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4th August 2025
12:34pm BST
Over a week on from Kerry’s All-Ireland SFC victory over Donegal, and the post-mortem is still in full flow.
Did Donegal fail to stop David Clifford, or is he just too good to stop?
Was there too much focus on Jim McGuinness, allowing Jack O’Connor’s Kerry to slip under the radar?
Did Donegal breaking from the parade show nervousness? And so on and so forth.
But the eagle-eyed Meath legend Colm O’Rourke has spotted another moment in the match that shows just how prepared Kerry were for Donegal, and it came right from the very first throw in.
He said in his Irish Independent column: “This year’s All-Ireland final has been described as a victory for freedom of expression over a very detailed structure. That’s not something I entirely agree with.
“The best teams always have a guiding set of principles and Kerry are no exception.
“Let’s start with the throw-in. Gavin White went to centre back in a rehearsed move and charged forward to get the throw-in and set up a score.
“It was bad enough for Donegal to allow it to happen once, but there was a repeat at the start of the second half. Good planning by Kerry, poor reaction from Donegal.”
Donegal’s zonal defence was ripped apart at Croke Park on Sunday, with the game finishing 1-26 to 0-19 and David Clifford starring yet again.
Since returning for a second stint in 2023, McGuinness has led Donegal to two Ulster SFC titles, and scored impressive wins against Louth, Monaghan, and Meath in their run to this year’s final.
After criticising McGuinness’ plans in the direct aftermath of the match, Joe Brolly stuck the boot in again in his Irish Independent column on Sunday, laying into the Donegal manager’s stubbornness.
“These [Donegal’s failings with David Clifford] were serious managerial failures, but as Kevin Cassidy always says, Jimmy’s systems are great until a flaw is exposed. Then, he insists on sticking to the system regardless.”
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