2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
| Event | 2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship | ||||||
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| Date | 22 September 2002 | ||||||
| Venue | Croke Park, Dublin | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Oisín McConville | ||||||
| Referee | John Bannon (Kildare) | ||||||
| Attendance | c.80,000 | ||||||
The 2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 115th All-Ireland Final and showpiece game of the 2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship which began on 5 May 2002. It took place at Croke Park on 22 September 2002.
The final, which was a replay of the 1953 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, involved the teams from Kerry and Armagh. Kerry were attempting to win their 33rd All-Ireland whilst Armagh, competing in a final on only the third occasion were trying to capture the championship for the first time.
Kerry were at the time, and remain, the most successful county in terms of number of championships won. Armagh on the other hand, whilst having dominated Ulster for the last number of years, had never gone the whole way to capturing the Sam Maguire Cup. The two counties last championship meeting was in the 2000 All-Ireland Semi-Final, the first game ending in a draw and the Kerry going on to win the replay and subsequently the Championship.
Armagh's campaign started in St. Tiernach's Park, Clones where they drew Tyrone 1-12 each, Armagh won the replay a week later 2-13 to 0-16. In the Ulster Semi-final they overran Fermanagh by double scores 0-16 to 1-05 and the Ulster Final saw them play Donegal on 7 July, a match which they won 1-14 to 1-10.
Kerry's provincial campaign was not as successful however, losing to Cork in the semi-final 0-15 to 1-09. As a result, they entered Round 2 of the All-Ireland Qualifiers and subsequently dismissed Wicklow 5-15 to 0-07. The next round saw them face Fermanagh, who had already been defeated by Armagh. Fermanagh again proved impotent as Kerry steamrolled them 2-15 to 0-04. Kildare, their opponents in the fourth and final Qualifier game were beaten double scores 2-10 to 1-05.
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