Are Kerry the real deal or do Mayo have one last kick in them?

The last time these two sided meet in an All Ireland semi-final, the tie had to go through a replay and extra time to find a winner. Kerry were victorious in the Gaelic Grounds in 2014 but it went down to the wire and if the 2014 vintage is repeated then football fans are in for a treat on Sunday.

Kerry and Mayo have had contrasting seasons so far in the Championship with Kerry winning another Munster title without really breaking a sweat while Mayo have taken a rather scenic route through the qualifiers including extra time and replay victories over Cork and Roscommon.

Speaking to Sporting Limerick, Matt O’Callaghan is says Kerry have arrived at this point very much under the radar and with more questions than answers.

“This is typical Kerry, this is age old Kerry, they, for some reason, can get back in under the radar and nobody knows, very little about them and yet here they are in the All Ireland semi-final”

They haven’t really been tested, is it that they are that good that they have dismissed every test that has been put in front of them”

O’Callaghan does however feel Kerry aren’t the perfect outfit, and if the right challenge came along they would have to be up for it and ready to fight.

“If they get a serious test, it’s then we’ll know how good Kerry really are, I think there are certain questions that Kerry have not yet answered this year, but Kerry absolutely love Croke Park… in August and September”

It’s going to be a tough challenge for Mayo, even after their comprehensive win over Roscommon. They haven’t really performed to the best of their abilities it seems which might be a good thing for them as they could come up with the goods on Sunday. O’Callaghan isn’t too positive in terms of their chances and feels Mayo’s best years might be behind them:

“There’s an awful lot of seasoned players in the Mayo team when you look down through them and you would have to say is this…. the last chance saloon”

“It’s nearing the end of the road for a certain amount of this Mayo team’s key players that have brought Mayo to the precipice of glory over the last 5 or 6 years and i think Sunday will tell a lot, if they can drive on Sunday and reach the All Ireland final, who knows, but were they to lose on Sunday I think it maybe the end of the road for some of them”

You would have to agree with O’Callaghan judging on Mayo and Kerry’s form over the last couple of months. Kerry will be raring to get into another All Ireland final, where they could very easily be facing Dublin who they now know they can beat after this years league final win.

Mayo on the other hand will be looking to prove a lot of doubters wrong after a bumpy season. Have the been tested, very much so, have they the character to lay down a huge challenge to Kerry, yes they have. However the age old question remains, do Mayo have the forwards to put Kerry away. Sadly that is where Stephen Rochford’s men are lacking. Either way it has the makings of a brilliant football match.

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