THERE may be no Ulster teams in this weekend’s All-Ireland Senior Championship final but Donegal vice-captain Emer Gallagher has come up against both finalists in Dublin and Kerry this season and she is looking forward to what she says should be a “fantastic” final at Croke Park on Sunday.
Just as in the men’s championship, it’s the final everyone wanted, and a first All-Ireland decider between the two sides, who are, Gallagher says, the strongest two in the country.
She arrives at the conclusion having played against both this season, and lost; Kerry in the early stages of the league, by two points, in a game she feels Donegal should have won, while they also lost to Dublin in the league and just a few weeks ago in the All-Ireland quarter-final stages.
The Leinster side impressed Gallagher that day and they are coming to their peak just at the right time after a relatively quiet league campaign, while Kerry have shown they fully deserve to be in back-to-back finals and that last year was not just luck.
“We played against Kerry in the second game of the league and we ran them quite close. Considering that we were relegated it was definitely a game we felt we had left behind. It was definitely one of our better performances in the league and one we looked back on with regret afterwards," Gallagher said.
"I think Kerry are a very different team now from how they played that day and they are rightfully back in the All-Ireland final and have proved to everyone that they are a team that deserve to be there and it wasn’t just a one-hit wonder that they got to the final last year.
"I think they have definitely reaffirmed to everyone that they are one of the top teams in Ireland.
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Dublin are looking to get their hands back on the Brendan Martin Cup having last won it 2020, which was their fourth All-Ireland title in-a-row. They have fallen behind Leinster neighbours Meath, who have won the last two titles, but Gallagher believes that will have given the Dubs even more motivation to return to the top.
“Dublin had a bit of a slower start to the league but I don’t think anyone was ever in any doubt about the fact that Dublin would come strong in the end," she said.
"Everyone was very much aware of that feeling of vengeance they felt towards us and I suppose towards reinstating themselves as the top team in the country this year again, having fallen short in the last two years, against Meath in the final two years ago and then against us last year.”
Gallagher believes that the outcome of Sunday's final will hinge a lot on whether or not Galway referee Shane Curley lets the physicality that both sides will bring to the game go.
“The two teams that are left in the competition are the two most physical teams. We couldn’t breathe against Dublin at times [in the quarter-final], they were tactical in their fouling. There was pressure on every player as they were coming out with the ball.
"They defended and attacked in twos and threes. There was never a time when you weren’t surrounded by Dublin players and it’s the same with Kerry. They protect the net at all costs and they do everything as a team and I think it’s going to be a very, very interesting final to see who can out fight the other and whose physicality will win on the day.
“A lot will depend on referee in the final. I think that Kerry are more naturally physical than Dublin in terms of players’ strength and their build, whereas Dublin bring physicality through doing everything 100 per cent like pressing up.
"If the referee doesn’t let a lot go, I think Dublin will really struggle. I think Kerry can defend well with their bodies because they are naturally strong, whereas I think Dublin can go very heavy on the tackle and if the referee doesn’t want to see that, then they will struggle with the counterattack.
“Dublin do get away with slowing down the counterattack by purposely knocking the ball out of the hand or standing in front of the player and I think it will be very interesting to see how that plays out.
"If the referee lets a lot go, I think it will be a very entertaining match as I feel like Kerry could respond very, very well to that. I think they can go to a higher level if they need to, physicality wise. I think that is going to be the winning and losing of the match, how much physicality is allowed.”
Gallagher is swaying ever so slightly towards the Dubs for victory on Sunday just because they have been simmering along nicely until now.
“I think Dublin are coming into this match in a really, really good position and are now peaking at the right time,” she said.
“One of the ways I think they may be able to win this match is that they are able to keep their main ball players free of man-marking jobs and can dedicate those jobs to other players who are doing a superb job of carrying that out to a high degree.
"The sheer number of scorers they have is going to be a huge problem for Kerry who do lean Ni Mhuircheartaigh a lot. I think Dublin will just edge them on it.”
