“Perhaps the most intriguing observation from the recent semi-final weekend was the intensely close competition in both games, until suddenly, it wasn’t. The 64th minute of both games saw a tie – Armagh and Kerry were square on 1-13, whilst Galway and Donegal were even on 1-12 to 0-15. Yet, it was evident that in both games, one team was about to power on to victory as the other was unmistakably losing steam.
Kerry only managed to score one more point in regular time and were outscored 0-4 to 0-2 in the additional overtime. Donegal, on the other hand, failed to score again, with Dara Ó Baoill, Peadar Mogan and Michael Langan, albeit an otherwise exceptional player, producing missed opportunities due to fatigue. Despite the form displayed by both teams during various parts of their respective games, by the end they seemed worn and harried, running out of breath just when it mattered most.
Jim McGuinness, post-match, confessed to being somewhat taken aback by Donegal’s lack of residual energy. He suggested that the arduous journey to the final might have made Armagh and Galway more resilient and prepared for the challenge.
After the weekend, five key takeaways emerged: Galway and Armagh’s clean record gave them a crucial advantage; Armagh was vying to conclude a legendary year of supremacy in Ulster; and despite a valiant effort, Donegal fell short as Galway advanced to the All-Ireland final.
“We will need to analyse what happened,” said a reflective McGuinness. “The intensity and emotion of such a major event are huge, especially when the stadium is nearly at its 30,000-40,000 spectator capacity, with a significant number rooting for Donegal.”
He acknowledged that the strain was likely to mount an hour into such a pressurised event, but said holding onto momentum was a challenge. He also praised Galway for their resilience during important transitional moments.
“I’m yet to discern the solution. The forthcoming couple of days will shed light on that. The solution will begin to unveil during the bus ride home, amid dialogues with the trainers, discussions to grasp and comprehend matters. As of now, I have no resolution.”
Potential areas of exploration for both McGuinness and Jack O’Connor will be their journey to Croke Park. They understandably had zero control over the situation, yet it was striking that Galway and Armagh team members claimed they felt more battle-ready when the pressure was increaced.
Donegal’s last nail-biting match was on the first of June, where they encountered a slim defeat in Cork. Subsequent to that, they had a comfortable 24 point margin over Clare and an eight point lead over Louth. When six weeks pass without any significant challenges, one cannot be certain of their strength in the face of adversity. Realising this in the final 10 minutes of an All-Ireland semi-final isn’t ideal, to say the least.
Particularly against a team like Galway, who in their last seven games had no more than a five point margin of victory. Pádraic Joyce’s team was fresh off tense victories over Dublin, Monaghan, Mayo, Westmeath, and Sligo and had a draw against Armagh. Their hard-fought journey to the semi-finals paid off, clearly empowering them.
At least Kerry had an evenly-matched game against Derry two weeks prior. Aside from that, their summer was filled with relatively effortless football. Cork pushed them until the match was within three points on April 20th, but their average lead before Saturday was just over 10 points per game. They took on Armagh without examining the depth of their stamina, resolve, and tenacity. This was significant.
“Cork tested them up to a certain point,” said Stefan Campbell, a forward from Armagh about Kerry, in the aftermath of Saturday night’s events.
Derry had the upper hand until the closing 10 minutes. We were confident of our stamina and in our reserves. It was relieving to make good use of them. We drew upon our past mistakes, incorporated the lessons from previous games into our strategy, even as far back as the Galway match in 2022.
By the end of regular time, we noticed many Kerry players battling fatigue and muscle cramps. We’ve experienced that in the past, and we understood what was needed.
The key was to carefully handle the ball, keeping in mind that every move counts. There’s a tendency to make a bold statement, but it’s often wiser to simply integrate than to seek headline-grabbing moves. Our experience in four overtime matches, encompassing two Ulster finals and two quarter-finals, was definitely advantageous.
Each season paves the way for the next. The primary takeaway from this iteration of the All-Ireland semi-finals will be digested and applied in the forthcoming season. A team cannot control their progress to the last four, they can only handle the opponents in front of them, without any advantage in artificially seeking challenging matches.
However, it’s safe to presume that by 2025, any team under the guidance of Jack O’Connor or Jim McGuinness will not be depending on the luck of the draw for gritty preparation. This aspect will be managed internally.