It’s NFL semi-final time and we’re looking to see if Down can maintain their stingy streak, if Mayo can overcome their Kerry hoodoo and whether Aidan Walsh has a future at full-forward.
Can Mayo end the Kerry Croke Park hoodoo?
Since 2004, Mayo have played Kerry four times in Croke Park and lost every single time, with the combined margin of defeat over that period totalling 33 points. Those four defeats included two of the most humiliating in the recent history of All-Ireland Finals and have helped propagate the theory that the Red and Green simply can’t handle the pressure once they set foot in HQ.
Croke Park isn’t Mayo’s problem, however, as they actually have a decent record there. It would simply appear that the mere sight of a Kerry jersey on the hallowed turf makes a Mayo player weak at the knees, in a literal as opposed to a romantic sense.
Last Sunday’s in showing in Tralee was an encouraging one for James Horan’s side, but as a measure of how they will fare this weekend it was effectively useless after Jack O’Connor took a knife to the Kingdom and culled half of the team as he seeks to fine tune his Championship XV. With the devastating forward line O’Connor has named for Sunday Kerry are deservedly favourites, but a Mayo victory would set down a serious marker for the season ahead.
And hey, if it doesn’t work out, they’re off to Portugal for a week immediately after the game so it’s not all bad.
Has there ever been a more potent forward line than this Kerry six?
There are two former footballers of the year and a contender for last season’s award named in the Kerry forward line for Sunday and that doesn’t even include the Gooch, Declan O’Sullivan or one of the stars of this year’s league, Patrick Curtin. It will be easy for the Mayo backs to contain the Kerry attack on Sunday, right? Eh, not so much.
The quality of Kerry’s starting six forwards is unquestionable, but their positioning is very interesting indeed. We have seen Kieran Donaghy at left half forward before – to counteract Stephen Cluxton’s kickouts in last year’s All-Ireland Final – and it could work in the long term because of the alternative option he provides for Kerry’s own kickouts.
Equally, Declan O’Sullivan at full forward is nothing new and many would feel that he is better off closer to goal despite his obvious ability to threaten from further out with his mazy and powerful solo runs. The potential for this new-look attack is vast and extremely appetising for Jack O’Connor and Kerry followers. The Mayo backs, on the other hand, some of whom are untested at the top level, could be in for a long afternoon.
Has Aidan Walsh a future at 14?
It’s hard to be too critical of the team that have been the most consistent over the last three years (One All-Ireland title, two All-Ireland finals, two National League titles), but it is also hard to ignore the fact that Cork have been a tad too reliant on their running game at times.
It has served them well for the most part under Conor Counihan but they have been badly lacking a Plan B on occasion and it seems as if Counihan himself copped onto that when electing to play Aidan Walsh at full forward throughout the league campaign.
Walsh might be more suited to life on the edge of the square
It’s perhaps too early to tell whether it has been a success or not, but the signs are certainly promising. More than most sides, the Rebels have enough options at midfield to cope in his absence and he has good enough hands to claim whatever comes his way in the air, or break it down to the speedy corner forwards in his vicinity.
Putting Walsh on the edge of the square makes Cork far less predictable and far more dangerous and we wouldn’t be surprised if the experiment turns into a more permanent arrangement in the coming months.
Meaner Down side will be no pushovers
Like Mayo’s record against Kerry, Down’s recent run-ins with Cork don’t exactly make pleasant reading for followers of the Mourne County, with the 2010 All-Ireland Final defeat and last season’s comprehensive Championship beating at the hands of the Rebels still fresh in the memory.
Earlier this season, Cork went to town at Páirc Uí Chaoimh with four goals in another commanding 13-point win, but since then Down have tightened up at the back and it is that defensive prowess which has been key to their progress to the semi-finals.
In the five games since the Cork defeat, Down have conceded an average of 13 points a game and most managers would snap your hand off if you told them before a game that that would be the extent of their opponents’ scoring over 70 minutes.
Over the last couple of seasons, Down have been a joy to watch in full flow, but were arguably in need of a meaner streak to sit comfortably alongside the big boys. Keep up this stingy approach for the rest of the season and they’ll be a hard nut to crack.
Big psychological hurdle for Galway
It might have been April Fools’ Day when Galway took on Kilkenny, but the result – a 25-point defeat – was no joke and quickly turned Galway’s semi-final aspirations into the realities of having to fight for their survival in the top flight.
Dublin might not have won a single game throughout the league, but they’ll sniff an opportunity here and attempt to prey on what must be fragile Galway minds less than a fortnight after the nightmare in Nowlan Park.
With no Joe Canning to call on either, it could be a disastrous end to Anthony Cunningham’s first league campaign in charge of the Tribesmen.
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