“If Clifford gets the right distribution, it doesn’t matter who is on him, he will hurt Galway.”
Once the scourge of Kerry in the noughties, Tyrone legend Peter Canavan is backing them to get over the line this Sunday against Galway.
The two-time All-Ireland winner believes that Kerry will lift Sam Maguire once more, but doesn’t rule out a Galway win, especially if they prepare correctly.
In his column for Sky Sports, Canavan identifies two key things that the Tribesmen must do if they are to conquer The Kingdom.
“The areas they have to worry about are obvious. It is not about nullifying David Clifford, because they are not going to do that. Instead, they will need to minimise the Fossa forward’s impact.
“Like Tyrone in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final, you expect he is going to kick four or five points. It is about stopping him scoring goals, and preventing quality ball coming into him. If Clifford gets the right distribution, it doesn’t matter who is on him, he will hurt Galway.
“The one area Galway have been very good at is being aggressive on the opposition kick-outs. And they’ll be coming into this game wanting to pressure Shane Ryan on the restarts.
“Joyce and Co will be well aware how Kerry scored their goal against Dublin. If the Munster champions win a long kick-out, the first thing they do is turn and look to get it in early. That’s when space is open at the back, and one-on-one situations arise.
“If Galway are brave and push up on kick-outs – they have been in every game this year – they do need to be on red alert for the long balls in.
“Unlike Derry who had only one target man, Kerry have options. Jack Barry and David Moran will start, while Diarmuid O’Connor will come in from the half-forward line.”
“He’s so committed to the cause” – The GAA Hour pundits praise James McCarthy after Dublin’s loss to Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final.
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