Is team psychology the most important ingredient in Championship Football?

[Dinny Breen]

Take the 8 teams over the weekend

Limerick were beaten before they even set foot on the pitch and this was reflected in a lifeless performance. Kerry expected to win, they have an unrivaled winning culture, a sense of entitlement that separates them from every County fueled by constant media eulogies of Kerry and the Kingdom. They don't lose to Limerick.

Kildare and Donegal went toe to toe for close to 100 mins and were eventually separated by 1 point, Kildare froze with 8 mins to go, dead on their feet and in their minds, Dongeal though drew on the experience of winning the National League and Ulster and saw a team not use to winning they sniffed blood and took the kill. Had Kildare gone into that game as Leinster Champions they would have won imho.

Tyrone played like a team that didn't believe it would lose to Roscommon, the infusion of younger blood has reignited the elder statesmen and they believe in their manager, they have a clear goal path in front of them, Dublin and 2010, Donegal  and Ulster semi-final, and then they would probably belive they have Kerry in the final (mouth watering in my opinion). Roscommon needed to win Connacht and probably their league title, they are very much like Kildare, they need to win as much as they can to truly believe they can cope with the Kerry's, Cork's and Tyrone's of the world. Deep down they didn't expect to win on Saturday.

Mayo went in as complete under-dogs but that Connacht title has given them great belief and they picked of a Cork team who weren't prepared mentally who had one eye on Kerry. Cork were so hung up on beating Kerry in Croke Park they just didn't prepare for the Mayo game.

So with 5 teams left and at the semi-final form lines go out the window you will have 4 teams in a very strong position, if Mayo truly believe their game against Kerry won't be about 'natural forwards' and history then I think they can and will take an under-cooked Kerry side because Kerry will under-estimate them, history dictates that. On the other side of the draw I think you will have 2 tremendous games, if Dublin beat Tyrone they will have massive confidence but the hype machine will kick in and Dublin have shown they just can't handle the pressure that brings leaving a Donegal team in the AIF. However if Tyrone win I think they are the last team Donegal will want to play and Tyrone will win that, they have the motivation that will counter Donegal's siege mentality and their experience will be crucial.