Colm Boyle column: For life of me I can't understand why David Clifford is burning energy going backwards
Kerry will have a lot of soul-searching to do over the next few months. To me, they have lost their Kerry identity.
The football Championship badly needed at least one good semi-final last weekend. Thankfully, we got two. Armagh’s win over Kerry in particular was a cracking game. It feels like a long time since a game of football really gripped me.
Two scores in the first 40 seconds had me sitting up on my couch thinking, “Here we go, this is going to be tasty.” The game was played at a savage intensity. There were over 40 turnovers, which created chaos and excitement. Yes, there were slow phases of play also but you are going to get that in most games nowadays.
Most of all, there were some outstanding moments of quality. Kerry’s defeat had so many similarities to Dublin’s exit two weeks earlier. Like the Dubs, I thought Kerry were brilliant for the first 25 minutes or so and it felt for most of that first half as though Armagh were just hanging in.
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Con O’Callaghan missed a goal chance early in the second half that kept Galway in the game, while Kerry left two glaring goal opportunities behind them after half-time that left Armagh with hope.
Another similarity was when the underdogs really got the momentum behind them in the closing stages, there looked like there was only going to be one winner.
I thought Armagh were incredible in the last quarter of normal time and in extra time. A lot of the talk after the game focused on Armagh’s signals for set play moves and their formation up front when this happens.
But, for as much as Armagh like to try and be structured and controlled, they are still at their absolute best when they play with instinct, courage and emotion.
Some of their scores in the last quarter especially were off the charts. Rian O’Neill’s point late on where he receives the ball moving back towards his own goal and strikes it over from 55 metres with practically no back lift is one of the best scores I have seen in Croke Park. It was pure genius from an instinctive player.
A big reason why I believed Armagh would win was their greater strength in depth. The impact from Stefan Campbell, Ross McQuillan, Jarly Óg Burns and Conor Turbitt, when reintroduced, was off the charts.
Kerry will have a lot of soul-searching to do over the next few months. To me, they have become just another normal team. They have lost their Kerry identity.
We know they have a couple of exceptional players but their style of play didn’t get the best out of them. I still, for the life of me, can’t understand why David Clifford is constantly burning energy following his man back down the field instead of staying up.
Nobody is missing David Moran, or even Jack Barry, more than Clifford at the minute. Kerry don’t offer up any type of press on the opposition kick out anymore.
Instead, after a score, Clifford and Co retreat and their opposition go on a slowed-up attack, meaning the Kerry forwards don’t see the ball again for a few minutes.
Kerry aren’t getting a chance to build any sort of momentum within games because of this and, crucially, every time they do attack they are facing a packed defence rather than a scrambled defence after losing a kickout.
Kerry only won one from 31 Armagh’s kick outs and that was in the second half of extra time.
This is an area they need to massively improve on.
McGuinness must vary Donegal attacking gameplan in 2025
Galway are back in the final, and they deserved their victory against Donegal.
What impressed me most about them was the way they dug in when the game became a real slog in the last 20 minutes or so. From the 48th minute onwards they outscored Donegal by three points to one.
That mental resolve hadn’t been a feature of Galway teams for a number of years but there is no doubt this group have got it in abundance.
I thought the players’ reaction at the final whistle was telling. There was no mass celebration which suggests to me that this was a game they fully expected to win.
If you break this game down into pure stats, then there was nothing in it. Both teams had 27 shots and 15 scores, the crucial score being Paul Conroy’s effort that dropped short and found its way to the net.
Shaun Patton won’t thank Ciaran Thompson for not blocking the run of Matthew Tierney, whose presence was enough to distract a helpless Patton.
The quality of shooting took a spectacular nosedive in the final quarter. Donegal only scored once from their last eight shots; their reliance on long distance scores eventually let them down.
Oisin Gallen will have nightmares about his late free. I’m sure if he had the chance again he would have given himself a far better shooting angle to allow for a greater margin of error.
While Donegal mainly relied on low percentage shots from distance Galway were, crucially, able to break lines and get the ball closer to goal. Three out their last four shots were inside the 21 with their last score from Liam Silke just on the edge of the D.
Donegal had virtually no kicking element to their game; all of their 15 scores came by working the ball through the hands.
Three of Galway’s 15 scores came from a probing kickpass into their attack.
Jim McGuinness is going to have to vary their attacking game plan next year as Croke Park is an unforgiving place if you are not going to kick the ball.
The greater variety to Galway’s play ultimately made the difference.
Why don't Kerry people back their team?
Jack O’Connor’s praise of the Armagh support was as indirect a dig at the Kerry following, or lack thereof, as you could get.
The old Kerry tradition of not turning up unless it’s a final seems to be alive and well.
I know they are the most successful county in history, but football is a religion down there. Why more people wouldn’t turn out for an All-Ireland semi-final is beyond me.
Yes, ticket prices, cost of living, travel times are all a factor but they are for most counties.
Support can make a difference in a tight game.
When we played Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final replay in 2017 in Croke Park, it was virtually a home game for us.
The Mayo fans significantly outnumbered their Kerry counterparts and we fed off the support on the pitch.
I am sure it’s frustrating at times for the Kerry players.
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