Gary Brennan: Galway know Kerry's offensive threat is enormous - but they can hurt Kingdom too

A lot of the shooting practice in both camps will be focused on the channels either side of the 'D'. Galway will be encouraged by the fact that some different people stood up again in the semi-final win over Derry

OPENING: Kerry’s David Clifford moves inside Michael Fitzsimons of Dublin in Sunday's All-Ireland SFC semi-final.

THE line between bravery and stupidity can be a thin one at the best of times, but at this stage of the Football Championship, it becomes thinner by the hour.

There were plenty examples of ‘brave’ play in the weekend’s All-Ireland semi-finals which could well have been seen as stupid had they not worked out - especially in an age of microscopic analysis when the percentage plays are generally favoured.

It takes great courage to produce these big moments that turn and decide games, but the best players and teams have the skillset and mindset to take them on. They earn the right to be brave. What might be 50/50 for everyone else is 70/30 for them.

Nobody epitomised that more than Damien Comer. Though he was working hard, the first 20 minutes or so of Saturday’s semi-final against Derry hadn’t exactly gone to plan. Brendan Rodgers, the man detailed to mark him had gone up the field and kicked two points, while Comer struggled to get on ball in areas where he could really threaten. Galway had missed some good chances and made some poor decisions in front of goal and seemed to be getting unsure of themselves.

The pressure was building. When Comer took possession for his first score and turned 40m from goal, he appeared to be heading towards the Derry trap. Get turned over there and it's foolish play, doing everything you were warned to avoid, but Comer found the gap and got Galway going.

John Daly seemed to feed off this willingness to have a go, popped up with a point, before his excellent kick pass found Comer for his second score. Again, a turnover here could have been costly. Many teams have been frightened off even looking for that kick pass against Derry, but this one passed right through the heart of the 'D' into Comer’s chest.

Daly’s pass for Comer’s first goal was equally incisive. As a team, Galway also seemed to decide at half-time that there would be no prizes for being tentative. That there was no tomorrow. Odhran Lynch had been succeeding throughout the first half in getting short kick outs away, even when Galway had pressed, so they pushed a fifth body into the full-forward line and cut off his channels with big men and lots of movement. Had Derry been able to go over the press Galway could have been made to look very foolish, but only having one major aerial threat in the middle cost Derry here. Galway crowded out Conor Glass and won the breaks. When Emmet Bradley came on, he helped that cause but by that stage, the damage was done. Galway’s brave press had paid off.

DROP CAP

KERRY and Dublin offered copious examples of this delicate balance on Sunday. After Mayo had slowed much of their running transition from back to front last time out, Kerry trusted their kicking much more regularly early on to get them upfield. Miss these kicks by a yard or two and the armchair experts will be wondering why they keep giving the ball back to Dublin, but they have earned the right to take that risk.

In the closing moments, many would have felt the percentage play for Paul Murphy was to carry into the space in front of him and try to create an overlap. Instead, he kicked towards a man being tightly marked, even if it was David Clifford. Here we see exactly how fine the line is. Some will argue Davy Byrne was foolish to go for the ball, that he should have just kept Clifford outside him – but if he had managed to dislodge the ball (as he nearly did), would it have been the brave piece of play that spirited Dublin into an All-Ireland final? Even in defeat, there were plenty of examples of this fortitude from the Dubs – James McCarthy’s point from under the Hogan Stand, Cormac Costello’s unlikely finish and Brian Fenton’s kick pass at the death for Paddy Small’s crucial mark, that yielded Dean Rock’s equaliser.

We saw examples in the Tailteann Cup final as well – Kieran Martin may have had point on his mind when he won possession initially but his bravery to take his man on and his quality to hold the ball under pressure earned him the match-winning goal. Ronan O’Toole kicked lovely scores, but his crossfield pass for Westmeath’s first goal is a classic example of the fine margins. If that’s cut out, where does it end up?

Looking ahead to the SFC final, both Kerry and Galway will want to be brave, but on their terms. Both showed the pride they have in defending the 'D' and not allowing opposition any space in there. Both had examples of good swarms there. Perhaps this is what allows them to be brave up top.

I think a lot of the shooting practice in both camps will be focused on the channels either side of the 'D'. Galway will be encouraged by the fact that some different people stood up again in the semi-final. Rob Finnerty was quieter, but John Daly added an attacking threat. They found a way. They will be looking at how Dublin caused greater issues for Kerry in the second half when the ball was moved quickly, and they increased the pressure on the kick out. On the flip side, they will know that Kerry should be more capable of going over the type of press they used on Saturday, and the threat if the Kingdom were to do so is enormous.

Kerry will feel that Derry had opportunities to shoot that they didn’t seem comfortable in taking, and might be tempted to go direct and high to test Galway’s full-back line, considering how well it worked out for them against Dublin. Galway have given leads to Derry and Armagh and been able to reel them in, but Dublin couldn’t get ahead of Kerry, despite levelling with them at the death.

Both finalists have been brave to now – they will skirt with necessary dangers once more when the reward is the ultimate prize.