Nadine Doherty: Kerry getting a bit more clever as Division 1 league final looms

And so it's Kerry v Armagh in the Lidl Ladies NFL Division 1 final, with Nadine Doherty taken by the smothering tactics the Kingdom have employed in recent times.

Croke Park is the venue for the top-tier decider on Sunday 7 April. The game has a 3pm throw-in, with the Division 2 final preceding it at 1pm. Also on the same day is the clash of Galway v Waterford at Pearse Stadium in Salthill, in what is essentially a relegation play-off to determine who will join Cork in Division 2 next year. It's a 2pm throw-in, a start-time that is not ideal given what will be played out at GAA HQ at the same time.

"I'm sure in the background somebody will say there is a reason for it... pitches and fixtures and so on," said Nadine Doherty on 2fm's Game On.

"Surely a pitch could have been got on Saturday to play this game.

"It's a massive fixture; it's really massive. If Galway lose that game, you are looking at two teams, including Cork, who have been at the top-tier for so long, and Galway possibly being relegated.

"It will also be a really good game of football because there is so much on the line. It [the schedulling] can't do anything good for the promotion of the game. It's really disappointing."

Looking ahead to the Division 1 finale, the former Donegal player spoke about Kerry being more economical than last weekend's opponents Galway when it came to making it count on the scoreboard.

"The difference between the teams was Kerry's ability to be clinical when they were on top, whereas Galway had long spells of control in the game and Nicola Ward was driving things on. But they weren't able to take those goal chances that would have got them over the line.

"In fairness to Kerry they've improved even more this year in terms of being clinical