Kerry's tactical adaptability could be the difference in coin-flip final

RTÉ News​

3 days ago

There can be little doubt that the best two teams in the country have wound up in the All-Ireland final this weekend.
The semi-finals may have been drab and underwhelming but hopefully that will tee up a cracking decider, which would be fitting after the summer we've had overall.
Weighing everything up, this might be one of the hardest All-Ireland finals to call in years.
Fortunately, my hurling counterparts have taken the pressure off by universally getting it wrong last week.
In fairness to the small-ball lads, who could have predicted that outcome? Obviously, the Cork-Mayo jokes were flowing all too freely on Whatsapp afterwards. Although, I don't know if we ever collapsed in an All-Ireland final like that - in my time, at least.
But you'd have to feel a bit of sympathy for those Cork players. They'll need a bit of time to get over that one.
I suppose it demonstrates what the pressure of an All-Ireland final can do. It's a game apart from every other match you'll play in the championship and the whole lead-up is usually wracked with tension.
Personally, I used to love the spin into Croke Park on the bus and seeing the colour outside the pubs in Drumcondra and Dorset Street. I know other lads used to dread it, because it increased their nerves I suppose. But I used to derive great energy from it.
During the parade, the noise levels ratchet up and the whole stadium is just a wall of sound. I particularly enjoyed walking around in front of the Hill when it was the Dubs we were playing. The flares, the chanting, the abuse, I used to love it.
The Donegal crowd bring enough of a frenzy themselves. I experienced it once on final day back in my first decider. My main memory was being down to 'officially' mark Mark McHugh that day and then never seeing him for the most of the match. He dropped back into defence as most of them did. Our only collision - that being the operative word - was when I got yellow carded for a clothes-line tackle in the first half. I was relieved it wasn't more.
Funnily enough, I always had a wobble during the warm-up when everything always seemed to go wrong. My skills used to desert me. I remember before one final going to give a simple hand-pass to Paddy Durcan in front of me and missing him by about six yards.
Then, after all the rest of the pre-match trimmings, the game would throw-in and I'd usually be fine. Particularly if your first involvement in the play is a positive one. I managed to get most of my cock-ups out of the way in the warm-up.
But I've seen it where lads froze on the occasion and the game quickly got away from them.
Getting back to this Sunday, the final provides us with a classic contrast in styles. Donegal's relentless hard-running power versus Kerry's kicking game.
We'll give the obligatory nod to the importance of the midfield battle. The kickout restrictions have made this the game's pivotal battleground.
Kerry have been without Diarmuid O'Connor for a few rounds but have imposing fetchers in Mark O'Shea, Sean O'Brien and Joe O'Connor - the last of whom has had a sensational season.
Donegal have been brilliant at committing numbers to compete for the breaking ball, which was where they broke the Meath kickout particularly in the second quarter the last day.
They also have a ferocious weapon in the form of Shaun Patton's booming kickout. He can land his deliveries in a pocket of space beyond the opposing half-back line for the Donegal wide players to race on to. This led to the winner in Hyde Park and a couple of second half goals against Meath. Peter Canavan has identified in one piece of analysis that it can take them 13 seconds to get from a kickout to a score.
Their stamina and relentless running is just astonishing. 'Repeat sprintability' is right. Their GPS stats must be off the charts.
Kerry will be ultra-conscious of minding the ball and not conceding turnovers that would allow Donegal to hit them on the counter. The Finbarr Roarty turnover on Keith Curtis was a classic of the genre and within seconds resulted in the second goal for Ciaran Moore up the other end.
If Donegal are built more on the collective and more welded to a specific style of play, then Kerry's strength revolves around their individual footballing talents. David Clifford is the most obvious figure here but we saw in the games against Armagh and Tyrone the conundrum facing opposition defences under the new rules.
Armagh devoted most of their attention to Clifford, at least in the first half, and this allowed Seanie O'Shea to cause wreckage out around the arc. Two weeks later, Tyrone were naturally more conscious of shackling O'Shea but this meant they left Padraig Hampsey - a fabulous man marker - isolated against Clifford inside. He was on a hiding to nothing.
Donegal, with Brendan McCole on man-marking duties, supported by the broader zonal defensive shape, will surely not allow Clifford the room to thrive to that extent. The question is whether this will give the rest of the Kerry forwards a bit more space.
Malachy O'Rourke's side were more inclined to defend around the arc and this led to a glut of goal chances, most of which Kerry missed. On another day, they might not.
While Donegal's half-back line threat is more renowned, Kerry are underrated in that area. Brian Ó Beaglaíoch has had one of his best campaigns yet. We also saw Mike Breen join in the attack to lay on the goal for David Clifford against Tyrone - although there was still plenty to do admittedly.
The game is a flip of a coin. There are ample arguments for either side. Both teams have such a formidable array of weapons.
On balance, I think Kerry have slightly more capacity to vary up their approach, whereas Donegal are tightly aligned to one philosophy.
One potential opportunity for Kerry is: If they can get ahead in the game, will they force Donegal to deviate from their preferred template? Will the Ulster champions stop working the ball in close and start snatching at lower percentage two-pointers?
So, as of now, I'll give a tentative nod to Kerry. But that could change by the time we go live on air on Sunday.