The stage is set in Croke Park.

Kerry, the reigning All-Ireland champions, bidding to successfully defend Sam Maguire for the first time since 2007.

Derry, the back-to-back Ulster champions, bidding for a first All-Ireland final place since the day they were crowned kings back in 1993.

Awaiting the winners in a fortnight’s time on 30 July? Dublin.

Throw-in is at 4pm.

TEAM NEWS: No changes for Kerry, who line out as named earlier this week.

Kerry

1. Shane Ryan (Rathmore)

2. Graham O’Sullivan (Dromid Pearses), 3. Jason Foley (Ballydonoghue), 4. Tom O’Sullivan (Dingle)

5. Paul Murphy (Dingle), 6. Tadhg Morley (Templenoe), 7. Gavin White (Dr Crokes)

8. Diarmuid O’Connor (Na Gaeil), 9. Jack Barry (Na Gaeil)

10. Dara Moynihan (Spa), 11. Sean O’Shea (Kenmare Shamrocks), 12. Adrian Spillane (Templenoe)

13. Paudie Clifford (Fossa), 14. David Clifford (Fossa), 15. Paul Geaney (Dingle)

TEAM NEWS: And no changes to the named Derry starting XV either.

Derry

1. Odhran Lynch (Magharefelt)

2. Christopher McKaigue (Slaughtneil), 3. Eoin McEvoy (Magherafelt), 4. Conor McCluskey (Magherafelt)

5. Conor Doherty (Newbridge), Gareth McKinless (Ballinderry), 7. Padraig McGrogan (Newbridge)

8. Conor Glass (Glen), 9. Brendan Rogers (Slaughtneil)

10. Niall Toner (Lavey), 11. Paul Cassidy (Bellaghy), 12. Ethan Doherty (Glen)

13. Ciarán McFaul (Glen), 14. Shane McGuigan (Slaughtneil), 15. Niall Loughlin (Greenlough)

It has been bright and sunny for most of the morning and early afternoon in Drumcondra, but now, as throw-in approaches, the dark sky has crept in and the rain showers have started.

The teams have just broken from the parade ahead of the national anthem, and when the players take their places in a few moments, all eyes will be on the Kerry full forward line: will it be Chrissy McKaigue to pick up David Clifford?

The final bars of Amhrán na bhFiann are played by the Artane Band, and we’re just about ready to go.

Kerry are the three-point favourites pre-match, but Derry will be quietly confident that they can take down the Kingdom.

Who do you fancy?

THROW IN: Joe McQuillan is our referee, and we’re underway, with Kerry attacking the Hill 16 end in the first half.

1 mins – Goal chance for Derry inside 25 seconds! Conor Glass wins the turnover in midfield and plays it forward to Ethan Doherty. He squares to Niall Loughlin but the pass doesn’t go to hand and Kerry get a block in.

1 mins – And another! Ciaran McFaul fires the sideline towards the back post where Conor Glass tries to fist it past Shane Ryan. It’s a Kerry free out for a push by Glass.

2 mins – And now one for Kerry! Smashing save from Odhran Lynch to deny Gavin White. Still no score for either side.

3 mins — Kerry 0-1 Derry 0-0: David Clifford cuts back in from the Cusack Stand side and curls over the opening score of the day.

GOAL FOR DERRY! Derry 1-0 Kerry 0-1 (McKinless, 5′)

Derry lead! Gareth McKinless bursts forward from the back and finds Brendan Rogers on his shoulder, and although Shane Murphy gets his body behind Rogers’ shot, McKinless is on hand to scramble home the rebound.

GOAL FOR KERRY! Kerry 1-1 Derry 1-0 (White, 6′)

What an incredible response by Kerry! They take the kick out quickly and break, and Sean O’Shea pops it across to Gavin White who palms into the empty net.

It’s non-stop here.

7 mins — Kerry 1-1 Derry 1-1: Padraig McGrogan comes forward from the half-back line and kicks a fine score to level it… but he’s picked up an injury in the process.

Derry sub: That’s a blow for Derry as McGrogan can’t continue; Padraig Cassidy is on to replace him.

10 mins – Adrian Spillane wins a mark and chance to point Kerry back into the lead, but pulls it wide.

14 mins — Derry 1-2 Kerry 1-1: Nice build-up from Derry and Paul Cassidy drifts into a pocket of space; he’s still all of 35 yards from goal but puts it between the posts.

15 mins – Jason Foley ventures forward from full-back and has a go, but kicks a wide — that’s Kerry’s fourth of the day.

16 mins — Derry 1-3 Kerry 1-1: Shane McGuigan, who has been picked up by Foley in this opening 15 minutes, takes advantage of Foley’s forward cameo a moment ago and kicks a point to put Derry two ahead.

17 mins — Derry 1-3 Kerry 1-2:  Diarmuid O’Connor kicks a long-range point.

18 mins — Derry 1-3 Kerry 1-3: Jason Foley does brilliantly to get out in front of Shane McGuigan and win the turnover. Kerry move it forward and Paudie Clifford points to bring them back level.

19 mins — Derry 1-4 Kerry 1-3: That round went to Foley; this one goes to McGuigan, who gets the better of his man to kick Derry back into the lead.

20 mins — Derry 1-4 Kerry 1-4: Welcome to the David Clifford show. With Chrissy McKaigue in close attention, he goes to ground to collect the ball, turns, throws a few shimmys, makes an inch of space, and fires over a magnificent point.

22 mins — Kerry 1-5 Derry 1-4: McKaigue is whistled for a pull on the arm of Clifford as the Kerry man tried to burn him on the outside. Clifford points the free.

24 mins: Kerry 1-5 Derry 1-5: Odhran Lynch ventures out from his goal to join the Derry attack, and it ends in a point. He tries his luck from the 45m line, and although it drops short of the Kerry square, it bounces over Shane Ryan’s crossbar.

25 mins — Derry 1-6 Kerry 1-5: Derry follow it up quickly with another, and this time, it’s Paul Cassidy who curls one over the bar.

27 mins — Derry 1-6 Kerry 1-6: Again, David Clifford tries to get free of Chrissy McKaigue, and again McKaigue takes a handful of his jersey and pulls him back — this time, Joe McQuillan shows McKaigue a yellow card which is pretty much the last thing you need when you’re marking David Clifford. He points the free and we’re all square again.

28 mins – Black card for Diarmuid O’Connor for a hand trip on Brendan Rogers. There can be no arguments there. Kerry down to 14.

29 mins — Derry 1-7 Kerry 1-6: Rogers kicks the free and Derry lead again.

30 mins — Derry 1-8 Kerry 1-6: Ciaran McFaul fires over another Derry point as they look to really make their numerical advantage count.

32 mins — Derry 1-8 Kerry 1-7: Shane Ryan decides that he wants to get his name on the scoresheet now — he races out to claim a breaking ball ahead of Shane McGuigan and booms it over Odhran Lynch’s crossbar.

33 mins – McGuigan needs a bit of treatment here before play can resume; as Ryan came to collect that ball, he turned his body and collided heavily with the Derry forward.

34 mins — Derry 1-10 Kerry 1-7: Two in quick succession for Derry as Rogers and McGuigan both point. Derry lead by three, and they’ve got a good run while Derry are down to 14.

35 mins – Jason Foley goes down seeking medical attention, but Joe McQuillan isn’t willing to stop the game and penalises Shane Ryan for delaying the restart. It’s a throw ball, and although Derry win it initially, Kerry force the turnover and clear.

35+1 mins — Derry 1-10 Kerry 1-8: David Clifford wins a mark and points it.

35+2 mins: Monster hit by David Clifford on Shane McGuigan down in front of the Derry goal. It looks to be shoulder on shoulder, even if it lifted McGuigan out of his boots, but that’s not how Joe McQuillan sees it; Clifford is booked.

35+4 mins — Derry 1-11 Kerry 1-8: McGuigan is back on his feet to kick the free, and Derry will go into the break three points up.

HALF TIME: Derry 1-11 Kerry 1-8

That has been a smashing first half of football, and it’s hard to argue that Derry don’t deserve their lead. It’s all set up for a brilliant 35 minutes.

Back in a few.

Stephen O’Brien is on for Kerry for the second half, replacing Adrian Spillane.

SECOND HALF: We’re back underway. Kerry have 35 minutes to keep their All-Ireland defence alive.

37 mins — Derry 1-11 Kerry 1-9: Gavin White and Jack Barry combine to get David Clifford into position, and Clifford does the rest.

38 mins — Derry 1-11 Kerry 1-10: Seanie O’Shea drops off into a pocket of space, and sends over his first score of the afternoon. Fine start by Kerry, they’re back within one.

41 mins – Odhran Lynch sees a couple of yards in front of him just inside the Kerry 45, and steps inside to shoot, but it’s blocked down.

42 mins — Derry 1-12 Kerry 1-10: After a sustained period of Derry possession, Conor Doherty makes sure that it yields a point.

43 mins – With Odhran Lynch still backpedalling into his goal, Tom O’Sullivan tries his luck for a point, but it drops wide.

44 mins – Brendan Rogers shot comes off the post and drops in front of the Kerry goal, but Jason Foley is first to react to clear the danger.

45 mins — Derry 1-12 Kerry 1-11: Eoin McEvoy tangles with Paul Geaney and concedes the free. Clifford converts. One-point game. On we go.

46 mins – An almighty scramble in front of the Kerry goal somehow — somehow — doesn’t end up in a goal. Tadhg Morley does brilliantly to stand up Gareth McKinless, and when he hacks the ball across the face of goal, Paul Murphy gets an important block on Niall Toner’s shot

47 mins – Sean O’Shea lines up a long free from outside the 45, with a chance to draw Kerry level, but it comes back off the post.

48 mins — Derry 1-12 Kerry 1-12: Kerry are level again, and it’s Seanie O’Shea again who has really come to life in the opening minutes of this second half.

49 mins – Again, Odhran Lynch ventures forward, and again, he’s blocked down; it’s Jack Barry this time.

50 mins – Shane McGuigan has really been in the wars today. Jack Barry takes him out this time, and it’s a fairly clear-cut yellow card for the Kerry midfielder.

51 mins – Big save by Shane Ryan! Gareth McKinless is one-on-one with a great chance, but the Kerry keeper makes himself big to stop the shot.

53 mins — Derry 1-13 Kerry 1-12: Eoin McEvoy zips up the wing, with Seanie O’Shea chasing after in his wake. McEvoy lays it off to Ciarán McFaul, who takes his chance and points. Derry edge back into the lead. It’s on a knife-edge here as we enter the final quarter.

55 mins – McKinless tries to engineer another goal chance for Derry but — not for the first time today — Graham O’Sullivan reads it perfectly and steps in to intercept.

55 mins – A rare David Clifford wide.

57 mins — At the other end, Niall Loughlin drags one wide for Derry. Chances going a-begging at both ends here.

58 mins – It’s over 10 minutes now since Kerry’s last score.

59 mins — Derry 1-14 Kerry 1-12: Eoin McEvoy is deep in Kerry territory acting as a playmaker. He creates an opening for Shane McGuigan, who is fouled by Jason Foley. Yellow for Foley; McGuigan points the free. Two-point game.

61 mins – Graham O’Sullivan is up from the back and decides that he’ll be the man to end Kerry’s scoreless run here, but he’s the wrong man in the wrong place. Wide.

62 mins – Nerves are setting in here now. Ethan Doherty clips another wide for Derry under pressure.

62 mins – Kerry sub Tony Brosnan can only look on as his shot nicks the edge of the post and drops wide.

64 mins – It’s now well over 15 minutes since Kerry’s last score, and if the All-Ireland champions don’t find a way to turn this around, the last quarter of an hour will come under some scrutiny in the post-match analysis.

66 mins — Derry 1-14 Kerry 1-13: Chance! Stephen O’Brien plays it across to Jason Foley but his shot is smothered… but it’s coming back for a foul by Gareth McKinless on O’Brien. Seanie O’Shea points. Kerry are on the board again. One-point game. If you’re not at a TV, get to one.

67 mins – Kerry free. Chrissy McKaigue had a hold of David Clifford’s arm. Chance to level it here.

68 mins — Derry 1-14 Kerry 1-14: All square! Clifford points the free. Just over two minutes of the 70 to play.

69 mins — Kerry 1-15 Derry 1-14: KERRY LEAD! Stephen O’Brien points.

70 mins — Kerry 1-16 Derry 1-14: DAVID CLIFFORD! He turns it over to Rogers, then Rogers turns it over to Clifford, and Clifford runs it back to score. After all of that, Kerry lead by two as the clock ticks to 70.

There’ll be four additional minutes.

70+1 mins – Lachlan Murray tries to engineer a goal chance for Derry from the byline, but Kerry survive.

70+2 mins — Kerry 1-17 Derry 1-14: Seanie O’Shea strides forward into acres of space in front of the Derry goal and scores. Derry need a goal now to save themselves.

70+3 mins – It appears to be a Derry 45 as the ball goes behind, but Joe McQuillan and his umpires rule it a wide instead. Kerry kick-out. After Kerry’s long scoreless run, they’ve kicked into gear, and now it’s Derry who haven’t scored in what seems like an eternity. Can they make one last chance?

70+5 mins – One last possession for Derry…

We’re still playing here. Derry have won the ball after a Kerry counter-attack ended in nothing.

We’re well over the allotted time, but Derry will have one last, last chance with a free.

70+7 mins – We’re into the 77th minute here, but play is still stopped while Gareth McKinless receives attention.

70+8 mins – Here we go. One last Derry free. Joe McQuillan is speaking to Shane McGuigan before he takes it…

70+9 mins – Gareth McKinless goes off on the stretcher to applause from the crowd. Here’s McGuigan…

FULL TIME: Kerry 1-17 Derry 1-15

Bizarrely, McGuigan doesn’t even try to drop it in for a goal, and puts it over the bar instead, but there’s no more time left.

All over! Kerry are back into the All-Ireland final, and will meet old rivals Dublin on 30 July.

No major surprise as David Clifford is named Man of the Match. 0-9 in an All-Ireland semi-final for the man from Fossa.

That’s all from us for now, but stay with us over the rest of the evening for plenty more reaction and analysis from Croke Park.

The champions march on as Derry are left to wonder what might have been after a game effort which came up just short.

Now, all eyes on 30 July, and the latest instalment in the storied Kerry v Dublin rivalry.

Thanks for reading.