AIB All-Ireland Club SFC final: Corofin (Galway) v Dr Crokes (Kerry)
WHAT is greatness? Footballers spend their whole lives trying to win one All-Ireland, thinking that they’ve achieved it. And then you go down the roll of honour and realise there’s another level.
Great clubs, there are plenty. There’s always means of reinvention once the sweet nectar has been tasted from the mouth of the Andy Merrigan Cup.
But how many truly great teams have there been in club football?
Only Crossmaglen (twice) and St Finbarr’s have ever won it back-to-back. The Burren side of the late ‘80s won two in three years. Nemo Rangers of around the same time, who won it in ’89 and ’93.
Beyond that, clubs have come and gone. Their greatness is their own. Those players will always be revered and remembered, but greatness can’t be for everyone.
Corofin attained it last year by winning their second All-Ireland in two years. But even they have more that they could achieve. They could, tomorrow afternoon, join that most elite band to have retained the trophy.
In their way stand a Dr Crokes side chasing after their own elevation. Great club. But a great team? They’re the ones with more to do on that front.
Against their 2017 success is the asterisk of Padraig Cassidy’s red card. Slaughtneil were in control of the game, on the scoreboard and in its pattern. Crokes were able to pick them off, particularly in the final 15 minutes when they used the spaces and their kick-passing prowess to play time out.
Equally, they’d beaten Corofin in the semi-final that year. The Kerry men were outstanding that day, but how much of it was down to the fatigue of the Connacht champions, who’d been running for three years steady?
That’s not to take away Dr Crokes’ All-Ireland, which in the context of their Munster successes was a long time coming, but merely to question whether they’re a side that’s capable of making their own step into greatness.
Having Johnny Buckley back is an enormous boost. His red card against Mullinalaghta has been rescinded. While it looked soft enough, it looked like a strike nonetheless. He’s lucky to be playing.
Their performance against the Longford underdogs was one of pure experience and composure. They took the 20th minute red card on the chin, did a bit of rejigging and went on about their business.
It helped that, in general terms, they were largely unperturbed defensively. The only thing that caused them much bother was high ball, off which the early penalty and a late goal chance were manufactured by Mickey Graham’s side.
There was the trademark smoothness of their kicking game, and with Tony Brosnan giving poor Simon Cadam a runaround, they had a constant outlet with a scoring edge.
Kieran O’Leary finished with four points and of all that’s remembered about the 2017 meeting of these two, his display tops the bill.
It seemed like he might have finished Kieran Fitzgerald’s career that day, but the former Galway man has been unmoved. He had his hands full with the bull strength of Kevin Cassidy in the semi-final, but was solid under the aerial challenge in the second half.
Corofin were mightily impressive against Gaoth Dobhair. The Donegal champions’ performance was understated. They played as well as they were let.
Corofin are exceptionally good at protecting the centre of their goal, to the point of a healthy cynicism. Liam Silke is likely to pick up Gavin O’Shea, with Kieran Molloy on Brian Looney.
Colm Cooper and Eoin Brosnan are both impact men at this stage, but their depth is an area in which Crokes seem to have an advantage.
John Payne, who was the official man of the match in the final two years ago, is likely to be tasked with keeping tabs on Ian Burke, while Fionn Fitzgerald is expected to line up against Martin Farragher, whose knack of big goals in big games is a threat to Crokes.
Michéal Lundy hasn’t hit the same heights as in previous years and Crokes will fancy the idea of Gavin White in against him, running him up Croke Park, but Jason Leonard’s form has been good and he’ll take watching too.
There are so many similarities in the way they play. Their kicking games are outstanding, from the movement to the quality of delivery. They’ll both press high and squeeze kickouts, but both goalkeepers are exceptionally good off the tee.
It should be a feast for the eyes. These are two brilliant teams whose philosophies are a vaccination against so much of what we see now.
But the true greatness will be Corofin’s.
