All-Ireland SFC semi-final: Armagh v Kerry, Croke Park 5.30pm (D. Gough, Meath) Live RTÉ, BBC.
In every sense of the word, Kerry appear to be boring their way to a third straight All-Ireland final. It’s clear the management will be making no apologies for the lack of entertainment when they are in a results business but to drill through Armagh they will need endeavour. Kerry will likely prime themselves for an improved version of what Derry presented them with last Sunday week.
The words recycling, reapplying and restarting will all be circled in the Paddy Tally playbook. They will play their percentages and trust that they are sharp enough not to let Armagh counter. But where they could hurt Armagh is the ability of their wing-backs Gavin White and Brian Ó Beaglaoich to break through walls.
Ó Beaglaoich is playing his best football in a Kerry jersey and scoring freely but one decision not to take a point and instead go for goal could make the difference. For Armagh, the luxury of being able to give Rian O’Neill licence to roam says so much about the quality of inside forwards Kieran McGeeney now has at his disposal. What’s more, they have choices on the options that can fit in there nicely too.
Stefan Campbell is always seems to provide something when introduced. It's over two years since Armagh lost a game in regulation time – the 2022 Ulster quarter-final against Donegal. The four penalty shoot-out defeats they have suffered since points to a lack of ruthlessness, sure, but even if they are not the best of the remaining four they are close to being the most difficult to beat.
Kerry won’t be able to rely on wearing down Armagh as they did Derry because the Ulster runners-up are well rested. Expecting to prosper in the last 15 minutes risks being caught. No, if they are going to win, the spadework will most likely need to be done earlier.
Who keeps the shovel tipping? Tony Brosnan is not Paul Galvin mark II but his creativity and control in possession is an asset. He should be complementing the vision of Paudie Clifford but for whatever reason Clifford has not been dictating the rhythm of games as he has done the past few seasons. That fact and a couple of others aside (Dara Moynihan’s form, a slight over-dependency on scores from defence), distill all the factors and it comes down to trust.
Kerry engender more of it. Verdict: Kerry.
