Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Kerry have one big concern for Dublin test, Mayo and Louth dare to dream
Keith Evans made a critical block on Michael McKernan as he wound up for a two-point effort which could have taken the game to extra-time. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
E.M. Forster's assertion that life is easy to chronicle but bewildering to practice applied to the weekend of football championship quarter-final action in Croke Park. We were treated to a festival of football with Kerry, Dublin, Mayo and Louth still standing. Remarkably, one of the latter two will be in an All-Ireland final at the end of July.
Kerry and Tyrone produced a titanic battle on Saturday, which tested the All-Ireland champions to their core. There were so many talking points it would be impossible to cover everything. The second half was epic, and as good a half of football as I have seen in Croke Park in a long time as both teams went at it with gusto. Superb scores, magnificent fielding, stunning individual displays on both sides and physicality everywhere. Some of the breaking ball won by both sides through sheer bravery was noteworthy with Mark O’Shea, Paudie Clifford and Kieran McGeary wins all sticking out for me.
Kerry reminded me a bit of the great Dublin team coming down the stretch. There was an absence of panic and different players stepped up in game-winning moments. Keith Evans made a critical block on Michael McKernan in the 69th minute as he wound up for a two-point effort to equalise and push the game to extra-time, which may have been beyond Kerry considering it was the third week in a row with many of their players out on their feet by the end.
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For all that David Clifford scored (just the 1-8) and assisted, the break he won off the final kickout with one in it finished the contest. He read it to perfection arriving on the scene as the ball landed. That doesn’t happen by accident. When Shane Murphy addressed the kickout he was standing in the centre of the pitch, with his hands up in the air making himself available as an option, but once the kick was taken he made for the break zone. Initially his marker Niall Devlin had a yard on him but unsurprisingly David read the situation quicker than anyone else and sprinted to overtake Devlin at the right moment, take the ball perfectly in his stride and eventually set up Armin Heinrich for his last-gasp goal.
🟢🟡 THE KINGDOM GRAB THE WIN! 🟡🟢
— GAA+ (@GAAPlusOfficial) June 27, 2026
🚨 DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA! 🚨
Armin Heinrich finds the smallest of gaps and strikes late 💥
Kerry win with a goal as Kerry do! 🏆🔥@Kerry_Official @TyroneGAALive #KERvTYR
Clips courtesy of @AIB_GAA pic.twitter.com/bMMMPlo5QG
Amongst a host of fantastic individual displays Dylan Geaney continued with his superb form, scoring 0-8 from play. For the third week in succession that full forward line was electrifyingly threatening, scoring 1-19 between them. Dylan’s second two pointer showed me how far Kerry as a county have travelled since the days of not being able to match Tyrone’s intensity.
That two came from a scramble in front of the goals when it looked as if the Ulster men were about to devour the Kerry forwards and force a turnover, something we have seen more than once in the past. Instead having spilled the ball in contact Seán O’Brien pulled on it to get it out of the mass of bodies and following a switch kick from the excellent Gavin White it ended in Dylan’s hands and he struck the two. It was a punch to the gut for Tyrone, and a universe away from the repeated burrowing into the same bunch of bodies in front of the Hogan Stand in 2003, rather than moving the ball away to the space.
Shane Murphy’s performance was his best yet in green and gold. He is now playing with a confidence that complements his technical ability. When Darragh Ó Sé had him as an under 21 he was kicking 45s with both his left and right leg, his talent unquestionable as we have seen repeatedly with Dr Crokes. But previously it had not been unleashed on the biggest stage.
He was quick to the tee and his receivers movement and aerial contesting - as required - were excellent for much of the match. As well as retaining all but five of his kickouts he made a crucial save from Ronan Cassidy. Considering the way Kerry defended at times he needed to be as good as he was from the tee.
As a defensive unit they will look to improve for the semi-final as they can’t be happy with conceding 27 points. That will force introspection and should lead to innovation. Tyrone also had 10 wides, which will be one of the what if’s for Malachy O’Rourke.
Kerry will have to explore a way to defend slightly further out while remaining loyal to the system that has gotten them this far. They may not be giving up goal chances but in Croke Park it is too easy to get a shot off, at times. Tyrone had this figured out and Dublin now have good examples on how to exploit it.
The Ulster men illustrated that Kerry are vulnerable to twos, as shown by Conn Kilpatrick, Kieran McGeary and Ethan Jordan. They also hit the Kingdom’s defensive line at pace. Jordan’s first score exposed this, where a player coming at pace against a static line can get off a routine shot. When the brilliant Darren McCurry was introduced, he showed that by finding pockets of space between the defensive zones and also by taking men on, scores can be got. He scored a phenomenal 10 points in just 27 minutes of action. Kerry have two weeks to recover bodies and polish their game plan, to allow them take another necessary incremental step of improvement for the semi-final.
While Tyrone were incredible in defeat it will be little consolation. Their county and their winning tradition guarantees that. They were brave in their approach, defensively in particular as they were willing to push onto the Kerry players to make sure they couldn’t get comfortable on the ball. Their shooting efficiency remains a work on and to get promoted and push on in 2027, improvement will be chased.
Malachy O’Rourke highlighted afterwards how they felt hard done by some of the referees calls. I have been there, done that, had the tee-shirt and there are few things as sickening. It is inconsistency that kills and feels particularly unjust. O’Rourke had a point on a few incidents, in particular the Seán O’Brien mark that was incorrectly brought forward 50 metres, whereas Conn Kilpatrick’s wasn’t and an incorrect 45 given to Kerry. Once they process the defeat they will know they are on the right road. Get the Canavans back fully fit, bring through more of the under 20s as well as holding onto McCurry, Niall Morgan and Mattie Donnelly.
DUBLIN'S recent renaissance has been remarkable and it is not a coincidence that it has occurred at the same time of their manager's return. All of a sudden they are big-time back in the conversation with a semi-final against their old friends Kerry. They are getting the absolute max out of themselves, hence the return of the supporters to the Hill.
Con O’Callaghan was fit to play and was outstanding scoring 1-7. In the first half, Dublin repeatedly used direct ball to get the best out of him. Niall Scully was also a major driving force, as he has been all year, epitomising an admirable defiance with each passing game. They went six behind half-way through the second half and were under pressure on their own kickout as well as struggling on Galway’s. However, they refused to bow the head. They won three Connor Gleeson restarts in a row, and began chipping away at the lead before the critical black card and penalty incident.
Yes, it was a black for Liam Silke’s challenge, but was it a penalty for denying a goal-scoring opportunity? Cian Hernon and Dylan McHugh were both goal side of the incident, making that call debatable. Dublin played the final ten minutes well, using the extra man to effect.
For Galway, this defeat will be a head scratcher. The hindsight analysis may suggest that they were undercooked having played two Division 3 teams to get to this point. I’m not so sure about that, but there was a surprising flatness about them for much of the game. The absence of Seán Kelly was felt. Their own kickout in general, and specifically the lack of a short option was unhelpful and allowed Dublin generate momentum at key periods in both halves. They were 49% on their kickout overall conceding 1-7, which could have been more if Dublin had their shooting boots on.
Earlier Sunday, Louth had a remarkable victory over Monaghan. It was an incredible game of football where magic and mistakes mixed freely, leading to fantastic entertainment. To win having had a man sent off after only six minutes was momentous, especially considering that conventional wisdom that it is impossible to win under the new rules when a man down. Their energy in defence and their accuracy in attack were the corner stones of their victory. They scored 15 points from 19 shots in the second half, and the longer the game went on the better they got. All of their subs contributed significantly in different facets of the game. The confidence with which they are playing means they will fancy their chances in their semi-final.
For their semi-final opponents Mayo, their full-forward line of Darragh Beirne, Ryan O’Donoghue, Kobe McDonald and later Tommy Conroy were outstanding, scoring 20 points between on Saturday but it was their defensive performance that should be lauded. The way Cork played at times facilitated this but some of the one-on-one defending from Donncha McHugh on Stephen Sherlock and Enda Hession on Chris Óg Jones was exceptional. There was one cameo in the second half where Sherlock tried to lose McHugh on four different occasions. Sherlock's club mate Ian Maguire was in possession and was actively trying to slip a pass to him and set a screen for him. On each occasion McHugh adjusted his body and reacted to the movement while still being aware of where the ball was.
Cork have made progress in 2026 and will benefit from Division 1 football next year. On Saturday they were guilty of too many sloppy turnovers in the final third. It looked as if they were trying to hold onto the ball until the last second to release the next player. When it kept backfiring they should have adjusted. Critical to their continued improvement is the retention of John Cleary and his management team for 2027.
For now we look forward to another epic semi-final weekend in a fortnight. In the week that was we can all appreciate that it is a great time to be alive.
*Credit to Brian McClelland and RTÉ for the statistics
