DIARMUID Connolly has warned both Armagh and Galway that whoever doesn’t seize the moment this weekend is going to have a ‘tough regeneration job next season’.
Connolly won six All-Ireland medals with Dublin and reckons that Sunday’s novel final pairing represents a rare window of opportunity for both teams.
Aside from Tyrone’s success in 2021, Dublin and Kerry have carved up the All-Ireland titles between them for over a decade and Connolly maintained that ‘Dublin will be back’ again in 2025.
In fact, he reckons that if Con O’Callaghan had equalised against Galway in last month’s quarter-final, instead of striking wide at the death, the holders would have beaten the Tribesmen in extra-time.
“Whoever wins this one is going to be the hero but whoever loses is going to have a tough regeneration job next season because I don’t know whether they can get back to these heights again,” said Connolly. “With Dublin and Kerry both knocked out, they’re going to be going back at it early again for next year and really setting their sights on getting the Sam Maguire back.
“Like, it’s 20-odd years since Armagh were there, Galway haven’t won it in a long time, it doesn’t come around as often as you might think it will.”
Connolly’s sense is that Armagh, ‘the fittest team in the Championship’, are ultimately best placed to bridge their own 22-year wait for All-Ireland success.
“Beating Kerry after extra-time and having the running power off the bench in extra-time will galvanise those boys, it will give them the belief that if it comes down to the stretch, they have the artillery to bring on,” he said.
“They have scorers everywhere. Their whole half-back line can kick a point, their inside line, and particularly Andrew Murnin and Rian O’Neill have been standout players this season.”
Diarmuid Connolly teamed up with BoyleSports to preview this weekend’s All-Ireland SFC final. Get paid out early with BoyleSports if your team goes 7 points ahead, even if they draw or lose
