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Preview: All Ireland SFC S-F - Kerry v Mayo

Keith Higgins, Mayo, and Kieran Donaghy, Mayo, during the 2014 All Ireland SFC Semi-Final replay at the Gaelic Grounds.

Keith Higgins, Mayo, and Kieran Donaghy, Mayo, during the 2014 All Ireland SFC Semi-Final replay at the Gaelic Grounds.

Sunday August 20

All Ireland SFC Semi-Final

Kerry v Mayo, Croke Park, 3.30pm

With a flair for the dramatic are Mayo now primed to take a prized scalp? How will Kerry deal with a pumped up green and red outfit? Can Kieran Donaghy agitate Mayo once again? Who will mark Donaghy, Paul Geaney, and James O'Donohgue?

A list of questions will be answered throughout Sunday afternoon. Having survived a few scares in the qualifiers, Mayo return to the last four buoyed up by a stirring All Ireland SFC Quarter-Final replay success over Roscommon.

It wasn't just the comprehensive win, Mayo took ample satisfaction from the ruthless and relentless nature of the performance.

The gradient steepens from here on in, though, but Mayo travel to Croke Park with hope firmly planted back in the heart.

Kerry's progress to the penultimate stage has been fairly smooth. Clare did pose some first half problems in Ennis, but by the end Kerry were convincing victors.

That owed much to the refreshed James O'Donoghue, who is enjoying an injury free stint. O'Donoghue was prominent in the Munster decider against Cork too, with Paul Geaney also effective.

Galway carved several goalscoring chances in the Quarter-Final, but they weren't clinical enough. At the opposite end Donaghy's power and splendid hands had Galway distressed, especially in the opening period.

Mayo will thunder into the physical collisions. Any team containing Colm Boyle, Donal Vaughan, Chris Barrett, and the dynamic Lee Keegan will relish such a battle.

Around the west the suggestion is that Vaughan will be the man tasked with trying to tame Donaghy.

The breathless two game 2014 saga with Kerry will always be remembered for a star being reborn. Donaghy's heroics at GAA headquarters and the Gaelic Grounds still lingers in Kerry and Mayo minds.

“I’d say we haven't forgotten what he did in 2006 either and a couple in between," Stephen Rochford remarked at the Mayo press evening last week.

"You start to over-focus on Kieran Donaghy and James O’Donoghue is going to make a fool out of you or Paul Geaney will start to pull the strings or Johnny Buckley and David Moran."

Kerry's list of talent is extensive and Eamonn Fitzmaurice has steered them back into mid August with the minimum of fuss.

It should be a little bit more frenetic this weekend.

KERRY: Brian Kelly; Shane Enright, Mark Griffin, Killian Young; Peter Crowley, Tadhg Morley, Paul Murphy; David Moran, Anthony Maher; Michael Geaney, Johnny Buckley, Stephen O'Brien; Paul Geaney, Kieran Donaghy, James O'Donoghue.

MAYO: David Clarke; Brendan Harrison, Donal Vaughan, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Chris Barrett, Colm Boyle; Seamus O'Shea, Tom Parsons; Kevin McLoughlin, Aidan O'Shea, Diarmuid O'Connor; Jason Doherty, Cillian O'Connor, Andy Moran.