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Kingdom Can Topple Dubs

It's that time of the year again, when we see who Dublin beat in the All-Ireland final, or is the Dubs reign over? Over the top hype on both media and social media, portray the Dubs as an unstoppable force, but what many people seem to forget is that Dublin have had a pretty bad season so far.

Cast your mind back to February and March of this year, it might not be the first thought that comes to mind, but Dublin finished 4th in Division 1, only finishing ahead of Galway on points difference. The mighty Dublin lost to Monaghan, Kerry, and Tyrone during the seven match league, and didn't have any astounding victories over the campaign.

We move on then to Leinster, where Dublin breezed through the opposition, though in fairness Leinster is without a doubt the weakest province for football with the exception of the Super Blues. They then had a decent run at the Super 8s, easing past Cork and Roscommon, though struggling to achieve an eventual win over Tyrone. Then there was the semi-final when Mayo even managed to prove to atheists that curses exist, when they gave chalk and cheese performances in both halves. They exposed the Dublin defence, and choked their half forward line, then simply stopped playing well in the second half. What some may see this as proof that Dublin have the ability to come back from large deficits, I see it as proof that the people of Mayo in the 1950s indeed had supernatural powers. Dublin didn't play a whole lot better in the second half, their forwards stepped up their game, but the victory was handed to them by Mayo.

Then we turn to the league toppers Kerry, who managed to fight their way through Munster beating decent Cork and Clare sides. Their campaign was far from glamourous in the league, Munster, and the Super 8s, but they got the job done. They faced a big challenge from Tyrone in the semi-final, finally beating the Ulster side, but not before losing star player Stephen O'Brien to a black card. I'm sure the whole county held their breath while a previous card was appealed, as with three black cards to his name, O'Brien was not eligible to play in the All Ireland Final on Sunday.

But O'Brien is back in the fold, Kerry have proven their worth to get as far as they have, they have momentum, and they already have a win over the Dubs under their belt this year. While this mightn't give Kerry the upper hand in the game, it certainly gives them a real chance of ending the Dubs hopes for 5 in a row, something never before seen in inter-county football.


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