GAELIC GAMES:TONIGHT sees the lights come up on Dublin's "Spring Series" promotion with hopes high that between 40,000 and 50,000 will attend the Allianz League's double bill at Croke Park, featuring the Dublin footballers and hurlers in action against the All-Ireland champions in each code, Cork and Tipperary.
The idea to push Dublin’s matches as major events isn’t guaranteed to succeed but the performances of both the hurlers and footballers in their opening matches have raised public interest and even Jedward – the eerily coiffured Lucan twins – have done their bit by winning their Eurovision place since being announced as this evening’s stadium entertainment.
Tickets sales haven’t been spectacular but, including the corporate level, it is estimated that over 30,000 have already been taken. More importantly the prospects of a big walk-up crowd have been improved by the very good weather forecast for this afternoon and evening.
On the field most attention will focus on Dublin’s footballers, who are hoping to maintain the trajectory of last year’s improvement and have a serious crack at the league title.
Speaking to The Irish Times, manager Pat Gilroy said the challenge for this year was to “make more progress” and a first national title in 16 years would be ideal corroboration.
The heightened relationship over the past 10 years between league and championship success has identified the league as a rite of passage to ultimate success. Cork, league holders and All-Ireland champions, are the latest demonstration of that link.
They arrive in Croke Park, where on an atmospheric day last August they used their experience and nerve to hold off Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final and are the ultimate test of Dublin’s climbing ambitions.
In the first round of matches Gilroy’s team went north and survived a loss of momentum against Armagh that threw the match back into the hazard with 10 minutes remaining. But the response was decisive and Dublin ran out four-point winners.
One of the main pre-occupations this season has been a reduction in the concession of frees. It’s likely to be particularly important this evening given the form of Cork’s dead-ball kickers, Daniel Goulding and Donncha O’Connor, whose late frees a fortnight ago consigned Kerry to a first home league defeat against Cork in 29 years.
“I don’t believe it’s indiscipline,” says Gilroy. “It’s down to technique and we’ve put a big effort into and a focus on that in the first couple of months of this year and already, compared to 12 months ago in the games we’ve played we haven’t conceded as many frees.”
Last year was a watershed for Dublin. After two championships in succession had ended in pitiless beatings by first Tyrone (the year before he took charge) and then Kerry, Gilroy and his management knew there had to be radical change.
In the end what had been an encouraging year ended with the disappointment of a narrowly-missed league final, a surrendered Leinster title and that one-point All-Ireland semi-final. But it was progress.
“One thing we had said last year was that winning an All-Ireland probably wasn’t a realistic ambition,” says Gilroy. “There was a huge gap between us and the top three teams (Kerry, Cork and Tyrone).
“We had been getting beaten heavily by them and our main focus was to close that gap and make sure we didn’t continue to concede the scores we’d been conceding. From that point of view we made progress.”
He’s not convinced the team deserve their reputation as being the Gaelic practitioners of soccer-style catenaccio and points to the scoring stats for last year’s All-Ireland run.
“I thought to be honest in the last three or four championship matches we played last year I didn’t think we were overly defensive. We scored quite a lot and averaged 17 points. You can’t be too defensive and get that kind of score.
“When we started on the change we were trying implement last year I’d 100 per cent agree that we struggled to get to grips with it at times and had 15 people behind the ball. That wasn’t what we were looking for but it just took time to get the balance right.
“Maybe at present because of the players available to us, we’ve more natural forwards up front and it can look different but we’re following the same template.”
This evening under Saturday night lights, Dublin will test both themselves against the best and also the concept of the team as central to a big event. If it works this year’s relationship with the Hill will be well consummated by the summer.
“I think for the team that when the supporters are behind you, it can be a big bonus,” says the manager, “but you’ve got to earn their support and that’ll only happen by performing well and the challenge for us is to get the consistency of performance that creates trust among the supporters that we will perform.”
CAPITAL VERSUS THE CHAMPIONS HOW THEY LINE OUT
DUBLIN: S Cluxton; A Hubbard, M Fitzsimons, S Murray; D Lally, J McCarthy, P Casey; MD McAuley, D Bastick; P Flynn, K McManamon, D Connolly; T Quinn, E OGara, B Brogan.
CORK: P O'Shea; R Carey, J O'Sullivan, M Shields; D O'Sullivan, P Kissane, C O'Driscoll; A O'Connor, A Walsh; P O'Neill, P Kelly, F Goold; D Goulding, C O'Neill, D O'Connor.
NHL Division One: Dublin v Tipperary
DUBLIN: G Maguire; S Hiney, T Brady, S Lambert; N Corcoran, J Boland, S Durkin; J McCaffrey, S Ryan; C Keaney, D O'Dwyer, C McCormack; D O'Callaghan, L Rushe, P Carton.
TIPPERARY: D Gleeson; P Stapleton, P Curran, M Cahill; D Young, C O'Mahony, P Maher; B Maher S McGrath; G Ryan, P Bourke, P Maher; J O'Neill, P Fanning, S Carey
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