All-Ireland SFC Semi-final: Although the expertise didn't come about exactly felicitously, Fermanagh manager Dominic Corrigan is in a good position to judge Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final between Tyrone and Kerry.

His team's championship campaigns were brought to an abrupt end this year and last by the two semi-finalists.

"I don't mind going on the record in front of my Tyrone neighbours and saying that I believe Kerry will win," he says, bravely enough given the rivalries in Ulster.

"We'll be seeing two of the best footballing sides in the land and I expect it will be fluent and a fascinating contest, potentially the match of the year."

Whereas some people assembled a stack of reservations watching Kerry's late concession of a cascade of goals in the quarter-final, Corrigan feels that it will be of great benefit to Páidí Ó Sé's team.

"Those last 15 minutes against Roscommon could be the making of the team. If Kerry had won by 10 or 15 points, as looked likely in the second half, they would have learned nothing but Roscommon exposed weaknesses and although the management were shaking their heads afterwards deep down they wouldn't have been too upset. It gave them something to work on and I believe we'll see a different and better Kerry at the weekend."

The semi-final has paired the two best attacking sides left in the competition. Tyrone have looked the best team around for most of the year but the Ulster championship win included two very close calls against Derry and Down, two sides that wouldn't be considered in the front rank. "Tyrone are up against the best side they will have played, a different class of team, and the question is can they raise the bar?"

On the face of it, Kerry's defensive difficulties should be a great opportunity for Tyrone's in-form forwards. But Corrigan believes that excellent though Peter Canavan and Owen Mulligan have been this season, they will suit Kerry's backs better than Roscommon's bigger, more awkward forwards.

"The key duel will be between Séamus Moynihan, who has been the best defender in the game over the past few years, and Peter Canavan, who has been the best forward over the same period. Moynihan tends to struggle on bulkier players but he has pace and agility and if there's one man in the country to mark Canavan I'd go for him.

"Tyrone don't have the other sort of player apart from maybe Ger Cavlan, someone to rain in high ball on top of, and I think Moynihan will be more comfortable with that."

Corrigan thinks that despite the acclaim Mulligan has received as Canavan's best attacking partner in years of playing for the county, the performance of the captain is still the vital consideration in the Ulster champions' attack.

Impressive though Tyrone have been going forward, the defence has had awkward moments so far. Coincidentally, these troubles have arisen in much the same circumstances as Kerry's, under high ball.

Ostensibly the Kerry attack should suit Tyrone, as it is full of ball players, but Corrigan thinks it should change.

"If I were in Páidí's shoes I'd play John Crowley because he's a ball winner and there aren't enough ball-winning forwards in Kerry's attack."

After a league campaign which suggested Tyrone had no centrefield the county now has a range of options. The most welcome surprise has been the arrival of Seán Cavanagh as a top-class attacking centrefielder. But in Darragh Ó Sé he will be facing one of the most highly regarded operators in the sector.

"Kerry will have looked at Cavanagh and figured out his strengths," says Corrigan. "I feel Darragh Ó Sé will be crucial in that respect. Seán Cavanagh's had a great season but he's stepping up on Sunday and will find it a lot harder."

He also feels that this season is of huge importance to Kerry after the events of the past years. Added to that is the significance invested by the county in this year's championship, the 100th anniversary of their first All-Ireland football title.

"Look at what's happened the team. Two years ago there was a hiding by Meath and losing last year's final by a point to Armagh was as good as a hiding for Kerry people. I think we'll see a raw, cutting edge to Kerry that wasn't there since they last won an All-Ireland and their best performance in a while."

Through the disappointment of those defeats Kerry have also had to cope with suggestions that their temperament is a bit brittle on big days.

"They've always been a team capable of winning the All-Ireland," says Corrigan, "but they've also been seen as having a soft undercarriage when it comes to digging deep. That's a big challenge to any team when you question their heart and I think they'll answer that."

With the motivation of recent setbacks driving them along, Kerry, he believes, will have the players to do the necessary on the field even against the considerable strengths of Tyrone.

"Kerry weren't going to be able to answer the questions about themselves against Roscommon whatever they did but playing Tyrone will be different." concludes Corrigan. "If they deliver then they will have answered those questions. They'll rise to the occasion and I think they have the ability to stop Peter Canavan and Seán Cavanagh. Then they're on their way."