John O'Keeffe's analysis:FORGET FOR one moment that it is Dublin and Kerry contesting this All-Ireland quarter-final, with all the attendant historical and cultural baggage. Instead treat the match as a contest between team A (Dublin) and team B (Kerry), in those dispassionate terms.
Team A has been hugely impressive en route to this point in the tournament, physically in terms of the quality of football and score- taking and mentally in dealing with being reduced to 14 players for two- thirds of a provincial title match.
Team B has staggered to this point in the tournament by virtue of a series of collisions against lesser-equipped teams and in the process has begun to look physically and mentally tired. They have not found their best form or even close to it.
When analysed in these terms, there should only be one winner. I am convinced Dublin manager Pat Gilroy will encourage his team to forget about an exaggerated rivalry, the green and gold jersey and instead focus on picking apart a team that bars their path to a place they long to go.
If Dublin produce the intensity and standards they have already broached in the championship then they will be victorious. Kerry need their big players like Colm Cooper, Darragh Ó Sé, Mark Ó Sé and Declan O’Sullivan to ignite and for the team to produce a fluency and cohesiveness that they have not previous shown in the championship.
There is no doubting the Kerry players’ quality but they must prove they can survive beyond the odd 10-minute cameo here and there.
Dublin’s biggest danger is they regress to old bad habits under pressure but if they can avoid that then they should move on to the semi-finals.
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