It wasn't pretty at times, but Kerry got the job done against Mayo yesterday.
The Munster champions were far from their blistering best in front of goal, although it was more than enough to defeat a side who had plenty of shooting woes of their own.
In saying that, the game was in the balance up until the final 20 minutes or so. While it seemed clear that Kerry had more quality, they didn't exactly capitalise on that fact for much of the contest due to the slow pace of their play. The weather was a factor in that, while a lack of action in recent times also likely played a part.
Before yesterday, Kerry's last outing in a competitive game came in their Munster final victory over Limerick on May 28th.
Jack O'Connor questions scheduling of GAA calendar
Kerry will certainly feel that had an impact on their play yesterday, which will need to be vastly improved if they are to overcome Dublin in their upcoming semi-final.
Speaking after the win over Mayo, Jack O'Connor slammed the GAA for leaving such a gap between their fixtures. He also admitted his team were looking forward to get a crack at Dublin for the first time since the 2019 All-Ireland final.
We needed a game. I mean, it's ridiculous, we were sitting for four weeks watching our opposition playing games. It's almost like you're penalised for winning the provincial championship.
Thankfully that changes next year but it's a crazy system. What do you do? You try to make training as intense as possible and hope for the best. From watching that first half, I thought we were a fair bit off the pace...
The bottom line here is these Kerry players have been yearning to get a cut at the Dubs from as far back as three years ago.
They lost an All-Ireland out there that they would feel they could have won. We certainly won't be lacking motivation, but neither will Dublin.
Dublin will want to show that they're back as good as ever, the team that won the six-in-a-row. They had a blip last year and they look to have rediscovered the hunger and the drive that got them to that six in a row.
Kerry are viewed as slight favourites by many for that game, although it is sure to be a very intriguing contest.
It remains to be seen how things will go in that one, but a repeat of their Mayo performance certainly won't cut the mustard if they are hoping to advance to the final.
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