1. Johnny’s got you covered
After last weekend’s limp showing against Cork, Kerry badly needed a response and they got it against Donegal. Their third win eases the pressure, moving them above Dublin and into fourth place with two rounds to play.
In an attack littered with stars, Johnny Buckley’s contribution can often fly under the radar but you couldn’t miss the Crokes man in Tralee. His tireless workrate in battling for possession and cleverly distributing it made him an obvious man of the match.
For their part, Donegal reminded us that they can come out and play when they feel like it. They scored 2-11 — as opposed to the meagre 1-4 they managed against Monaghan last week — but it still wasn’t enough.
2. Ruthless Dubs do it their way
Already this season, Donegal and Tyrone have shown that defence might be the best form of attack against Dublin but Jim Gavin’s side were allowed to play the game on their terms when they went to Mayo on Saturday night.
All the pressure was on the Dubs, who had won only one of their first four. They looked to be a completely different proposition as they welcomed back Diarmuid Connolly and Paul Flynn for their first starts, and their slick movement in attack was matched only by their doggedness at the back.
That said, Mayo made it far too easy for them. They were a step or two off on every occasion — often more — and Dublin thrived on the time and space they were afforded.
3. Rebel road warriors do it again
With four away games in Ulster, the fixture gods seemed to have handed Cork a searching test and a possible path towards a relegation battle. With their win in Tyrone on Sunday, Brian Cuthbert’s side made it four points from six so far on the road (that one-point defeat in Donegal their only reverse.)
They were up against it as they trailed by five points inside the final quarter but showed great heart to battle back. There was a slice of fortune about Colm O’Neill’s final point, which may have been wide, while Tyrone were aggrieved that there wasn’t more injury time to allow them to force an equaliser.
4. Despair for Derry
After losing in Monaghan, Division 2 now beckons for Derry — a remarkable decline for last year’s beaten league finalists. They are still winless, with the point in Tyrone the only return from their first five games.
Brian McIver will be particularly worried by the fact that they only managed six points from play on Sunday while Monaghan put up 0-14.
They now face a trip to Croke Park on 28 March knowing that they must beat Dublin to preserve their top-flight status. On the basis of this weekend’s performances, that seems unlikely.
5. Going down?
Where does it end for Kildare? They led Roscommon by six points early on, and three at the break, before capitulating entirely in the second half.
A win would have moved the Lilywhites off the bottom of Division 2 and eased the pressure but they were a distant second best and completely wilted in the final quarter.
Take nothing away from the Rossies who put up a brilliant 24 points — 19 of which came from play — with 10 different scorers.
