Aaron Kernan backs Armagh to stun Dublin but he'll need RTÉ radio to hear it
AARON KERNAN was still motoring with Armagh when they last collided with Dublin in the Championship.
But with a drive home from Dr Hyde Park to be tackled, the former Orchard ace admits he will be depending on
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Aaron Kernan reckons Armagh will beat Dublin in this weekend's Championship clash
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The former Armagh star revealed why he'll have to listen to the clash on the radio
As defence coach with Sligo, a showdown with a different Leinster opponent will be Kernan's top priority on Sunday afternoon as the Yeats men face Kildare in a Tailteann Cup tie in Roscommon.
Still, the 2005 Young Footballer of the Year hopes to be back in the car in time to follow events from Croke Park over the airwaves.
And the journey to
Bernard Brogan played a leading role for the Sky Blues in the 2010 All-Ireland third-round qualifier, racking up 0-9 as they ran out 0-14 to 0-11 winners.
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There were parallels too with the current campaign as Dublin were still healing from a shock Leinster
Kernan recalled: "They were in an unusual place. That was the year they shipped the five goals against Meath.
"So they were trying to find their feet between being defensively solid and not taking away from what their strengths were in an attacking sense.
'Looking back now, or even at the time, I'm not sure that we had the genuine confidence or belief within our group that we were capable of going and beating Dublin in Croke Park.
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'I think maybe if it had been a home game at that stage in the Athletic Grounds, we might have been the sort of team that could have performed an ambush. But the genuine belief wasn't there within us.'
En route to claiming the Sam Maguire for the first time in their history, Armagh were steered to victory over Dublin by Kernan's father Joe in the 2002 All-Ireland semi-finals.
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With the two games drawing a combined attendance of 142,529 to HQ, the Ulster side prevailed again when the teams contested a qualifier the following summer.
As Armagh continue their All-Ireland title defence against a Dublin side buoyed by their win over last year's runners-up Galway, Kernan expects a much greater turn-out this weekend than the 25,947 that attended the 2010 clash.
He continued: 'I know it certainly wasn't the same spectacle that there was in 2002, 2003 in that qualifier game, or that All-Ireland semi-final where they played Dublin in packed Croke Parks and even league games at that stage.
'The 2003 league game, I think there were 82,000 people at it at the start of January, so they were the good times in Armagh football and good times in Ireland as a whole in terms of crowds that were turning out.
'But you'd have to think, given the Armagh support and how well they travel in numbers, and particularly Dublin, what they've given their fans, you'd hope again that if you had 50,000-plus, it would still be a brilliant spectacle.
'I think the Leinster final with 60,000 there showed that when you have a good contest and you have a crowd there, Croke Park fairly comes alive.
Ultimately that's what players want, that's what you thrive on and that's what all the sacrifice is being done for. It's big days like that."
Another agonising Ulster final defeat to Donegal was put to one side by Armagh as they made a winning start in the so-called Group of Death by holding off a late comeback from Derry.
After their bid for a 15th Leinster title on the bounce was foiled by Meath, Dublin also needed an emphatic response when they went to Salthill.
And Kernan admits to being 'very impressed' by the manner in which Dessie Farrell's side eked out a one-point win on a day when leading roles were played by the likes of Con O'Callaghan and Ciarán Kilkenny.
He said: 'You were sort of wondering where they were at after going out against Meath. Obviously the key personnel that they would have lost from last year.
"You were sort of wondering who was going to pick up the pieces or was there going to be a genuine confidence within the group that they could turn it around themselves.
'To be fair, that was the biggest thing that stood out – the desire to go and do the dirty stuff that they had across the board. But it was led by their key people, particularly the likes of Con and Ciarán Kilkenny.
'So it was very, very impressive for them to go away and absolutely what was a very tough group got a hell of a lot tougher.
'That one is going to go right down to the wire – there's no doubt about that. That'll be the last kick of the game in both of those final days to see who even makes it out for the preliminary quarter-final, never mind going straight to a quarter-final."
It was fellow Armagh man Tony McEntee who opened the door for Kernan to get involved in coaching at inter-county level for the first time as he joined the Sligo set-up for 2025.
SLIGO ROLE
And he is revelling in the role as they prepare for the meeting with Kildare, which is a straight shoot-out for top spot in Group 1 and a direct ticket to a Tailteann quarter-final.
The Crossmaglen Rangers man said: 'A super group to be involved in. Mad keen to learn and keen to improve not only themselves.
"But the county as a whole, because they've been making great strides, particularly with what they've been doing at underage and club level.
'So it's been brilliant to be part of that in terms of where we are at the moment obviously.
"The two wins in the Tailteann Cup sets us off nicely for a table-top clash against Kildare, so after a poor league start, I think we learned – well.
"I learned – a huge amount in terms of a coaching point of view, in terms of setbacks, and then really since then the whole group has been in an upward trajectory.
'But across the board, certainly an enjoyable and valuable learning experience personally.'
*AARON KERNAN was speaking in his role as a BoyleSports ambassador.
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