instance, it’s O’Sullivan and Enright and Jason Foley and Tadhg Morley right up the backs of the opposition’s inside forwards in the second. It’s arms-in, physical, a touch on the ball, an intercept, a turnover and away.
And when the ball goes dead up the other end, it’s Send All Boats time. For the next kick-out after Clifford’s point, Kerry had six - six! - players inside the Mayo 45. It’s buccaneering stuff, reflective of the youth, ambition and sheer chutzpah at Peter Keane’s disposal.
Everything comes in shades and tones, of course. One man’s chutzpah is another’s gauche ineptitude. So let’s have a look at a second score. We’re in Navan last Saturday and Kerry are leading by a goal with just over 10 minutes to go until half-time. Meath corner-forward Thomas O’Reilly has drifted out on a loop and is fouled by Gavin White 50 metres from goal, dead in the centre of the pitch.
As O’Reilly bounces to his feet to get his head up, there are nine Kerry players between him and the goal. Watching it back a few dozen times (hey, it’s a living), it’s instructive to see what they do – and don’t do – about it.
The most striking thing is the absolute absence of cynicism. Nobody accidentally-on-purpose runs across O’Reilly’s eyeline to slow him down. Nobody pretends to argue with the referee about the spot of the ball in order to buy their full-back line time to get set. Indeed, White all but gets out of O’Reilly’s way to let him take it quickly.
The other thing nobody does is fall back to protect the D. Of the aforementioned nine Kerry players between O’Reilly and the goal, seven are between the 45 and the top of the arc of the D when he kicks the ball in. Not alone is there no sweeper, there is nobody making a shape at pretending to be one in order to force O’Reilly to think twice about firing a quick ball inside.
Skittering firework Essentially, it leaves Foley and O’Sullivan with a one-on-one match-up apiece and the whole of the scoring zone to defend between them. Bryan McMahon beats O’Sullivan out to O’Reilly’s quick diagonal free and it’s a twist and a turn and a dummy solo and Meath cut the margin to two.
When Kerry are defending badly, this is what it looks like. It’s having the bodies in the general area but not doing anything with them. It’s the momentary switch-off, the lack of a foghorn bollocker arranging everyone into shape. As the ball leaves O’Reilly’s boot, six of the seven Kerry players are either looking at him or looking up the pitch or looking at the ground. Only David Moran is half-turned, with any sense that danger is imminent.
Above all, it’s the almost louche transfer of responsibility onto the man-markers in the full-back line with no immediate protection. O’Sullivan and Foley are young and quick and tigerish and over time, they will likely win more than they lose back there. But this is senior inter-county football. Nobody leaves two-on-two in the scoring zone with the ball only 50 metres from goal anymore. That sort of carry-on went out with the Y2K bug.
And yes, it’s deeply unfair to a snapshot of a single quick free and extrapolate a broader theme from it. Kerry actually gave up a Meath goal from the kick-out but only conceded another seven points for the rest of the afternoon after that. In general, they forced their game on Meath, played large swathes of the afternoon in the opposition half and ran out handy winners in the end.
So let’s not do that.
Let’s instead take the middle Super-8s games against Donegal. It’s Croke Park three weeks ago and it’s a skittering firework of a game. Both sides put 1-20 on the board by the time the longest whistle is blown – according to Kieran Shannon in the Examiner, it’s the first time anyone has scored 23 points in an All-Ireland quarter-final, semi-final or final and not won.
And instead of taking one score, let’s take one type of score. By far the most successful route to goal for Donegal that day was the long kick-pass into Patrick McBrearty. Over the course of the afternoon, McBrearty beat his marker Morley to eight out of 10 balls that were kicked from distance into him. From that, he either scored, set-up or was fouled for the free that led to six points. He also kicked two wides.
It took until the 31st minute for Morley to beat McBrearty out of a possession. The Kerry full-back got a roasting but he deserves some sympathy. That McBrearty was able to beat him in almost every foot-race is obviously not great.
But in a system that has nobody patrolling the D and up against Michael Murphy raining in bespoke 70-metre kick-passes, better defenders than Morley would be in just as much trouble. Keeping the damage to six points probably isn’t far off par.
Accurate kick-pass The Donegal penalty showed just how susceptible Kerry can be to a very simple accurate kick-pass. Ciarán Thompson is on the Kerry 45, no more than two feet in from the Hogan Stand sideline when he collects the ball running out towards his own goal. He wheels in towards the middle and arcs a left-footed kick over the six Kerry players strung across the 45.
The only players in the scoring zone are the young Donegal substitute Oisín Gallen and his marker, Jason Foley. As the ball leaves Thompson’s boot, Gallen has got a five-yard jump on Foley and is crossing the 20-metre line directly out from the black spot on the crossbar. There is nobody else in the D.
Gallen actually fluffs his attempt to collect the ball first time but Kerry are in such trouble now that it doesn’t matter. Out of nowhere and after a slow build-up from their own full-back line, Donegal suddenly have a four-on-two 25 metres from the Kerry goal. Gallen feeds Ryan McHugh who transfers to Daire Ó Baoill who gets poleaxed by Stephen O’Brien. Murphy does the needful.
Kerry are the only team of the four who are left who don’t make it someone’s job to sweep around the top of the D So here’s where all of this is leading. Time and again through the Super-8s, Kerry have been cut open by something almost anachronistic at this stage, the simple act of a long kick-pass. They are the only team of the four who are left who don’t make it someone’s job to sweep around the top of the D. And it shows.
Tyrone have Colm Cavanagh, scampering back like a mother duck fussing over her chicks at the first sign of a ripple in the pond. Mayo job-share between Colm Boyle deep down in the hole and Aidan O’Shea as a sort of scarecrow figure to ward off those who might chance it.
Dublin usually make it Cian O’Sullivan’s job but in all truth, they’re not fussy who does it – Brian Howard, James McCarthy, Johnny Cooper will all find themselves filling in at different points in the game.
What none of them do is leave that 20-metre gap between the full-back line and the curtain of bodies posted along the 45 or 65 or wherever they’re choosing to dig their trench in any particular situation. Kerry do, routinely. And it leaves their full-back line inordinately exposed.
Cathal McShane is almost certain to end the summer as the championship’s leading scorer so his threat is obvious at the tip of the Tyrone spear. If Kerry aren’t going to cut off the space in front of the D, his mouth will be watering. If Mattie Donnelly is up beside him, his ought to be too.
It’s a dangerous game that Kerry play. The question for Tyrone is how to exploit it.
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Post by kerryboy83 on Aug 10, 2019 10:30:28 GMT
I see Brian Mcguigan in the paper today giving out about Declan Sullivan and Gooch when kerry beat them in 2012. They were laughing and sneering at the Tyrone players.. a bit rich from Tyrone lads. Always the victims
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Post by oldschool on Aug 10, 2019 10:45:14 GMT
Kerry defence playing a dangerous game Tyrone will seek to exploit With no one to sweep around the ‘D’, Kingdom’s full-back line inordinately exposed about an hour ago Malachy Clerkin How Kerry defend, a story in three scores. Actually, it’s kind of a story in four scores because the first one worked so well it counted double. We’re in Killarney on July 14th. There’s 20 minutes gone and Mayo are coming down the left flank of Fitzgerald Stadium, three points down but not plummeting through the floor just yet. Aidan O’Shea plays a kick-pass into the Mayo attack, looking for James Carr. Carr has Tom O’Sullivan clamped to his back and the Kerry defender disrupts him enough that Carr need two goes at it to collect the ball. By the time he does, he’s 20 metres further from goal than when he started, just out past the Kerry 45. He turns and looks to play a kick-pass inside, aiming for Darren Coen near the top of the D. Shane Enright reads him like a book though and pounces out to intercept. He feeds David Moran who plays a glorious 60-metre kick pass to Paul Geaney, who in turn finds James O’Donoghue and it takes a fine David Clarke save to prevent a goal. For the kick-out, Kerry flood the Mayo half. Four Kerry forwards push up inside the Mayo 45. In all, 11 Kerry players are beyond the midfield hash mark as Clarke lines up his kick-out. He goes long and high and Adrian Spillane beats O’Shea to the ball and sends Gavin White on his way. White feeds David Clifford and 11 seconds after kicking the ball out, Clarke is watching it sail between his posts again. When Kerry are defending well, that’s what it looks like. It’s flooding the middle third in the first instance, it’s O’Sullivan and Enright and Jason Foley and Tadhg Morley right up the backs of the opposition’s inside forwards in the second. It’s arms-in, physical, a touch on the ball, an intercept, a turnover and away. And when the ball goes dead up the other end, it’s Send All Boats time. For the next kick-out after Clifford’s point, Kerry had six - six! - players inside the Mayo 45. It’s buccaneering stuff, reflective of the youth, ambition and sheer chutzpah at Peter Keane’s disposal. Everything comes in shades and tones, of course. One man’s chutzpah is another’s gauche ineptitude. So let’s have a look at a second score. We’re in Navan last Saturday and Kerry are leading by a goal with just over 10 minutes to go until half-time. Meath corner-forward Thomas O’Reilly has drifted out on a loop and is fouled by Gavin White 50 metres from goal, dead in the centre of the pitch. As O’Reilly bounces to his feet to get his head up, there are nine Kerry players between him and the goal. Watching it back a few dozen times (hey, it’s a living), it’s instructive to see what they do – and don’t do – about it. The most striking thing is the absolute absence of cynicism. Nobody accidentally-on-purpose runs across O’Reilly’s eyeline to slow him down. Nobody pretends to argue with the referee about the spot of the ball in order to buy their full-back line time to get set. Indeed, White all but gets out of O’Reilly’s way to let him take it quickly. The other thing nobody does is fall back to protect the D. Of the aforementioned nine Kerry players between O’Reilly and the goal, seven are between the 45 and the top of the arc of the D when he kicks the ball in. Not alone is there no sweeper, there is nobody making a shape at pretending to be one in order to force O’Reilly to think twice about firing a quick ball inside. Skittering firework Essentially, it leaves Foley and O’Sullivan with a one-on-one match-up apiece and the whole of the scoring zone to defend between them. Bryan McMahon beats O’Sullivan out to O’Reilly’s quick diagonal free and it’s a twist and a turn and a dummy solo and Meath cut the margin to two. When Kerry are defending badly, this is what it looks like. It’s having the bodies in the general area but not doing anything with them. It’s the momentary switch-off, the lack of a foghorn bollocker arranging everyone into shape. As the ball leaves O’Reilly’s boot, six of the seven Kerry players are either looking at him or looking up the pitch or looking at the ground. Only David Moran is half-turned, with any sense that danger is imminent. Above all, it’s the almost louche transfer of responsibility onto the man-markers in the full-back line with no immediate protection. O’Sullivan and Foley are young and quick and tigerish and over time, they will likely win more than they lose back there. But this is senior inter-county football. Nobody leaves two-on-two in the scoring zone with the ball only 50 metres from goal anymore. That sort of carry-on went out with the Y2K bug. And yes, it’s deeply unfair to a snapshot of a single quick free and extrapolate a broader theme from it. Kerry actually gave up a Meath goal from the kick-out but only conceded another seven points for the rest of the afternoon after that. In general, they forced their game on Meath, played large swathes of the afternoon in the opposition half and ran out handy winners in the end. So let’s not do that. Let’s instead take the middle Super-8s games against Donegal. It’s Croke Park three weeks ago and it’s a skittering firework of a game. Both sides put 1-20 on the board by the time the longest whistle is blown – according to Kieran Shannon in the Examiner, it’s the first time anyone has scored 23 points in an All-Ireland quarter-final, semi-final or final and not won. And instead of taking one score, let’s take one type of score. By far the most successful route to goal for Donegal that day was the long kick-pass into Patrick McBrearty. Over the course of the afternoon, McBrearty beat his marker Morley to eight out of 10 balls that were kicked from distance into him. From that, he either scored, set-up or was fouled for the free that led to six points. He also kicked two wides. It took until the 31st minute for Morley to beat McBrearty out of a possession. The Kerry full-back got a roasting but he deserves some sympathy. That McBrearty was able to beat him in almost every foot-race is obviously not great. But in a system that has nobody patrolling the D and up against Michael Murphy raining in bespoke 70-metre kick-passes, better defenders than Morley would be in just as much trouble. Keeping the damage to six points probably isn’t far off par. Accurate kick-pass The Donegal penalty showed just how susceptible Kerry can be to a very simple accurate kick-pass. Ciarán Thompson is on the Kerry 45, no more than two feet in from the Hogan Stand sideline when he collects the ball running out towards his own goal. He wheels in towards the middle and arcs a left-footed kick over the six Kerry players strung across the 45. The only players in the scoring zone are the young Donegal substitute Oisín Gallen and his marker, Jason Foley. As the ball leaves Thompson’s boot, Gallen has got a five-yard jump on Foley and is crossing the 20-metre line directly out from the black spot on the crossbar. There is nobody else in the D. Gallen actually fluffs his attempt to collect the ball first time but Kerry are in such trouble now that it doesn’t matter. Out of nowhere and after a slow build-up from their own full-back line, Donegal suddenly have a four-on-two 25 metres from the Kerry goal. Gallen feeds Ryan McHugh who transfers to Daire Ó Baoill who gets poleaxed by Stephen O’Brien. Murphy does the needful. Kerry are the only team of the four who are left who don’t make it someone’s job to sweep around the top of the D So here’s where all of this is leading. Time and again through the Super-8s, Kerry have been cut open by something almost anachronistic at this stage, the simple act of a long kick-pass. They are the only team of the four who are left who don’t make it someone’s job to sweep around the top of the D. And it shows. Tyrone have Colm Cavanagh, scampering back like a mother duck fussing over her chicks at the first sign of a ripple in the pond. Mayo job-share between Colm Boyle deep down in the hole and Aidan O’Shea as a sort of scarecrow figure to ward off those who might chance it. Dublin usually make it Cian O’Sullivan’s job but in all truth, they’re not fussy who does it – Brian Howard, James McCarthy, Johnny Cooper will all find themselves filling in at different points in the game. What none of them do is leave that 20-metre gap between the full-back line and the curtain of bodies posted along the 45 or 65 or wherever they’re choosing to dig their trench in any particular situation. Kerry do, routinely. And it leaves their full-back line inordinately exposed. Cathal McShane is almost certain to end the summer as the championship’s leading scorer so his threat is obvious at the tip of the Tyrone spear. If Kerry aren’t going to cut off the space in front of the D, his mouth will be watering. If Mattie Donnelly is up beside him, his ought to be too. It’s a dangerous game that Kerry play. The question for Tyrone is how to exploit it. What a great insight Mickmack. I still thing workrate on kickouts (both ends) will have a major influence on result
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Post by listowelemerrs on Aug 10, 2019 10:46:42 GMT
I see Brian Mcguigan in the paper today giving out about Declan Sullivan and Gooch when kerry beat them in 2012. They were laughing and sneering at the Tyrone players.. a bit rich from Tyrone lads. Always the victims what paper that in?
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Post by Mickmack on Aug 10, 2019 12:09:22 GMT
I see Brian Mcguigan in the paper today giving out about Declan Sullivan and Gooch when kerry beat them in 2012. They were laughing and sneering at the Tyrone players.. a bit rich from Tyrone lads. Always the victims what paper that in? why the f... would anyone be exercised by this kind of stuff or give it publicity
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Post by Mickmack on Aug 10, 2019 12:18:34 GMT
Kerry defence playing a dangerous game Tyrone will seek to exploit With no one to sweep around the ‘D’, Kingdom’s full-back line inordinately exposed about an hour ago Malachy Clerkin How Kerry defend, a story in three scores. Actually, it’s kind of a story in four scores because the first one worked so well it counted double. We’re in Killarney on July 14th. There’s 20 minutes gone and Mayo are coming down the left flank of Fitzgerald Stadium, three points down but not plummeting through the floor just yet. Aidan O’Shea plays a kick-pass into the Mayo attack, looking for James Carr. Carr has Tom O’Sullivan clamped to his back and the Kerry defender disrupts him enough that Carr need two goes at it to collect the ball. By the time he does, he’s 20 metres further from goal than when he started, just out past the Kerry 45. He turns and looks to play a kick-pass inside, aiming for Darren Coen near the top of the D. Shane Enright reads him like a book though and pounces out to intercept. He feeds David Moran who plays a glorious 60-metre kick pass to Paul Geaney, who in turn finds James O’Donoghue and it takes a fine David Clarke save to prevent a goal. For the kick-out, Kerry flood the Mayo half. Four Kerry forwards push up inside the Mayo 45. In all, 11 Kerry players are beyond the midfield hash mark as Clarke lines up his kick-out. He goes long and high and Adrian Spillane beats O’Shea to the ball and sends Gavin White on his way. White feeds David Clifford and 11 seconds after kicking the ball out, Clarke is watching it sail between his posts again. When Kerry are defending well, that’s what it looks like. It’s flooding the middle third in the first instance, it’s O’Sullivan and Enright and Jason Foley and Tadhg Morley right up the backs of the opposition’s inside forwards in the second. It’s arms-in, physical, a touch on the ball, an intercept, a turnover and away. And when the ball goes dead up the other end, it’s Send All Boats time. For the next kick-out after Clifford’s point, Kerry had six - six! - players inside the Mayo 45. It’s buccaneering stuff, reflective of the youth, ambition and sheer chutzpah at Peter Keane’s disposal. Everything comes in shades and tones, of course. One man’s chutzpah is another’s gauche ineptitude. So let’s have a look at a second score. We’re in Navan last Saturday and Kerry are leading by a goal with just over 10 minutes to go until half-time. Meath corner-forward Thomas O’Reilly has drifted out on a loop and is fouled by Gavin White 50 metres from goal, dead in the centre of the pitch. As O’Reilly bounces to his feet to get his head up, there are nine Kerry players between him and the goal. Watching it back a few dozen times (hey, it’s a living), it’s instructive to see what they do – and don’t do – about it. The most striking thing is the absolute absence of cynicism. Nobody accidentally-on-purpose runs across O’Reilly’s eyeline to slow him down. Nobody pretends to argue with the referee about the spot of the ball in order to buy their full-back line time to get set. Indeed, White all but gets out of O’Reilly’s way to let him take it quickly. The other thing nobody does is fall back to protect the D. Of the aforementioned nine Kerry players between O’Reilly and the goal, seven are between the 45 and the top of the arc of the D when he kicks the ball in. Not alone is there no sweeper, there is nobody making a shape at pretending to be one in order to force O’Reilly to think twice about firing a quick ball inside. Skittering firework Essentially, it leaves Foley and O’Sullivan with a one-on-one match-up apiece and the whole of the scoring zone to defend between them. Bryan McMahon beats O’Sullivan out to O’Reilly’s quick diagonal free and it’s a twist and a turn and a dummy solo and Meath cut the margin to two. When Kerry are defending badly, this is what it looks like. It’s having the bodies in the general area but not doing anything with them. It’s the momentary switch-off, the lack of a foghorn bollocker arranging everyone into shape. As the ball leaves O’Reilly’s boot, six of the seven Kerry players are either looking at him or looking up the pitch or looking at the ground. Only David Moran is half-turned, with any sense that danger is imminent. Above all, it’s the almost louche transfer of responsibility onto the man-markers in the full-back line with no immediate protection. O’Sullivan and Foley are young and quick and tigerish and over time, they will likely win more than they lose back there. But this is senior inter-county football. Nobody leaves two-on-two in the scoring zone with the ball only 50 metres from goal anymore. That sort of carry-on went out with the Y2K bug. And yes, it’s deeply unfair to a snapshot of a single quick free and extrapolate a broader theme from it. Kerry actually gave up a Meath goal from the kick-out but only conceded another seven points for the rest of the afternoon after that. In general, they forced their game on Meath, played large swathes of the afternoon in the opposition half and ran out handy winners in the end. So let’s not do that. Let’s instead take the middle Super-8s games against Donegal. It’s Croke Park three weeks ago and it’s a skittering firework of a game. Both sides put 1-20 on the board by the time the longest whistle is blown – according to Kieran Shannon in the Examiner, it’s the first time anyone has scored 23 points in an All-Ireland quarter-final, semi-final or final and not won. And instead of taking one score, let’s take one type of score. By far the most successful route to goal for Donegal that day was the long kick-pass into Patrick McBrearty. Over the course of the afternoon, McBrearty beat his marker Morley to eight out of 10 balls that were kicked from distance into him. From that, he either scored, set-up or was fouled for the free that led to six points. He also kicked two wides. It took until the 31st minute for Morley to beat McBrearty out of a possession. The Kerry full-back got a roasting but he deserves some sympathy. That McBrearty was able to beat him in almost every foot-race is obviously not great. But in a system that has nobody patrolling the D and up against Michael Murphy raining in bespoke 70-metre kick-passes, better defenders than Morley would be in just as much trouble. Keeping the damage to six points probably isn’t far off par. Accurate kick-pass The Donegal penalty showed just how susceptible Kerry can be to a very simple accurate kick-pass. Ciarán Thompson is on the Kerry 45, no more than two feet in from the Hogan Stand sideline when he collects the ball running out towards his own goal. He wheels in towards the middle and arcs a left-footed kick over the six Kerry players strung across the 45. The only players in the scoring zone are the young Donegal substitute Oisín Gallen and his marker, Jason Foley. As the ball leaves Thompson’s boot, Gallen has got a five-yard jump on Foley and is crossing the 20-metre line directly out from the black spot on the crossbar. There is nobody else in the D. Gallen actually fluffs his attempt to collect the ball first time but Kerry are in such trouble now that it doesn’t matter. Out of nowhere and after a slow build-up from their own full-back line, Donegal suddenly have a four-on-two 25 metres from the Kerry goal. Gallen feeds Ryan McHugh who transfers to Daire Ó Baoill who gets poleaxed by Stephen O’Brien. Murphy does the needful. Kerry are the only team of the four who are left who don’t make it someone’s job to sweep around the top of the D So here’s where all of this is leading. Time and again through the Super-8s, Kerry have been cut open by something almost anachronistic at this stage, the simple act of a long kick-pass. They are the only team of the four who are left who don’t make it someone’s job to sweep around the top of the D. And it shows. Tyrone have Colm Cavanagh, scampering back like a mother duck fussing over her chicks at the first sign of a ripple in the pond. Mayo job-share between Colm Boyle deep down in the hole and Aidan O’Shea as a sort of scarecrow figure to ward off those who might chance it. Dublin usually make it Cian O’Sullivan’s job but in all truth, they’re not fussy who does it – Brian Howard, James McCarthy, Johnny Cooper will all find themselves filling in at different points in the game. What none of them do is leave that 20-metre gap between the full-back line and the curtain of bodies posted along the 45 or 65 or wherever they’re choosing to dig their trench in any particular situation. Kerry do, routinely. And it leaves their full-back line inordinately exposed. Cathal McShane is almost certain to end the summer as the championship’s leading scorer so his threat is obvious at the tip of the Tyrone spear. If Kerry aren’t going to cut off the space in front of the D, his mouth will be watering. If Mattie Donnelly is up beside him, his ought to be too. It’s a dangerous game that Kerry play. The question for Tyrone is how to exploit it. What a great insight Mickmack. I still thing workrate on kickouts (both ends) will have a major influence on result Malachy Clerkin along with Dara OCinneide and Kieran Shannon and Keith Duggan are always worth paying attention to. His line that of the four teams left, Kerry are the only ones who do not protect the D is instructive. But maybe PK will pull a sweeper out of the bag tomorrow...who knows... Clerkin does not mention the strength of the respective panels which is always key in the semi final and final. Its what undid Wexford in the hurling. Everyone i think agrees that games are won and lost on retaining possession from kickouts.... this has been the case since they the kickout out to the 14 yard line and opening up the whole pitch for the goalie..... Cluxton adapted quickest. Kerry have come on a lot in this respect in fairness.
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Aug 10, 2019 12:30:38 GMT
It's great to see Killian Spillane make a breakthrough.
Not sure if he will be playing tomorrow though.
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Post by colinsworth1 on Aug 10, 2019 15:49:58 GMT
Looking at the TV now Tomas looks nervous I think he know this is going to be special this game Brolly is all over the place looks desperately uncomfortable after writing mayo off all year
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2019 18:29:20 GMT
I think everyone is deflated after that Dublin performance. Tomorrow’s game ultimately will be pointless
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Aug 10, 2019 18:31:44 GMT
I think everyone is deflated after that Dublin performance. Tomorrow’s game ultimately will be pointless Keep the Faith
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Post by dc84 on Aug 10, 2019 20:08:47 GMT
I think everyone is deflated after that Dublin performance. Tomorrow’s game ultimately will be pointless Keep the Faith This bears a lot of resemblance to our beating of mayo in killarney. Mayo just after the high of a big win the week before just didn't have the legs. Difference was that we had them beat after 20 mins and strolled home whereas dublin struggled in first half (as mayo played well) and totally blitzed them in 2nd half. We will see tomorrow whether we have any hope. I might be clutching at straws but straw makes a comfy bed!
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Aug 10, 2019 20:15:41 GMT
This bears a lot of resemblance to our beating of mayo in killarney. Mayo just after the high of a big win the week before just didn't have the legs. Difference was that we had them beat after 20 mins and strolled home whereas dublin struggled in first half (as mayo played well) and totally blitzed them in 2nd half. We will see tomorrow whether we have any hope. I might be clutching at straws but straw makes a comfy bed! I wouldn't compare the performances to be honest. Mayo defended like ravenous dogs in the first half today. In the second half the Dublin bears mauled them to death.
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Post by dc84 on Aug 10, 2019 20:22:53 GMT
This bears a lot of resemblance to our beating of mayo in killarney. Mayo just after the high of a big win the week before just didn't have the legs. Difference was that we had them beat after 20 mins and strolled home whereas dublin struggled in first half (as mayo played well) and totally blitzed them in 2nd half. We will see tomorrow whether we have any hope. I might be clutching at straws but straw makes a comfy bed! I wouldn't compare the performances to be honest. Mayo defended like ravenous dogs in the first half today. In the second half the Dublin bears mauled them to death. I was just trying to look on the bright side! Dublin were amazing in second half Fenton really took the game over for them. Best player in the country by a bit. Do they even have a player from the 20s from last year in the squad? Frightening stuff really
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Aug 10, 2019 20:28:57 GMT
I wouldn't compare the performances to be honest. Mayo defended like ravenous dogs in the first half today. In the second half the Dublin bears mauled them to death. I was just trying to look on the bright side! Dublin were amazing in second half Fenton really took the game over for them. Best player in the country by a bit. Do they even have a player from the 20s from last year in the squad? Frightening stuff really Don't feel bad. Sure I was talking about Shane Lowry as an omen a few pages back ffs!
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pillar
Senior Member
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Post by pillar on Aug 10, 2019 22:01:04 GMT
I think everyone is deflated after that Dublin performance. Tomorrow’s game ultimately will be pointless When Kilkenny were going for Hurlings drive for 5,everyone wrote off Tipperary, similarly to Offaly in 1982.The great thing about sport is its unpredictability. At half time Dublin didn't look so poised and it's been a pattern of this year that their 1st half displays have been patchy. Dont be so defeatist.The next game hasnt been won yet
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Post by Mickmack on Aug 10, 2019 22:06:30 GMT
I think everyone is deflated after that Dublin performance. Tomorrow’s game ultimately will be pointless When Kilkenny were going for Hurlings drive for 5, everyone wrote off Tipperary, similarly to Offaly in 1982.The great thing about sport is its unpredictability. At half time Dublin didn't look so poised and it's been a pattern of this year that their 1st half displays have been patchy. Dont be so defeatist.The next game hasnt been won yet except they didnt. I remember it well and the fact that Henry was clearly unfit was a huge thing. And most people realised that Tipp could/should have won it the previous year till the dodgy penalty was given.
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Post by john4 on Aug 10, 2019 23:00:58 GMT
👏👏👏👏
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Post by Ard Mhacha on Aug 10, 2019 23:15:30 GMT
It's great to see Killian Spillane make a breakthrough. Not sure if he will be playing tomorrow though. Which Spillane is Killian the son of?
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Post by ballhopper34 on Aug 10, 2019 23:21:32 GMT
It's great to see Killian Spillane make a breakthrough. Not sure if he will be playing tomorrow though. Which Spillane is Killian the son of? Both Killian and Adrian are sons of Tom "Only 4" Spillane.
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Post by MrRasherstoyou on Aug 11, 2019 6:12:47 GMT
Hope everyone has a good and safe day today, can't wait for this, one of the great rivalries of recent times. I really fancy Kerry to step it up and win with a bit to spare, they will want to make a statement of intent, not just stumble into the final, it's one of those situations where there's no hiding now or after. This is like Kerry of 1975 looking to win to get to play in the final, but not against Dublin of 1975, rather 1977. Tyrone have not showed enough for me to say they've improved on last year. And they have not shown any indication of the old Indian sign over Kerry in the last few meetings. If they go for it it will be a really good contest, if they go into their shell it's going to be a long, slow and bloodless death.
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Post by Mickmack on Aug 11, 2019 8:30:32 GMT
According to TV3, David Clifford will undergo a late fitness test to see if he can play.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2019 8:59:31 GMT
I have not seen this reported anywhere else to date so hopefully nothing to it.
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Post by Dermot on Aug 11, 2019 12:21:09 GMT
Hi folks, not sure about this one ... hoping for a Tyrone win and think we can but that all depends on how we get to grips with Clifford, Geaney etc.... I just hope the ref has a good game
Mind you does it really matter when you see what’s awaiting the winner
Safe travels
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diego
Fanatical Member
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Post by diego on Aug 11, 2019 12:26:37 GMT
Subs listed: 16 B Kelly 17 B O Beaglaoich 18 J Lyne 19 J Sherwood 20 D Moynihan 21 T Walsh 22 G O'Sullivan 23 D O'Connor 24 J Barry 25 K Young 26 D Shaw
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tpo
Senior Member
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Post by tpo on Aug 11, 2019 12:33:19 GMT
Micheál Burns replaced by Killian Young on subs
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Post by royalkerryfan on Aug 11, 2019 12:43:29 GMT
No JOD anyway just passed him having a coffee with Aidan OShea.
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Post by kerrybhoy06 on Aug 11, 2019 12:45:29 GMT
Shaw is an interesting one- have always liked the look of him whenever I have seen him.
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