Kernan and Lyons showdown

EACH man talks a good game. Each have served their managerial dues in club football, where they both led their respective teams to an All-Ireland title.

Each are in the first year at the helm of their teams. And now they must try to outwit the other on the biggest stage.

One of the most intriguing battles of Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final will not even take place on the pitch. This will be a mental tussle on the line. Similarities between Tommy Lyons and Joe Kernan are easy to spot, both are very thoughtful on the game they have given their life to and neither needs much encouragement to voice their opinions.

They came together yesterday in the Bank of Ireland centre, for a little sparring before the main event this Sunday. While Dublin’s demolition of Donegal almost a fortnight ago has installed them as firm favourites, not too many people will be writing off Armagh’s chances.

While the Ulster champions made hard work of eliminating Sligo, they have managed to get this far without playing particularly well. A good sign of any team. However, this current Armagh side has yet to win at Croke Park. Kernan believes the recent disappointments in the sacred sod should be motivation enough for his side.

“It’s very important the players are aware of that. If you don’t remember what has happened in the past, the same thing can happen. I hope what has happened in the past few years, is still hurting the lads. If they stop hurting from those defeats, that would be a mistake.”

What Sunday promises to bring, which might have been missing last weekend, is a house full of colour and passion. Armagh and Dublin have the two most fanatical sets of supporters in the country, which is bound to be reflected at Croker.

Lyons has stimulated the growing adulation for the Dublin team, but admits it can bring its own problems. Some of his players have been besieged by ticket requests this week. “What I have said to the lads, is you have x number of tickets, give them to your parents and family as quickly as possible.

“But the public has been great. My only disappointment is I didn’t go into the flag business myself,” Lyons laughs, making reference to the inordinate number of flags now flying from car windows in the capital. But, Lyons said the GAA needed this late summer sprint after the early part of the championship was overshadowed by events in the Far East.

“The World Cup had the GAA on its knees, and we badly needed a couple of games to re-ignite the championship. You saw it in Kerry last week, they are a re-energised team. And the whole championship has been re-energised.”

Most people have underlined Dublin’s crushing defeat of Donegal as their most impressive display of the summer, but Lyons is swift to disagree. “Our best performance was against Meath, as I think Armagh’s best performance was their second game against Tyrone. If we had lost to Meath, the back door would have been of no use to us. It would have been Dublin’s eighth year losing to Meath and psychologically, it would have been hard for the team to handle.”

Although the back door system has created a championship filled with intrigue and incident, both managers made one small criticism. The break between games. Kernan still believes the five weeks between his side winning the Ulster title and meeting Sligo was the reason for his team’s listlessness in the quarters.

“It showed in our rustiness against Sligo. It’s a big gap. And there is nothing to do to combat that. Because where do you for a challenge game. You can’t play any of the teams left in it, you might meet them a few weeks later.

“That’s what happened Armagh last year. They beat Galway in a challenge and thenwo weeks later, lost later in the qualifiers.

“But it’s good two provincial champions are meeting at this stage, because if there wasn’t any provincial champions in the All-Ireland final, I think those championships would be a little discredited,” Kernan believed.

Despite this only being his first year as sole manager of Armagh, he was part of a management team a few years ago, the knives have been out for his side. Too defensive, trying to defend a lead. Kernan has heard the scathing comments.

“In any game, teams are going to have stages of domination. And teams have certain stereotypes, I suppose ours haunted us against Sligo. What disappointed me that first day against Sligo was while we had enough of the ball, we didn’t use it well. We used it better the second day.

“Myself and Tommy have only been over these teams for the last eight months, and everyone wants their team to play excellent football which the pundits will love. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, folks, no matter how much we would like to be. It takes some time to get your team where you want them to go.”

Neither manager expects to see the indiscipline that marred last Sunday’s semi-final, because neither team is bringing baggage into the semi-final. As the days near, much of the hype will surround Ray Cosgrove and Oisin McConville, who as Lyons points out the points difference in the scoring charts is only three points, but both managers are expecting less heralded players to flourish on the stage.

“A lot of my boys didn’t play to their strengths last weekend and I would be hoping they do so on Sunday,” Kernan says. “As a manager, you are always looking for someone to come out of the crop. If Oisin doesn’t score his usual seven or eight points on Sunday, we expect someone else to do it. As a manager, you always expect other players to take on the load.”

Lyons concurred with Kernan’s sentiments. “We will be doing things to counteract Joe’s best players and Joe will be doing the same to counteract our best players.

“What you look for then is someone different who hasn’t shone yet to come out of the pack.”

With the talent on display on Sunday, there are plenty of opportunities for the unsung to become true heroes, whether it be for the blue corner or the orange corner.