Kerry v Mayo

2022 - 3 - 12

Ruthless and innovative - Kerry v Mayo a dream match-up (RTE.ie)

There are intriguing games in all divisions, but the stand-out fixture is Saturday night's game in Tralee between Kerry and Mayo, writes Jason Ryan.

Please review their details and accept them to load the content. A constant is that they both have excellent ability to execute the skills of the game. At the same time look at the desire to tackle from Ryan O’Donoghue. This system of play requires very high fitness levels and even higher levels of understanding with team-mates. Both Kerry and Mayo have been consistent performers towards the business end of the seasons, contenders if not champions. Both teams have really strong squads at present. Hopefully weather conditions won’t hinder the brilliant kicking skills of the likes of Ryan O’Donoghue, Diarmuid O’Connor, David Clifford and Sean O’Shea. A combination of fast counter-attacks, diagonal kick-passes into forwards and explosive support runs from deep, make both teams a constant threat. The best teams also tend to be ruthless, cynical, calculated as needed. In-house games and challenge matches are beneficial to a point, but you can’t beat competitive games to prepare for championship. Both are scoring well, with Kerry's 17-points average per game two better than tonight's opponents. In each of the last three seasons Mayo have reached at least semi-final stages of the championship, Kerry with a final and semi-final appearance in the same time period.

'We kept at it': How 2011 signalled a different kind of Kerry v Mayo ... (The Irish Times)

It has never ranked as a classic and on the day in question, nobody thought that the All-Ireland semi-final they had just witnessed held portents of any ...

And sure enough, Mayo edged Kerry out in the 2017 All-Ireland semi-final and in the league final two years later. And Jack O’Connor sensed the beginning of it that afternoon. We need to take it on the chin, go away and improve. Mayo got a jump on the rest thanks to the maniacal training regimen designed by John Maughan. Kerry used that as their template the following winter and rebounded to win a first All-Ireland title since 1986. In the run up to the All-Ireland final, you’d hear things being said about John Maughan and the hell he’d put Mayo through. And when the counties met in championship games, Mayo were supposed to acquiesce. In 2006, after ransacking Mayo’s All-Ireland ambitions for the second time in three years, O’Connor visited the loser’s dressing room and explained that Kerry’s need and hurt, fuelled to a nuclear level by the previous year’s defeat to Tyrone, had been greater. If it’s true that Mayo arguably overachieved by making it to those finals, then it was equally true that they met Kerry at their ruthless peak in both years. The 1-20 to 1-11 score line was slightly rough on the Connacht champions but it was also a true reflection of where they were at. It was enough to leave the Kingdom football followers offering a feline purr of satisfaction. You don’t have to be a clairvoyant in order to be Kerry football manager but it definitely helps. It has never ranked as a classic and on the day in question, nobody thought that the All- Ireland semi-final they had just witnessed held portents of any significance.

Allianz Football League recap and RESULTS from the evening's ... (Irish Mirror)

Kerry and Mayo locked horns in Tralee; Armagh and Kildare faced off at the Athletic Grounds and elswhere Down hosted Offaly in a key Division Two clash.

14 mins gone Tony Brosnan strikes a brilliant goal after Kerry weaved their way into an opening in smart fashion. Kerry win the ball off Mayo's kickout and David Clifford takes it forward before slotting over his third point from play so far. 50 mins gone Kerry hold out for a one point win as Lee Keegan's late effort to level the game landed just inches wide. That free from the Mayo man came directly after Paudie Clifford had remarkably dropped a 14 yard attempt short at the other end.

Kerry and Mayo face off in Tralee: Division 1 showdown in National ... (Sky Sports)

Kerry hold out! They continue their unbeaten start to the National League, picking up two points that will likely steer them to the league final.

Down vs Offaly LIVE score updates from Saturday's Allianz League (Belfast Live)

Down host Offaly while Armagh clash with Kildare as Round Five action gets underway in Division One and Division Two this evening.

14 mins gone Tony Brosnan strikes a brilliant goal after Kerry weaved their way into an opening in smart fashion. Kerry win the ball off Mayo's kickout and David Clifford takes it forward before slotting over his third point from play so far. 61 mins gone Kerry hold out for a one point win as Lee Keegan's late effort to level the game landed just inches wide. Kildare, for their part, have put in some very impressive showings to date but have been on the wrong side of narrow margins.

Horanball: the system that transformed Mayo into contenders - and ... (The42)

For matters on the field, they advised that a full-time paid director of coaching be appointed and the creation of a Mayo Gaelic football Academy for players ...

Their approach is enough to overpower the vast majority of intercounty teams and thrust them to the podium. However, a hamstring injury nearly ruled him out of the semi-final against Dublin. It forced him to practise shooting with his left leg all week. Their intent was obvious from the throw-in. Compare such innovation to Mayo’s approach to the Kerry full-forward in 2014. The reason Mayo were able to go toe-to-toe with them was that they possessed similar power. Mayo’s was 53%. Execute the gameplan and the odds were in their favour. The godfather of modern Mayo. A much-needed organiser in the land of madness. There was focus on the long kick-outs and the dink ball and finally, Donegal’s shot-to-score ratio was 60% for the season. When the pandemic arrived, Mayo made the most of it. “Maybe in the lead up to a game more so than anything else. When Horan took charge, he conducted a physical and skills analysis of the whole squad. The steering committee included representatives from every corner and a variety of clubs.