If Cork continue to dominate possession, they have ample means to finish the job at home, writes JOHN O'KEEFFE

THERE’S ALWAYS some mind games involved in replays and Cork were at it when announcing, midweek, an unchanged team. Kerry were at it too when delaying theirs. For Cork it was a statement of confidence, that they’ve no problems going into tomorrow’s replay at Páirc Uí Chaoimh; whereas for Kerry it was a statement of uncertainty, that they’ve some injuries still, and some selection dilemmas too.

Both teams have their share of positives and negatives from the draw in Killarney. Both managers’ most important job this week was to keep their players confident, to reinforce the belief they could win, which presumably was there last week. But there’s no doubt that job was a little easier for Conor Counihan, that Cork must be that bit more confident.

Counihan can look back on a game that his team controlled for long periods, a game he knows Cork should have won. They totally dominated the kick-outs, enjoyed far more possession, and coming towards the end had a four-point lead, with the wind in their backs. They simply didn’t finish the job, although that creates both positives and negatives, because behind all their dominance there’s the deeper realisation they did not put Kerry away.

So why didn’t they win? It could be that they still doubt their ability to beat Kerry, that there’s still some baggage there from last September, but I doubt it. There are enough Cork players in that team now who have no fear of Kerry. They just let themselves down in a few key areas.

For a start, Cork will need to be more disciplined tomorrow, because any foul they commit from the 45-metre line will be punished by Bryan Sheehan, just like it was last Sunday. I also think there could be more commitment from the full forward line. They also can’t afford to let Tomás Ó Sé have a run at them, unopposed, like they did late on last Sunday. That will always inspire Kerry.

Cork still have greater options than Kerry, with players such as Colm O’Neill and Fintan Goold able to come in and do the business if required. Pearse O’Neill would be better utilised at centre forward, because he’s more dynamic. They should use Donncha O’Connor, who for some reason never plays well against Kerry, on the wing. But, either way, Cork are better endowed right now than Kerry.

Yet, there are plenty of positives there for Jack O’Connor too. From limited possession last Sunday, particularly by their inside forwards, Kerry were still able to unhinge the Cork defence with some ease. They still asked questions of Cork, towards the end, and were able to grind out the draw.

The negatives were obvious too in that they didn’t compete aggressively enough for breaking ball. They were slow and sometimes predictable, and there was a poor display from their half forward line. One of Kerry’s main failings last Sunday was winning breaking ball around the middle, and as soon as Paul Galvin came in that was corrected.

The only problem is he’s still not 100 per cent match fit, and you have to wonder is it better to start him or bring him in later on.

Graham Canty in general did a good job on Kieran Donaghy, but the challenge now is to repeat that for another 70 minutes tomorrow – because Donaghy remains the primary source of scores for Kerry. That to me is the key confrontation. If Donaghy wins more breaking ball this time then Kerry can take advantage, particularly Colm Cooper.

Kerry finished stronger the last day, which perhaps suggests they’ll have the momentum starting tomorrow. Anthony Maher is the better man for midfield right now, more mobile than Micheál Quirke, alongside Seamus Scanlon, and Barry John Keane is capable of making another strong impact.

However, I still favour a Cork win, narrowly, provided they take full advantage of the greater spread of scoring forwards, including O’Neill and Goold on the bench. They’ll find more space for scoring, particularly back in more familiar surroundings.

Dublin are also back in their familiar surroundings of Croke Park tomorrow, although there’s nothing familiar about the Dublin team. In fact, in all my years around football, I’ve never seen such a radically changed team for the start of a championship like the one Dublin have named for tomorrow’s meeting with Wexford.

But I would applaud Pat Gilroy for sticking to his task. After last year’s humiliation against Kerry he had no choice but to totally revamp things. The Dublin team of last year was going nowhere. Dublin needed to find more resilience, a harder edge. They also needed to start building their team on a solid defence, with good forwards, rather than the other way around. It’s obvious they are putting the greater emphasis on their defensive strategy this season. There’s no point in having flashy forwards if you can’t close up at the other end.

Dublin are fortunate to be starting out against Wexford, rather than say a more seasoned team. Wexford must be low in confidence, have no real form to go on. For Dublin, this is the beginning of the learning curve. But Wexford’s Jason Ryan is a shrewd manager, and will know how to make it difficult for Dublin. They’ll need to unsettle Dublin early on, because if Bernard Brogan and Conal Keaney get a run at Wexford early on then it could be all over by half-time.

Much of the attention tomorrow will fall on Dublin’s full back line of Mark Fitzsimons, Rory O’Carroll and Philly McMahon. O’Carroll was outstanding in Dublin’s recent under-21 campaign, but I know from my own days as a full back, you are very reliant on the two men beside you, but also your goalkeeper – and the advantage for Dublin here is that they have the very experienced Stephen Cluxton in goal.

I expect Dublin to win although not as easily as some people are saying. Dublin’s new philosophy is that every player defends from the moment they lose possession, starts flooding the full back line. It’s the less spectacular side of football, but it’s what gets results in the modern game.