3 key battles: Sean Cavanagh key to Tyrone’s hopes of upset
While discussing last year’s drawn All-Ireland semi-final between Kerry and Mayo, Tomás Ó Sé uttered the phrase of the summer. Pointing to the damage done by Mayo’s powerful half-back and midfield sector, Ó Sé said Kerry needed to “hammer the hammer”.
For Tyrone, Sean Cavanagh is the hammer. When the Tyrone captain plays well, he is a like a rising tide, he lifts every team-mate around him. Moreover, the sight of Cavanagh in full flow galvanises the Tyrone supporters. Cavanagh makes them find their voice. Kerry need no reminding of Cavanagh’s threat. He sunk them in 2008, scoring 0-5 from play in the All-Ireland final.
Peter Crowley’s job description can be summed up in three words.
Justin McMahon (Tyrone) v Kieran Donaghy (Kerry)
This particular duel could be the game changer. Kick-outs are going to have a huge importance in this contest.
If Kerry press up, and force Niall Morgan to kick long, Tyrone’s full-back line will be vulnerable.
In that scenario, Tyrone will be unable to maintain their two-sweepers. And if Kerry punt high balls to Donaghy before Tyrone set up their 14-man suffocation unit, the reigning champions could score goals.
In the Munster final replay, Kerry were brilliant at attacking the space around Donaghy.
Unlike a lot of other teams, Kerry commit men to the attack. As Donaghy is great at directing the break, it means there is a good chance that an advancing Kerry forward will win possession.
A word of note, though. In the 2008 final, ‘Big Justy’ (6ft 3in) held ‘Star’ (6ft 5in) scoreless.
Cathal McCarron (Tyrone) v James O’Donoghue (Kerry)
There are two ways to win a game of football. A manager can devise a gameplan to: 1) outscore the opposition, or 2) concede less than the opposition.
In last year’s All-Ireland final, Kerry set out to achieve the latter.
Kerry scored 2-9. But there was an element of fortune attached to both goals. The first goal derived from a partially blocked shot, the second came from a goalkeeping error. Remove the two goals and Kerry chalked up 0-9.
James O’Donoghue, a player who scored for fun all summer, spent most of the game roving around the 40. O’Donoghue failed to register a shot on goal.
If Kerry fail to hit the net, 0-9 will not suffice.
In their last three games, Tyrone have scored 0-19, 0-21, and 0-18 — an average of roughly 19 points per game.
If Kerry are to win, the champions first need James O’Donoghue playing, then playing as a shooter, not a supplier.
