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Diarmuid Murphy knows well how unforgiving a Kerry inquest can be. The blinds are pulled and youre not stepping far outside the door. Just as well its level five.

Speaking on the Irish Examiner GAA podcast, the former Kingdom keeper and selector tried to process what went wrong in Pirc U Chaoimh on Sunday. It sounded simplistic to say Cork wanted it more, but it was as good a starting point as any.

Its the truth, quite simply. If you look at the way the game panned out from start to finish. Even in the first five minutes, Cork set the tone. They were very very aggressive, and rightly so. And to be honest I dont think our fellas were really mentally prepared for that.

To me, it looked like Cork played the game like a knockout championship game, like it was do or die. And I thought Kerry played the game as if there was a backdoor. Cork just wanted it more. You could see it in the 50/50s throughout the game.

I don't think Kerry took it for granted, and I can guarantee that the management would have been warning them about what was coming down the tracks, especially given the conditions.

But you wonder with players sometimes does it get into their head a little bit, that maybe today isnt going to be as hard as Peter (Keane) and the boys are telling us.

Mentally you sometimes wonder are players as well prepared as they can be. And this isnt a management thing. Its purely down to the players themselves. Are they ready for battle today? And you can see it in some of the decision making. Kerry turned over some very poor ball, shot selection was dreadful. In possession, it was probably the worst display Ive seen from Kerry in a long long time.

Murphy was surprised by the late switch that saw Brian Beaglaoich come in for Stephen OBrien and felt Kerry set up extremely cautiously.

The team selection was conservative at best, very cautious. Youre getting bodies behind the ball, but usually you see the forwards engage the defence much higher up the pitch coming out.

Kerry were sinking deeper and deeper, too far back. So even when they did turn over the ball they had the whole length of the field to go.

You just wonder in the backs of the minds of the management, was this a system for down the road. Is this something were going to bed in now, get over these next couple of games, and use it for Croke Park. Only they could say.

As unforgiving as the fallout inevitably will be, he accepts there are mitigating factors for Keane and his selectors.

It has been an extraordinary year. But you hope that the management and players will learn from it. Definitely, he has next year to fix it. He will be under pressure next year. You look at last year and the balance was too much towards attacking, this year it was skewed too much the other way.

There is a balance there to try and find the right mix.

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Excerpt from:
Gaelic Football Podcast: 'Cork played a knockout game. Kerry played like there was a backdoor' - Irish Examiner

The stage was all set at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi for two exciting line-ups to clash for the crucial Eliminator 1. The contest was deemed even more special for the Bangalore side, as they have made their way into the playoffs after 2016. The in-form Hyderabad were to posea stiff challengefor the resilient Bangalore side in their attempt of putting an end to their championship drought. Having put in to bat first, it was imperative for the Virat Kohli-led side to get off to a flying start. However, the knockout demons that came back to haunt the prolific batsman yet again.

The onus was on Virat Kohli to steer his side to an imposing total as surprisingly walked ahead of Aaron Finch to open the batting along with Devdutt Padikkal. He looked very confident as he nonchalantly walked down the wicket and placed the ball in empty spaces against old nemesis Sandeep Sharma, who has got the better of the batsman on 7 different occasions.

ALSO READ |David Warner & Kane Williamson Involve In A Game Of Darts And Here's Who Nailed It

But there was a twise in the tale as it was Jason Holder who gave the Hyderabad side an early breakthrough while handing the Bangalore captain yet another failure in knockout matches. Virat Kohli shuffled a long way across on the second ball of the second over and tried to guide the ball towards the fine leg. Jason Holder's extra bounce did the trick, and the ball brushed Kohli's glove and went straight to keeper Shreevats Goswami, who took a fine catch diving to his left. Netizens were quick to target the batsman after yet another underwhelming outing in a knockout fixture.

There is something about knockout matches that seem to get the better of Virat Kohli. Known for his consistency with the bat across all formats, the 32-year-old has a woeful record in knockout outings. Having appeared in 15 knockout matches in his international career, the batsman has crossed the 50-run mark only on two occasions and has 346 runs to his name.

ALSO READ |Virat Kohli Falls To New All-time Dream11 IPL Low Against Hyderabad After Another Failure

He has featured in three World Cup Semi-finals so far in his career and has failed to reach the double digits in all of them. The ICC Champions Trophy final in 2017 is yet another instance where the occasion got the better of the star batsman, and he was sent packing by Mohammad Amir for 5 runs.

ALSO READ |Virat Kohli's Move Of Opening The Batting Against Hyderabad In The Eliminator Backfires

The Bangalore skipper's batting prowess cannot be discounted as he has proved his mettle time and time again. He is the leading run-scorer in the league's history with 5,878 runs to his name. Suresh Raina, who is next to Kohli in terms of runs scored, trailed by more than 500 runs. The batsman has crossed the coveted three-figure mark five times in the cash-rich league, while he has smashed 39 half-centuries. Kohli has had a decent season this year with 466 runs in 15 games.

ALSO READ |Ishan Kishan Net Worth, Dream11 IPL 2020 Price, House And Personal Life Of Mumbai Star

Stay updated on the latest IPL 2020 news, IPL updates, IPL schedule, IPL 2020 points table, IPL 2020 matches and more. From live updates to breaking news, Republic World brings you all the live updates online so that you don't miss out on the IPL 2020 extravaganza.

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Virat Kohli heavily mocked on Twitter for failing to step up in another knockout game - Republic World

Hyderabad would be looking to bring their A-game when they face southern rivals Bangalore in the Eliminator of the Dream11 IPL 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Friday. Before this all-important knockout game, two of their premier players skipper David Warner and, Kane Williamson decided to have some fun as they decided to beat the pre-match stress by involving in a game of darts.

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the Orange Army had posted a video of Warner and Williamson taking on each other in an attempt to find out which one of them can hit the bullseye. Both the players are outstanding fielders on the cricket field and have also effected many run-outs with their sharp and accurate throws and therefore, this was expected to be an evenly matched contest.

At the beginning of the video, Kane can be seen explaining the rules of the game to David who is being a keen listener. The competition gets underway and it's the captain who draws first blood. Suddenly, the elegant New Zealand cricketer scores the equaliser and it's 'Game On!' from thereon.

Things only start getting intense from here on as neither of the two star-studded batsmen are taking their eyes away from the target. Towards the end, the Kiwi skipper rediscovers his rhythm whereas the explosive Australian opener who appeared to be in the driver's seat in the first half fails to make too much of an impact. Eventually, Kane gets the better of Warner by a close margin of 10-8.

The two players exchange handshakes after a tough competition as the video ends.

Coming back to the on-field action, David Warner and his side will be taking on Bangalore in the Eliminator that will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Friday. However, unlike Qualifier 1, the losing team will not get a second chance to make amends as this is a 'Do or Die' encounter which means that the winner of this contest will face Delhi in the second Qualifier on Sunday for a place in the final while the loser will be knocked out from this year's competition.

The Orange Army had defeated Bangalore in the tournament decider of the 2016 edition. Therefore, the Virat Kohli-led side will be hoping to knock David Warner & Co. out for depriving them of their maiden title four years ago.

READ:Virat Kohli Decodes His Unique Style Of Captaincy Ahead Of The All-important Eliminator

Stay updated on the latest IPL 2020 news, IPL updates, IPL schedule, IPL 2020 points table, IPL 2020 matches and more. From live updates to breaking news, Republic World brings you all the live updates online so that you don't miss out on the IPL 2020 extravaganza.

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David Warner & Kane Williamson involve in a game of Darts and heres who nailed it - Republic World

EA Sports have revealed the first batch of FIFA 21 'Road To The Final' players, with some cracking player items now available in the game.

'Road To The Final' items have been a staple of FIFA Ultimate Team over the last couple of years, with player being rewarded in-game for their team's performances in real life.

Player items will be upgraded for every milestone their team reaches in the Champions League this season, such as reaching winning their first knockout game, reaching the quarter-final, the semi-final, and so on. This results in some incredibly powerful players if their teams can make a deep run in the competition.

The first batch of 'Road To The Final' players are now available in packs in FIFA 21, featuring some huge names.

The likes of Jan Oblak, Mohamed Salah, Marcus Rashford, and Alphonso Davies have all been included.

Europa League versions of these player items will also be available in the future.

Further batches of 'Road To The Final' player items will be released in the coming weeks in packs, but you can also get your hands on some featured players via other methods.

A number of squad building challenges will be available, as well as the ability to unlock player items via completing in-game objectives.

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EA Sports Reveal First Batch Of FIFA 21 'Road To The Final' Players - Balls.ie

Raphal Varane responded to questions from the media at the virtual press conference prior to Real Madrid's third Champions League match of the campaign against Inter Milan (Tuesday, 9pm CET): "It's a difficult match. We're up against a good side and we have to win. We're looking forward to it, we don't have to make predictions, we just have to attack and give it our all. We raise our game in matches when we're under pressure and we really like this competition"."It's a different situation to what we're used to. We have to look at it like it's a knockout game and we have to give everything and play as a team. We've got a team up for any challenge and it's another opportunity and we're looking forward to a big performance".Lukau and Inter"I played against him when I was at Manchester United, with the national team and as a kid when we played against Lens and Anderlecht. He's very good and has a spectacular physical qualities. Inter have got a great squad. Very well set up tactically, solid and dangerous up top. We've got to be prepared because we're up against a very good side.The importance of Sergio Ramos"As a defender I feel more comfortable when the team defends more compactly because with space we have to make difficult decisions at the back. Ramos brings a lot to the team and his character is very good for the side. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but without him we haven't been good on a defensive level. My qualities are complemented by his. I make him better and he makes me better. The important thing is the team and the answer is collective: everyone has to be in good shape and together".United dressing room"The dressing room is very tight. We know the responsibility that comes with playing for Real Madrid because of the pressure involved and what people on the outside have to say. We're used to this and we have to help each other. When the results don't go our way, the pressure is very strong and we know that we have to stay united and help each other on and off the pitch".The injuries in defence"We've got a very busy fixture list and we have to focus on being physically ready to play every three days. We have to work hard and not worry about injuries. In Europe, with this rate of games, a lot of players have picked up injuries and we know the risk, but you don't win games thinking about injuries. We must always be at our best to win".

"Hazard's a very good person to talk to about everything. He adapted very well to the dressing room and is a top player, with a lot of quality. He's special at unbalancing teams and will give us a lot at a technical level. He's always positive".Lack of consistency?"We've lacked consistency and it could be for different reasons. The preparation has been different and the schedule is very busy. There's still a lot to do and we're only focussed on improving. We've done some very good things and we have to continue improving. With the schedule how it is, we're going to need everyone and everyone giving their all so that this season goes very well. We have to find that regularity to keep on picking up results".The positive test for Milito"We have to be prepared for these unforeseen events and we have to adapt to any situation. We did two tests yesterday and today to be more reassured and we have to focus on what we can do and do it in the best possible way".His performance against Manchester City"It's in the past and we have to get stronger. They say that you can't live in the past after you've won, and when you lose, it's the same. We have to look ahead and be positive".Lack of patience with the youngsters"It's always complicated for young players. A club like this doesn't have much patience at the level of expectations and you always have to be calm and collected because you have to allow time to improve and gain experience. There are always young players who learn and grow quickly. Theres no better learning experience than coming to a club like this because you learn faster. I've been through it. You learn a lot and quickly at Real Madrid.Achraf"He has to make the decisions that he thinks are best for him. I think Real Madrid will always be special to him, but he also has his career to think about. The player will look at the offers and decide on his future".

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Varane: "We have to give our all and win" - Real Madrid