All-Ireland SFC: ‘All or nothing’ for Armagh in Kerry -Joe Kernan

It wasn’t their first championship meeting, but Armagh’s All-Ireland final win over Kerry in 2002 was something of a line in the sand, spawning a new rivalry in Gaelic football.

Two years previous, the Kingdom prevailed in a semi-final replay on their way to a 32nd title, extending their perfect record over the Orchard County in championship football to three, having beaten them in the 1982 semi-final and 1953 final.

However, the arrival of Joe Kernan would prove to be the missing piece of the jigsaw for an Armagh side who had been threatening to make the big breakthrough as they reached the promised land for the first time.

Championship meetings between the counties have not been regular, with Kerry storming to a quarter-final win over Kernan’s side in 2006 on their way to another Sam Maguire success.

In 2024, Armagh claimed a semi-final win in the fixture, with Kerry gaining revenge at the quarter-final stage last year.

Each time, the winner of this match-up has gone on to win the big prize, so Saturday’s Round Three clash in Killarney [16:00 BST] between the past two winners of Sam Maguire needs little by way of added hype.

Under the new format, it’s knockout action all the way, with Kernan agreeing it’s “all or nothing” for his county who are bidding for their first championship win on Kerry soil.

“Every game from now until the final is a final and this is the biggest game of the year,” said the former Armagh manager.

“It’s in Killarney, [winning there is] something we’ve never done before I believe it can be done.

“Ever since we won the Sam Maguire in 2002, everybody has said you need to beat Kerry in Dublin and we did that.

“In 2024 the same thing was done, so this is even bigger as whoever wins this will fancy themselves going forward.”