Fascination lies in clash of two styles

Two considerations dominated the lead-up to the drawn All-Ireland semi-final between Armagh and Kerry. Each had selected their most famous forward on the bench and secondly, the stark contrast in styles promised by the teams. A fortnight on these issues remain as dominant as ever.

Maurice Fitzgerald's performance after coming on as a second-half substitute would have fuelled the fires of controversy had he not sustained an injury which has ruled him out of starting this afternoon's replay. His counterpart Diarmuid Marsden was less successful but despite doubts about his stamina he will start.

The deployment of high-profile substitutes was also an issue in last week's Galway-Kildare semi-final when the introduction of John Divilly and Kevin Walsh played a role in Galway's victory.

With five replacements during a match allowed for the first time this season, there has been greater thought given to the possibilities of tactical selection.

Pat O'Neill managed Dublin to the county's most recent All-Ireland. "There may be reasons for it now that five subs are allowed," he says. "Before three subs functionally meant two because you always had to hold one back in case of an injury. But generally you should start with your best 15."

Long-standing Cork selector Paddy Sheahan agrees but also believes that there are exceptions.

"Holding back players needs a reason. I think Maurice Fitzgerald wasn't fit enough the last day for 70 minutes. Bringing him on later in the game when the pace has dropped a bit gives him an advantage. Since the last day Maurice has hardly trained with them so it's not surprising he won't start the replay either."

Pat King, who recently stepped down as manager of Fermanagh, sees the logic in introducing influential players after the initial phase of a match has burned out.

"I think you should always put out your best 15. But where it's a question of fitness, you don't want class players being exhausted during the hard-marking stage of a game. So it was sensible to hold Marsden and Maurice Fitzgerald."

On the more general question of the contrasting tactics, O'Neill - a former member of the Football Development Committee - feels that Armagh have been unduly criticised for their funnelling back and claustrophobic marking. He says that it was the attack which let down the Ulster champions.

"I wouldn't blame them to any extent. Kildare and Meath do the same. They could be a little more expansive but that wasn't their problem. They would have to be disappointed with their forwards."

Sheahan and King are familiar with this afternoon's protagonists, having each lost to one of them in their respective provincial championships.

"I said it when we were playing Armagh, the best way of attacking them is to run the ball quickly at them," says King, whose team were narrowly beaten by Armagh in the Ulster semi-final.

"They're good at contesting when the ball is kicked but if it's run at them, they have trouble coping. We did that successfully in the first half but then a team tires and it's hard to keep it going. You're covering a lot of ground and supporting each other. It's not a very economical style."

Yet Kerry's best period was early in the match when they got the ball quickly into their forwards. King believes that Armagh are too strong centrally to allow a team that sort of access for any length of time.

"They weren't that comfortable at defending the early ball Kerry put into their full forwards but a team needs control of the midfield area to play it that way. And Armagh will drop a couple of half-forwards back to go with the two midfielders there plus their half backs.

"They are negative and difficult to beat because they counter other teams. They got so much ball around the middle and should have done more.

"The Kerry forward line looked more lethal and always more likely to score the goal Fitzgerald got. You couldn't say that about Armagh."

O'Neill says that there is another way of preventing a team taking a stranglehold on a match by packing the area between the 45s.

"One way of countering it is to do something on the kick-outs. If it's too crowded around the half backs and midfield, a few short kick-outs will suss that out. It's a tactic Kildare used very well until Galway cottoned to it although Dublin never did in the Leinster replay."

Sheahan says that Armagh had done their homework on Kerry and countered the Munster champions realistically. In the Munster semi-final, Sheahan's Cork nearly overturned a double-digit half-time deficit against Kerry by taking control at centrefield and dominating the breaks.

A year previously, through tight marking and aggression, Cork had defeated Kerry in the Munster final.

"When it comes to sheer football, there's no team better and if you're going to sit back and admire them, they'll destroy you," he says. "But they don't like it tight and tough, you've got to get in around them.

"We did that in the Pairc last year and got criticised - a lot of Kerry fellas said we brought football to a new low - but you can't stand back from them."

Sheahan also feels that Kerry lose focus in matches and have a tendency to lose sight of what they do best in favour of overindulgence. This was evident in the drawn match when they failed to build on a strong initial surge which saw them six points clear in the opening minutes.

"When it started Kerry were pumping first-time ball into the full forwards and winning well but they love the feel of the ball. Aodan MacGearailt has to go on a solo, Liam Hassett has to put his head down and go at the defence.

"If we had basketball rules, you'd call the team in and put them back on track. They love holding the ball and moving around but they haven't the physique. They're lovely footballers but they take too much out of the ball."

He shares King's misgivings about the Kerry centrefield and believes that it is around this sector that the team's scoring difficulties begin.

"At midfield Donal Daly's a fine footballer but doesn't have the physique and Dara O Se is a fine footballer but gets easily distracted. They need to move the ball quickly - the ball never gets tired and there's no comparison between delivering the ball when you want and when you have to."

So two weeks on the complexion of the match remains unaltered. Kerry have Seamus Moynihan performing miracles on the full-back line and a dynamic set of full forwards. In between the quality is less consistent.

Armagh are the opposite. Rattled and under pressure at the back and failing to punch their weight up front, they have been combative and composed in the central corridor.

This afternoon something will have to give.