Kerry and Derry’s path to the All Ireland quarter-finals could not be any more different
Kerry captain Paudie Clifford ahead of last year’s All Ireland semi-final with Derry in Croke Park Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Was it a phony war? The group phase? Not quite, no. They were trying. It’s just that, to win, and win rather comfortably, they didn’t have to try altogether that hard.
To be fair against Monaghan in Fitzgerald Stadium there was a bit of shock and awe to the way they went about their business in the first half, winning a lot of turnover ball and exploiting it typically ruthlessly.
