O’Shea makes a case for the defence

PAT O’SHEA was borrowing from the Tyrone hymn sheet this week when discussing the Kingdom’s road to Croke Park for All-Ireland final Sunday.

Time and again over the past ten days, the Ulster men referenced not the Dublin game, but their provincial defeat to Down as the turning point in the season.

And down in Killarney, the Kerry boss was recounting memories not of gritty wins against Monaghan and Galway, but of final-day losses to Derry and Cork as the crucial landmarks in a potential three-in-a-row season.