Month: September 2021

IT’S BEEN A rollercoaster three years for Tipperary ladies football.

Tipperary captain Samantha Lambert.

Source: Ramsey Cardy/SPORTSFILE

From 15 games came 15 wins and three titles in 2017, as the Premier county capped a remarkable year by climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand and lifting the All-Ireland intermediate title.

Promoted to Division 2 and the senior championship ranks then, Shane Ronayne’s side won the league last year and upped a level yet again, but were dramatically relegated back down to intermediate after a mixed summer in the top-tier.

Now, two Septembers since their incredible Mary Quinn Memorial Cup lift, they’re back in the All-Ireland showpiece. And captain Samantha Lambert is clearly delighted.

“It’s brilliant,” she tells The42 ahead of their showdown with 2018 finalists Meath. “Last year we were bitterly disappointed to be relegated from the senior ranks. This was our target, to get back to Croke Park and here we are.

“We want to make the most of Sunday and try get back up playing senior football. We played well and competed well in Division 1 league, it’s not as if in any match we got hammered out the gate. We know that we’re well able to compete with the best teams in the country.

We beat Cork this year in Pairc Ui Rinn, and we got huge heart and belief out of that. We’re not thinking about that though, we’re just thinking about the 60 minutes in front of us. Meath aren’t going to be an easy battle at all, we need to put in a big performance.

The mood back home is definitely good, she assures, after an incredible hurling week for the county last month. With both the senior and U20 teams lifting All-Ireland titles, Lambert is hoping her side can follow suit on Sunday.

She laughs when it’s put to her.

“The Tipp jerseys haven’t been washed I’d say since four or five weeks ago!” the Ardfinnan defender grins. “They’re still wearing them below, wearing them to bed and everything. Hopefully they’ll keep them on now until Sunday.

“The blue and gold will be flying high here in Croke Park. Everyone’s on a high at home after the senior hurlers and the U20s winning All-Ireland final.

It would be great to make it three out of three and bring another cup home to the Premier county, but that’s 60 minutes away in a huge battle.

You may recognise Lambert from recent a RTÉ programme, ‘We Run The World’. The groundbreaking five-part mini series followed herself and four other top female stars — sprint sensation Phil Healy, one of Ireland’s Hockey World Cup heroes Nicci Daly, Limerick camogie captain Sarah Carey and cyclist Orla Walsh  — for a period of time, and made for excellent viewing.

The highs, the lows, the success, the failures the challenges, the sacrifices and balancing it all with everyday life; mapping their story to where they are today.

It was something Lambert didn’t have to think twice about doing, and something she takes great pride in. 

“I just went for it,” she smiles. “When opportunities like that come about, you just grab them with both hands. It was a great experience, absolutely brilliant to get that opportunity.

Lambert celebrating the 2017 win.

Source: Cody Glenn/SPORTSFILE.

“I’d consider myself extremely lucky out of all the ladies footballers in the country that I was chosen to have that documentary done about me.

It’s something that will always be there. My family and friends are very proud of the fact that I’m there on the RTÉ Player. It was great, you look back on it and you’re going, ‘Did that actually happen?’ It’s great to have and it’s something that I’ll cherish.

This week is one she’ll cherish and enjoy too, of course, the build-up to the big day one of the best parts of it all.

While Lambert concedes she’d nearly rather play the game there and then, she’s focused on keeping the nerves at bay, and trying to keep herself as busy as possible.

“If you’re getting nervous at the start of the week, you’re going to be drained,” the secondary school teacher continues. “I try stay in my own routine and keep busy.

“You have people discussing the game with you and saying, ‘What will Meath be like? Meath will be good…’ You’re trying to keep your own focus and not get too caught up in the whole situation.”

With plenty of positivity in the group after a good Division 1 campaign playing the best teams in the country, and a strong championship showing thus far, Lambert is looking forward to the big one now. To the return to Croke Park.

Unhappy with her side’s semi-final performance against Sligo, where they got “complacent” after 20 minutes, she says, they’ll be hoping to give an impressive display on Sunday.

Meath and Tipperary, they’re no strangers to one another, and although Munster champions the Premier were comprehensive winners in their All-Ireland group stage championship opener, that means nothing. 

Just look at the 2017 All-Ireland semi-final at Semple Stadium which came right down to the wire, and the many other intense showdowns they’ve had.

There’s another one on the horizon in four days time, she concludes.

“I know we’ll be up against it, we’re under no illusions. They’re very physical and fit and strong, so it’ll be a battle.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Click Here: new arrivals backpacks

A KEY MEMBER of Liam Sheedy’s 27-man backroom team for their All-Ireland winning campaign was legendary forward Eoin Kelly.

For Sheedy to operate with such a large management set-up was a sign of his willingness to be a facilitator and oversee the entire operation. 

Kelly’s official title was free-taking coach but he helped out with various other aspects of team preparation, offering words of advice to players along the journey. When it comes from one of the greatest players of his generation, that encouragement goes a long way.

Kelly, of course, has previous with Sheedy, having captained Tipp to the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2010. He also acted as hurley carrier and water boy when Sheedy managed the minors to the All-Ireland success four years earlier.

On his work with the free-takers Kelly said his role involved “passing on your experience.” It clearly worked, with Jason Forde nailing every one of his 10 shots at the posts in the final, including four frees and two 65s.

“It’s stuff you would have picked up as a player,” explains Kelly.

“Probably just relaxing the shoulders and all that, that’s something I picked up later on in my career. What’s the best advice I ever got? It was Nicky English when I started taking the frees.

“On the first day in 2001 he says, ‘Just lift it and strike it as clean and as hard as you can and I don’t care where it goes after that.’ And I think that day he just took a load of pressure off me.

“Because these inter-county free-takers…they’re fairly good at them. They probably only go wrong the odd time if they maybe just don’t lift it properly. So it’s back to basics. 

“The mental side of it then – you would have often stood up to a free and maybe go, ‘I don’t feel great.’ So you just break your train of thought and just go back to the process.

Jason Forde stands over a free in the All-Ireland final.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“Every player has his own process he goes through. That might be different for you and me. At the end of the day if you’re being earmarked as an inter-county free-taker that means that you’re doing something right from 16, 17 as far as minor and U21. 

“The big thing is just to get taking them, once you get taking them then you realise you’re the free-taker and it’s just another job – just another job you do for the team.

“Tipperary are probably blessed that they have a couple of free-takers, not just one. Jason was the man this year and I thought there was definitely the latter stages of the championship in Croke Park he delivered nearly a 10 out of 10 performance. Definitely, in the All-Ireland final he didn’t miss one.

“The further on you go on in the championship you’re going to be coming across 60,000 or 70,000 in stadiums, on All-Ireland final day 82,000 in the stadium.  

“Sometimes it’s easier even in Croke Park striking the ball clearer and have a clearer vision of the goalposts when it’s All-Ireland final day because you just see the two posts and that’s it.

“You often hear guys referencing Hill 16 and when the stadium isn’t full you can see the concrete and it can be offputting. On All-Ireland final day, you just see the posts on both sides because it’s jam-packed and it’s actually maybe even a bit more comfortable for a free-taker because you can just see the posts. Then you just get into your process – your lifting and striking.” 

Séamus Kennedy drives over a shot from distance.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Not alone did he operate closely with the free-takers but after the All-Ireland final a number of Premier players spoke about the important guidance Kelly offered up to them throughout the campaign.

Wing-back Seamus Kennedy scored two points from distance during the final win over Kilkenny, on his finest out in a Tipperary jersey.

Writing in his All-Ireland diary for the Irish Examiner, Kennedy noted: “Eoin Kelly had actually said it to me, that I might get a few chances, the way they are set up.

“Told me to have a few shots at training and think about it. Eoin was an absolute hero of mine growing up. So to be getting advice like that off Eoin Kelly is nice.”

On the nuggets of advice he gave to Tipperary players, Kelly said:  “You’ve been there and been through it all.

“It might just be a quick word with somebody and you mightn’t even think you’re giving much advice.

“Who Liam had involved this year all would have experienced it from a different aspect.

“Eamon O’Shea, as coach and manager, Tommy as a player, Darragh Egan as a player. The one thing with Liam Sheedy, be it a free-taking coach or goalkeeping coach he was going to leave no stone turned that’s the way he manages.

“He covers every angle. With myself that’s what he was probably doing as well. It’s nice when it all works out at the end of the season and Tipp run out winners.

“That’s when he can take a bow probably and just say he left no stone unturned and he didn’t in fairness to him.”

Liam Sheedy lifts the trophy with members of the backroom team.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Highly-rated strength & conditioning coach Cairbre Ó Cairealláin had a major impact on the physique of the players after he was head-hunted by Sheedy.

The Belfast native underlined his commitment by moving near Thurles to work solely with the Premier squad. Brendan Maher credited Ó Cairealláin with aiding his recovery from cruciate surgery during their early morning one-on-one rehab sessions.

It only emerged in the days after the final that renowned performance coach Gary Keegan, who worked with the Irish boxers and Dublin footballers, was also involved in the Premier set-up.

Kelly admits the backroom team numbers have swelled hugely even since he stopped playing in 2014.

“If there was 12 or 14 when we were there, there’s probably another 10 added to it,” he says. “I suppose that comes down to your manager as well. Liam Sheedy covers all the angles.

“He facilities, that’s the word he uses himself, he facilities for the players and they gave it back in buckets. Tipp not only did they have the hurling but they were probably one of the best prepared Tipperary teams and that was proven all season.

“The key to Liam Sheedy’s management too is after the Munster final defeat that he circles the wagons, similar to 2010. He had that experience to call on and just got them back going again. You have to pick them up and get them back believing and that’s one of his strong points as well.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Click Here: italy rugby jersey

FORMER KERRY DEFENDER Marc Ó Sé believes Stephen O’Brien is the man to track Jack McCaffrey’s marauding runs from deep in Saturday’s All-Ireland final replay.

The Clontarf flyer scored 1-3 in a devastating man-of-the-match performance in the drawn game. Initially, it appeared Adrian Spillane was the man tasked with picking up McCaffrey but Gavin White switched across shortly after the wing-back bagged Dublin’s goal.

But McCaffrey continued to torch the Kerry defence, forcing White’s withdrawal on 49 minutes before Stephen O’Brien eventually picked him up.

Ó Sé says Kerry need a rethink if they’re to avoid a similar fate this weekend.

“I think there will have to be a different plan for Jack McCaffrey. Stephen O’Brien finished up on him and I think he’s probably the most suitable fella to mark Jack McCaffrey. 

“It’s a huge task to try to nullify McCaffrey, he’s a serious footballer, kicking 1-3 from half-back. When you have to put a defender on him, it just shows you how good he is. 

“That said, maybe that’s not the way to go about it. Maybe we need to put a forward on him, maybe we need to put Jack McCaffrey on the back foot and see how does that work.

“And I think Stephen O’Brien would be the best suited for that because he’s been in the form of his life this year,” he added.

Marc Ó Sé helped launch eir Sport’s new season of action today at the Sport Ireland Campus.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

The Kingdom legend believes physicality is required as well as pace in order to shut down McCaffrey’s runs.

“(O’Brien) would have the legs, but, most importantly, he’d have the physicality as well,” he says.

“Gavin White had the legs, but in terms of physicality, McCaffrey just goes and you have to do what Paddy Durcan did and have that physicality for him. 

“That’s a huge thing that people tend not to see and tend to overlook. I just think the physicality, he just goes, and if you have a fella that can go with him but also be able to stop him up just before he builds up his momentum. 

“I just think if Kerry can keep him quiet…but, look, they have so many match-winners all over the field, that’s the big thing about Dublin. You’ve the likes of (Ciaran) Kilkenny who didn’t really perform to how we know he can perform. 

“Brian Fenton, Con O’Callaghan, Paul Mannion, there are so many players who can up their performance and that’s the dangerous thing from a Kerry point of view. It’s an area Peter Keane can keep an eye on.”  

James O’Donoghue failed to make the Kingdom’s 26-man panel on the first day out, but could come into the reckoning for the replay. 

Click Here: mens wallabies jersey

“I’d say he’s in with a chance for the replay,” says Ó Sé. “I know he was back training before the drawn match but probably didn’t have enough sessions done so this two-week gap will give him a far greater chance of making the panel. 

“But, again, it will be interesting to see if Peter Keane changes up his panel for the replay. Yeah, if he was fit, no better man to bring in, particularly towards the end of the match because he’s a fella who can get scores and a fella who would possibly strike fear into the Dubs defence.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

IN GALWAY MANAGER Tim Rabbitt’s first year in the top job, he’s steered the Tribe to a first All-Ireland final since 2005.

Galway ladies football manager Tim Rabbitt.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

The Westerners lost that day but 12 months beforehand, beat Dublin to lift the Brendan Martin Cup for the first time ever. It’s all well and good looking back, but this is a new era. It’s something Rabbitt is very conscious about; his side focus on themselves, and don’t buy into any outside noise.

“It’s a long time ago,” he says as proceedings kick off with a 2005 mention. “It’s something in Galway ladies football we’d look back on fondly but it’s a long time ago and it’s probably not really relevant to this weekend.

“We’re just delighted to be in the biggest day for ladies football for the year. We’ve worked really hard to get here and we’re delighted to be a part of it.”

Likewise, when the camogie side’s win on Sunday gone is mentioned. It’s great and all, but nothing directly to do with the job at hand this weekend.

“It was a super occasion, a lot of our girls went last week to support them as well. It’s brilliant to see the camogie [do so well]. It’s well deserved and I know they put a huge amount of effort in during a couple of years to try and get there as well so it’s brilliant.

“There’s a great buzz in Galway at the moment, particularly in regards to female sport. So we’ll feed off it a little but again, it’s not really a factor. We’ve our own task ahead of us on Sunday.”

Like his opposing manager there, Mick Bohan, recently-departed Cork boss Ephie Fitzgerald and Mayo supremo Peter Leahy, Oranmore/Maree clubman Rabbitt has transferred over from the men’s game. 

Before coming into the Galway set-up as a coach under his predecessor Stephen Glennon, Rabbitt coached his own club, and was involved with Galway development squads and junior squads. In that 10-year stint, his last job was with the Tribe U21s.

“I had been with the Galway U21s the previous year and Dublin beat us in the final that year so I had to think long and hard about whether to go with the U21s or go with Stephen and the ladies,” he explains. “I suppose I’m really glad now I made that decision to go with the Galway ladies at the time.”

But then came an even bigger decision last winter, as Glennon stepped away and there was opening for Rabbitt to take the top job.

“I had to think about it because it is a big commitment. It’s like having a second job, I suppose. It’s something I really enjoy doing but it does take up a lot of time.

“I think last year the players saw continuity from the previous years. I was happy to take that on and the players were happy for me to do it. That was very important. I wouldn’t have done it without the support of the players.

“Fortunately when we came back together last September, nearly all the squad were there from the previous year. That was a big sign for me.

“We were well-beaten [by Dublin] in the semi-final last year after putting a lot of effort and commitment in, and this year for the girls to come back again and give it another go, I thought that was fantastic. It’s easy to do it when you’re winning sometimes.

Rabbitt credits Glennon for the solid work that was done before he took over.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

“We weren’t winning the previous year so to come back and say, ‘Right, we want to have another crack at this,’ I thought that was great now, I thought that was a really good sign.”

He adds: “Lucky enough Stephen has stayed with us this year, he’s doing stats and analysis for us.

“That’s just a measure of the person he is and the respect the he would have for the squad and that they would have for him that he was back in, helping us out on the sideline.”

Getting past the semi-final stage this year was absolutely massive, it can’t be denied.

Branded the “nearly team” time and time again, Rabbitt knew his side needed to take a step forward after last year’s comprehensive dismissal by Dublin.

That, they did after a narrow win over Connacht-rivals Mayo at Croke Park last month, while they also made progress in Division 1 league by reaching the decider, although beaten by Cork on the day. That development is pleasing.

Not only was getting to the top table and shaking that “nearly team” tag captain Tracey Leonard so often refers to hugely important in the semi-final, the HQ experience will be invaluable on Sunday.

Before that historic double-header, none of the Galway team had featured on Gaelic Games’ biggest stage so nerves were natural. That’s over, done and out of the way now and they’ll be happy to focus on the job at hand, having been there and done that.

“It was an important factor,” he agrees. “There is the Croke Park effect, so we were delighted to get the semi-final [there]. It was a super, super occasion to be part of with our neighbours as well.

“We were delighted, hopefully it will stand to the girls the next day. Obviously it will be a different scenario, there’ll be three or four times as many people there on Sunday.

“It will be a different kind of atmosphere but something we’re really looking forward to. It’s a challenge for the girls to be able to play in that environment, we’re really looking forward to it. We’ve been here before, we’ve won here before so it’s on to the next day.”

With the focus on that, he sees no particular weakness in three in-a-row chasing Dublin, and is keep for his side to focus on their own performance.

Even looking at last year’s semi-final defeat at their hands, what does Rabbitt take from that 4-8 to 1-10 loss?

To not concede goals.

Simple.

“Obviously Dublin are a very talented team and they do hit those hammer blows of goals at different times,” he says. “Obviously it wouldn’t be possible for us to win the game the next day if we’re going to concede four or five goals.

Galway’s Sinead Burke with her niece, Marley Burke, and Barbara Hannon with her son, Miko Finnegan.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Click Here: canberra raiders rugby store

“We’ll have to have a really good strong defensive plan in place that coexists with a really good attack plan when we get the opportunity to do it as well.”

“We’re not in it to try and stop the Dubs,” he responds immediately when asked of that motivation for revenge with the Sky Blues also chasing their third consecutive title.

“We’re in it to try and get a performance full of hard work and honesty and football smarts as well, something that we can be really proud of and I suppose that’s what we’re trying to do, to get our own performances right.

“We think we can challenge Dublin, but Sunday is the day that will be tested.”

A first year in charge that couldn’t have gone much better, regardless of the outcome.

“We could top it all off now,” Rabbitt smiles. “I feel very proud and am very privileged to work with this kind of group. They’re a super bunch of people and super quality players are involved as well…

“A really good management team, really good structures in order to put everything in place, people like Mike Comer and Ciaran Moran, I know these people have been working really hard in the background and it’s been a pleasure to be around them.”

Lastly, a word for the profile of the game, and of women’s sport, which is increasing all the time.

“Brilliant to see, absolutely brilliant to see. If you were at the semi-final it was a brilliant occasion.

“I don’t know how many people came up to me afterwards and said their daughter now wanted to play for Galway in football so I think it’s brilliant when you hear that sort of stuff.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

JIM GAVIN CAN count on one hand the number of games where Dublin have performed well below their optimum level in championship football during his tenure.

Dublin manager Jim Gavin during the drawn final.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

After a bright start in the 2014 All-Ireland quarter-final, they were badly exposed at the back by Donegal and shipped 3-14 in a six-point defeat. It remains the only championship game Dublin have lost under Gavin. 

The drawn 2016 final against Mayo was their next poor performance. Disrupted by Mayo’s physicality, a number of Dublin players looked off their game, they appeared flat, their touch was poor and their forwards never clicked. Ultimately, Mayo’s remarkable concession of two own goals spared Dublin a defeat.

Click Here: north queensland cowboys rugby store

Asked in his post-game press conference if Dublin’s display merited a six-out-of-ten rating, Gavin described that assessment as “over-generous.”

He was similarly frustrated with their draw against Kerry last Sunday week, which may have been their worst 70-minute display since the 2016 final. “The performance wasn’t good enough,” he declared after the game.

Dublin put in extremely poor first halves against Meath and Mayo this year but recovered to win convincingly with spectacular second-half showings. Similarly, in the 2016 semi-final against Kerry they went in at half-time five points down but raced out of the traps in the second-half to claim a two-point victory.

And while they finished the game stronger than Kerry 11 days ago, Gavin will be well aware that major improvements are required if they’re to get over the line on Saturday night. 

So what would the Dublin boss have learned from the drawn game?

Jonny Cooper with Gavin after being sent off.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

1. Be more ruthless on the sideline

Jonny Cooper fouled David Clifford twice between the 15th and 17th minute, conceding a penalty in the first incident when he received a tick before he was booked for the second. It was surprising to see no Dublin defender warming up at that stage given Cooper clearly looked in bother. He was sent off just before the interval, handing Kerry an extra man for over half the game.

At the very least, Gavin should have moved Mick Fitzsimons over onto Clifford with the Na Fianna man walking a disciplinary tightrope so early into the game. Since he took charge in 2013, Cooper has been one of Gavin’s most trusted lieutenants in defence and perhaps that clouded his judgement.

Gavin is usually held up as a ruthless decision-maker but his failure to make a call on Cooper almost cost Dublin the five-in-a-row. He won’t make the same mistake twice.

Diarmuid Connolly came on after 68 minutes and hit a wide.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

2. Use the bench earlier

Unusually for Dublin, by the 67th minute in the drawn game they’d only introduced two of their substitutes – Paddy Small and Eoin Murchan. The latter was an enforced change, coming on for John Small as a temporary sub, although he remained on for the rest of the game. 

Diarmuid Connolly and Cormac Costello arrived onto the field in the 68th minute and Kevin McManamon was introduced two minutes later, but typically Gavin likes to give four or five players at least 20 minutes of action.

Similarly, in the semi-final they’d brought in just two players after 65 minutes. In their Super 8s hammering of Roscommon Gavin ran the bench early and had five subs on the field by the 51st minute. But even against Cork when the game was in the melting pot until the final 10 minutes, Dublin brought just one sub into the fray before the 64th minute. 

It indicates a growing divide between the starting 15 and the rest and possibly Gavin’s increased distrust of his replacements, as evidenced in Connolly’s surprise return to the panel.

Gavin could do with mixing up his 26-man squad too with Bernard Brogan a live option to receive the call-up. Would he have converted one of the two shots at goal Paddy Small missed? It’s reasonable to assume so. 

Dublin goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

3. Trust Cluxton to beat the press

Kerry’s AFL-style overload on Stephen Cluxton’s kick-outs was something we haven’t seen before and it’s sure to become more commonplace in the coming years, given the copy-cat nature of the GAA.

But when Cluxton was able to kick the ball over the press like he did when he picked out Brian Howard for Jack McCaffrey’s goal, Kerry were wide open at the back. The Kingdom double-teamed Brian Fenton and will do so again, but Dublin still have brilliant fetchers in Howard, James McCarthy and Michael Darragh Macauley (if he retains his place). 

Dublin registered 1-1 directly from Cluxton’s long kicks in the opening period. They might not win every long restart but with David Moran and Jack Barry focused on nullifying Fenton, there are plenty of other options for Cluxton to pick out with deliveries over the Kerry press.

We might see a lot of O’Sullivan and O’Callaghan in aerial contests the next day.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

4. Target O’Callaghan with high ball 

When Con O’Callaghan has the ball in his hands, there aren’t many footballers who are more difficult to stop, as Lee Keegan found out to his detriment in the semi-final.

O’Callaghan endured a quiet afternoon by his own lofty stands in the drawn game but he still won a number of frees when he ran at his marker Tom O’Sullivan. 

O’Sullivan possesses lightning pace which means it’s hard to win the ball out in front, but he hasn’t the physicality to stop the Cuala man when he runs at him. It’s likely Dublin will have identified this weakness in O’Sullivan and they could target O’Callaghan with high early deliveries onto the edge of the square.

When the All-Star comes to ground with possession, he only has one thing on his mind – goal. It would be no surprise to see O’Callaghan rattle the back of Ryan’s net on Saturday night.

Clifford and Fitzsimons battle for the ball.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

5. Fitzsimons is the man to mark Clifford 

Clifford clearly had the beating of Cooper from the early moments, even if he had three strikes at the posts before he got on the scoreboard. He scored a point, won the penalty and drew a couple of frees for O’Shea to slot over during the first period before Cooper’s dismissal.

Under the watch of Fitzsimons and even without much cover in front of the full-back line due to Dublin’s inferior numbers, Clifford’s influence waned after half-time. Much of that was down to the understated way that Fitzsimons defended him.

He was twisted and turned for Clifford’s stunning score after 49 minutes, but even still was right on the Fossa star’s boot as he got his kick away. Fitzsimons is a good match for Clifford in terms of height, strength and speed – he certainly matches up better than the shorter Cooper.

Fitzsimons allowed Clifford just two shots at the posts after he picked him up and it’s likely Gavin will opt to retain that match-up for the replay with Cooper set to follow Paul Geaney.

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

FOUR-TIME ALL-Ireland winner Mike Quirke is on the verge of taking over the Laois senior football side after he was chosen as the preferred candidate to replace outgoing boss and fellow Kerry native John Sugrue. 

Laois Today reports that Quirke, who is currently in charge of Kerry club side Kerins O’Rahillys, will be put forward for ratification next Monday and it’s thought to be a formality.

O’Rahillys boast Tommy Walsh and David Moran among their ranks and reached the last four of the Kerry SFC in 2017 and 2018.

Click Here: custom rapid prototyping service

If appointed, Quirke would be the third Kingdom native to take charge of a Leinster side, with Paul Galvin and Jack O’Connor recently taking over Wexford and Kildare respectively. 

The 39-year-old, who is based in Tralee, works as a full-time coaching officer with Munster GAA and has a Masters in Performance Coaching. He was also a noted basketball player and won two SuperLeague titles and two National Cups with Tralee Tigers.

He’ll become the fifth Kerryman to take charge of the O’Moore County this decade, following Mick O’Dwyer, Liam Kearns, Tomas Ó Flatharta and Surgue. 

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

THE 1-16 KERRY put past Dublin in the drawn game would have been enough to beat them in the 2015 final and both the 2016 decider and replay.

Stephen Cluxton saves a shot from Kerry’s Paul Murphy.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

But when you consider Kerry played with an extra man for over 42 minutes and didn’t even have a shot for the final 12 minutes, it’s clear their efforts in attack must greatly improve for Part II.

Since they became a more defensive team from the 2015 season onwards, Dublin shipped 2-15 vs Fermanagh in 2015, 2-14 vs Kerry in 2016, 1-17 vs Kildare in 2017, 2-16 vs Roscommon in 2018 and 1-17 vs Cork earlier this year – all higher tallies than Kerry’s last Sunday week.  

It’s also safe to assume Dublin’s front six will be better this weekend. Outside of Dean Rock, the other nine forwards that featured (including substitutes) contributed a paltry 0-3 between them from nine shots – 33% efficiency.

Overall, Dublin’s conversion rate was 60% (17 from 28 shots) and that dropped to 52% (10 from 19 shots) from open play. 

It’s highly unlikely Paul Mannion, Con O’Callaghan, Ciaran Kilkenny and Brian Fenton will be as quiet in front of the posts again. Great players don’t tend to put poor performances back-to-back. 

So if we assume Dublin will be more clinical up front, then Kerry will need to greatly improve in an attacking sense this time around too. 

Kerry’s Paul Geaney gives a pass inside.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Kerry created more shots at the posts and opened up Dublin for a number of clear-cut goal chances, but were let down by their shooting. Their shooting accuracy was 53% (17 from 32 shots) and 41% (10 from 24 shots) from play.

When Sean O’Shea’s perfect 10 points from 10 shots are taken out of the equation, it paints an even more stark picture. Outside of O’Shea, Kerry’s efficiency in front of the posts was 33% (7 from 21 shots) which is way off the level required.

By and large, they weren’t shooting from bad areas of the field either.

Their forwards will know it too. Paul Geaney missed five chances, including a penalty and a shot saved off the line, and David Clifford left four behind him. Paul Murphy missed two, a goalbound shot that was tipped onto the crossbar included, while David Moran and Tommy Walsh also sent chances wide. 

The biggest thing Kerry need to get right this time around is to take their goal chances when they arrive. It’s no coincidence that the last team to beat Jim Gavin’s side put three goals past them – Donegal in the quarter-final five years ago.

“Definitely need to get goals,” says Marc Ó Sé.

“It’s something I said before the game. I think Kerry needed to score three goals to win the match. If you look at it, we definitely had the opportunities.

“Paul Geaney had the penalty miss, he had another opportunity which James McCarthy stopped on the line, and Stephen O’Brien possibly could have gotten a penalty in the second-half.”

David Clifford lines up a shot.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Worryingly for the Kingdom, they’ve scored a goal in every single championship game yet they’ve only hit the net twice once this summer – against Meath in the Super 8s. 

“From a Kerry point of view, we had the opportunities but we have to take those opportunities,” continues Ó Sé.

“And I think that the next day going into the game if we take those opportunities we’re well in it.” 

In addition, Kerry must continue to probe if they find themselves defending a lead in the closing stages and keep the scoreboard moving. Their failure to even get a shot off after the 66th minute was damning and ultimately cost them.

If they can improve their shooting efficiency and put a few goals past Stephen Cluxton, they’ve got a major chance of winning this game.  

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Click Here: gaa 2 stripe jersey

SPEAKING TO MEATH captain Máire O’Shaughnessy ahead of their Division 3 league final earlier this year, she was delighted to have her sister back by her side in the Royal set-up.

Caitriona had been Stateside for some time, and her younger sister was more than pleased to have one of her nearest and dearest in the Royal set-up with her this year.

The Donaghmore-Ashbourne duo were motoring well, helping their county rebound from a devastating All-Ireland intermediate final defeat to Tyrone last September, steering them to league glory and to a Leinster final clash against Wexford.

The result that day didn’t go their way, but neither did something else shortly after.

After successfully navigating the All-Ireland stages of the championship, 26-year-old Máire and her side are now back at HQ 12 months later hoping to right the wrongs. 

But after a cruel injury, it won’t be the family affair the O’Shaughnessys had imagined.

“Poor Catriona did her cruciate there a couple of weeks ago, just after the Leinster final,” Máire frowns.

She’s not togging out the way she’d hope to be for the All-Ireland final but look, she’s still a part of it. She’s rehabbing it herself, she’s a physio so she has a bit of inside knowledge.

“She’s been rehabbing it at training and she’s been still part of the whole thing. She’s still a huge part of the day and it’s great for the family.

“We have another sister that doesn’t play at all so this weekend she’s on the back-burner a little bit! Ah no, she’s our biggest supporter so that’s great.”

Click Here: gaa jerseys for sale

Back once again though, that’s the main thing.

And Meath are most definitely seeking redemption for that 6-8 to 1-14 loss to Tyrone. An eight-minute period early in the first half where the Red Hand scored 3-1 sent them on their way and left the Royals — who never gave up — chasing for the remainder of the game.

A chance now to right the wrongs, indeed.

“Look, last year we were quite inexperienced going into it,” O’Shaughnessy, who works for the Simon Community, agrees. “It was two very different teams going into the final last year. [2017 finalists] Tyrone were back with a vengeance, and everything was just so new to us, the whole occasion and everything.

This year, I think the mind-frame’s a little bit different. We’re just hoping to bring a performance really, which is something we didn’t do last year. That’s the biggest regret that we have, that we didn’t portray how we can play as a team.

“This year, we’re determined to do that. Whatever way the result goes, we’ll have no regrets.”

League silverware and promotion to the Division 2 ranks spurred the side on this year, as did reaching a Leinster final. But there, they were edged out by Wexford, before falling to Sunday’s opponents Tipperary in their All-Ireland group stage opener.

Dejection after last year’s final.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Intermediate championship is a minefield, however, and here they are on the biggest day of the ladies football year chasing the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup after picking themselves up and battling their way through the rest of the competition. 

“The intermediate championship is so tough, it’s really, really hard to get out of,” O’Shaughnessy continues. “There’s teams there like Wexford and that who aren’t in an All-Ireland this year but no doubt they’ll be contenders next year.

“It’s an incredibly busy competition, and a hard one to get out of so we’re lucky we’re in the All-Ireland final.”

She adds, on that Tipperary loss, and how Sunday comes as a completely different challenge: “Look, we hadn’t played Tipp since the 2017 semi-final so we were a bit unfamiliar.

“We didn’t know what to expect, but we learned a lot from the day. All-Ireland day is completely different, it’s anyone’s ticket. We’ll be hoping to right those wrongs from Ardfinnan. 

“You have teams in All-Ireland finals and then they go amiss for a couple of years, we were determined for that not to happen. We have youth on our side so there’s constant talent coming into the team and that helps keep the standard up. There’s a core group of girls that have stuck together the last number of years.

We wanted to be back again this year, we’ve achieved that now and the next step is to win it.

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

THE BUILD-UP to the All-Ireland football final replay has been muted this week given what’s at stake tomorrow night. 

James McCarthy and Tommy Walsh shake shands after the game.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Both Dublin and Kerry opted not to hold a press night for the rematch – despite attempts from Croke Park’s top brass to convince them otherwise. It meant there have been no fresh quotes from players doing the rounds in print or online this week.

Of course, it’s up to individual counties whether they want to engage in media duties ahead of a final replay. Most of the time, it’s a call made by the managers involved.

After the 2012 and 2013 drawn hurling deciders, players and management from Kilkenny, Galway, Clare and Cork all attended media events prior to the respective rematches. In 2014, Brian Cody and Eamon O’Shea fulfilled press duties ahead of the hurling replay.

In 2016, Mayo management and players spoke to journalists at Croke Park after the football final finished level and held their press night on 20 September. Dublin had one too, with Jim Gavin and Eoghan O’Gara attending a press conference at the Gibson Hotel two days before the 1 October sequel.

Eoghan O’Gara chats to the media ahead of the 2016 final replay.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Things have changed since. 

This time around, Dublin didn’t even release Jack McCaffrey to speak with the GAA’s broadcast partners to receive his man of the match award after the drawn game. He instead got his award from GAA president John Horan behind closed doors.

Dublin made it known that Gavin would be their only representative available to conduct post-game interviews with media afterwards. Dublin opted to release their own five-minute in-house interview with the manager this week, mirroring a tactic that Joe Schmidt sometimes employs as Ireland rugby manager.

So it means that this week’s papers and websites have been filled with speculation from pundits and former players. Will Eoin Murchan start instead of Michael Darragh Macauley with James McCarthy moving to midfield? Will Kerry throw in Tommy Walsh from the start? Will former Footballers of the Year James O’Donoghue or Bernard Brogan make their respective 26-man squads?

It makes quite the contrast from the last football final replay three years ago. In the two-week gap between the final and replay, the term ‘media mafia’ was born.

Diarmuid Connolly tries to shake off Lee Keegan in the drawn 2016 final.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Cast your mind back to the drawn 2016 final between Mayo and Dublin on a rain-sodden afternoon at Croke Park. Mayo scored two own goals in a helter-skelter encounter. The stand-out images are of Lee Keegan and Diarmuid Connolly engaging in wrestling matches off the ball at the peak of their rivalry.

In the build-up to the replay, the ‘Dublin media mafia’ mobilised – or so it appeared. One by one, former Sky Blues players came out and drew attention to Connolly’s ripped shirt caused by the Westport defender.

They all seemed to be on message.

Paul Clarke: “I watched the game from Hill 16 and I saw a lot of off-the-ball stuff going on – cynical stuff. I actually think Lee is conceding his footballing ability by pulling and dragging rather than pitching himself against him as a footballer. With the two of them it just seems to descend into a wrestling match all the time.”

Paul ‘Pillar’ Caffrey: “With a change of referee, there’s a bigger emphasis on him. I hope Dublin have a stronger set of jerseys in the bag for next week. They seemed to rip very easy last week.”

Alan Brogan: “Lee Keegan sacrificed his own game to try and nullify Diarmuid Connolly. Lee is getting away with more than he should be but he and his team-mates will do what it takes.”

Ciaran Whelan: “Generally, are forwards going out to instigate incidents like that? No, the forward is trying to play football and the defender is trying to stop him playing football and he’s doing it probably in an over-aggressive manner. That’s where the other officials have to come in.”

Ger Brennan: “If he played a bit closer to the Mayo goalmouth for a couple of minutes, maybe Keegan mightn’t get away with as much of the pulling and dragging, which I’m fine with too as a back. If you can get away with it, go for it! If someone is constantly pulling and dragging at you and the umpires or referees aren’t going to take some sort of action. Eventually you have to stand your own ground.”

The comments were digested by GAA supporters across the country, but the real target was Maurice Deegan and his team of officials for the replay.

Infuriated by the war waged against their star man, Mayo fans and former players bit back. Mikey Conroy and Trevor Mortimer had a pop at the ex-Dublin stars, while the rather entertaining hashtag #ThingsLeeDid started trending on Twitter. 

They reckon he nailed Jesus Christ to the cross while on a FÁS course in carpentry #ThingsLeeDid #mayogaa

— Stephen Padden (@S_padden) September 28, 2016

It's been discovered, Lee Keegan was the real instigator behind the Zidane headbutt on Materazzi #ThingsLeeDid

— bryan mcginty (@askillb) September 28, 2016

Lee Keegan caused the Potato Famine #ThingsLeeDid #mayogaa

— Trevor Naughton (@trevornaughton) September 28, 2016

Whatever way you look at it, it’s hard to argue that shining the spotlight on Keegan had no effect. Keegan scored an early goal in the replay, but his day was cut short in the 36th minute when he dragged down Connolly after a short kick-out went astray. Maurice Deegan correctly produced a black card.

That December in his county convention report, Mayo PRO Paul Cunnane said that “there was a well-orchestrated media campaign to blacken Lee Keegan’s name.”

He added: “I would be disappointed that many media outlets chose to take the bait in the lead-up to the replay.”

Maurice Deegan black cards Lee Keegan.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Eamonn Fitzmaurice and Aidan O’Mahony were accused of engaging in a similar propaganda war by putting pressure on David Gough two weeks ago.

Whelan even wrote in his column: “A few former Kerry footballers laced up the boots one more time and pulled on the famous green and gold jersey to answer their county’s call when expressing the opinion that they felt Meath referee David Gough should not be the man with the whistle on Sunday 1 September.”

The narrative quickly gained traction that a ‘Kerry media mafia’ were engaging in a concerted campaign, similar to Dublin’s in 2016. Aidan O’Mahony laughed off that suggestion in the days before the final.

“It was just me being asked a question, I answered it and I think Eamonn Fitzmaurice gave his opinion as well,” he said. “It isn’t that we’re on a WhatsApp group saying, ‘I’ll put something up now and you put something up later’.”

Like Deegan, Gough had little choice but to give Jonny Cooper his marching orders for his foul on David Clifford when he was already booked.

But Joe Brolly saw it differently and suggested on RTÉ’s half-time coverage that Gough “has clearly been influenced by the propaganda coming from Kerry”. He later retracted those comments and was dropped from the national broadcaster’s coverage of the replay.

The conspiracy theorists, meanwhile, declared it a victory for the ‘Kerry media mafia’ in punditry’s phoney war.

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Click Here: new zealand warriors shirt

WE GO AGAIN.

After a gripping spectacle two weeks ago, Jim Gavin’s Dublin will lock horns with Kerry again in the All-Ireland SFC final.

History was put on hold in Croke Park that day when the Kingdom produced an impressive display to stop the Dubs from achieving the unprecedented five-in-a-row.

There was plenty of drama too, including the dismissal of defender Jonny Cooper who was sent to the line with two yellow cards for persistent fouling.

Dublin’s legendary goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton pulled off a brilliant save to deny Paul Geaney from the penalty spot, while Dean Rock missed a last-minute free which would have secured victory for the Dubs.

The sides will meet on Saturday this time around for a later throw-in of 6pm at GAA headquarters.

But will we have a winner at the second time of asking? Will Dublin write their names into the history books or has Peter Keane’s side figured out how to get the better of their rivals? 

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Click Here: Italy National Team soccer tracksuit