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The stats ahead of the Gaelic football semi-finals don’t look good for Monaghan

Published 15:56 11 Jul 2023 BST

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Dublin top all of the lists.

This weekend Monaghan take on Dublin and Kerry play Derry in the All-Ireland semi-finals, but the stats going into the matches don't look good for the Farney county. It's perceived that Kerry are an all-out attacking team, who don't seem to have the same defensive structure that they had last year, but according to the numbers they have conceded less than the four teams remaining. This means that Paddy Tally's influence is still as prevalent and as effective as ever, and they are just as effective going forward, having only scored one point less than Dublin. A lot of Dublin's fine shooting in front of goal is thanks to the red hot form of Colm Basquel, who is currently the top scorer from play in the championship this season. Many have perceived Derry to not score enough, but be defensively sound, and although this is true in the grand scale of things, compared to the Dubs and those from the Kingdom, they are lacking in both areas. The worst news is for Monaghan however, as we all knew they were huge underdogs going into the weekend, but with so many, they sit bottom of the list as the team who has scored the least, and conceded the most. Of course stats don't tell the full story, and one fact that will keep Vinny Corey hopeful is the fact that his team have scored so many winners right at the death. They have an incredible talent for staying in games against perceived better opposition, and then being able to steal it right at the death, something which Dessie Farrell will no doubt be warning his players about.