GAELIC GAMES:It's probably no exaggeration to say it's now or never for this Dublin team, the chance to prove exactly what they're made of. There can be no excuses in Croke Park this evening.
We know Dublin’s desire for All-Ireland success can’t be much greater than it is now, and their age profile is exactly right. So they need to start delivering, and by that I don’t just mean their work ethic and physical fitness, but mental fitness too, and if they really do have the quality to be considered contenders. If they beat Tyrone this evening I suspect they’ll have answered those questions in the process.
Both managers are playing mind games with their selections. I’d be very surprised if Eoghan O’Gara starts for Dublin, not just because of the so-called “fitness test” after breaking his wrist. He’s no great loss if he doesn’t start, and I think it’s more important to have a player like Barry Cahill on the field, who has a great engine, and brings extra energy to the team. Cahill plays a more defensive role too, but at the same time opens up more space for the Brogans. The same goes for Michael Dara Macauley: if he’s fit I expect he will start, and I don’t think anyone expects Cian O’Sullivan to start at corner back. It’s more likely he’ll go to centre back, if indeed Philly McMahon doesn’t come in as well.
I don’t believe the four-week lay-off since the Leinster final will be a problem for Dublin. They’re very familiar with Croke Park, and the rest will have done them good. But they’ll need to convert that into a very intensive 70-minute game – and hope Tyrone might be tiring after their recent hard run of games.
Tyrone, of course, are past masters of the back door route, having won two of their three All-Irelands this way. So what we have here are two teams ready for their A games: will it be the team battle-hardened and on a roll after five games in quick succession? Or will it be the fresher, perhaps hungrier team, with the pace and intensity for a 70-minute battle?
Again Mickey Harte deserves great credit for making full use of his resources, and the way he’s utilised his squad. Throughout the league and the earlier rounds of the championship we were wondering where all the underage talent has gone. Now players like Mark Donnelly, Peter Harte and Kyle Cooney are beginning to shine. Perhaps like the expert racehorse trainer, Harte has kept these players for the faster turf, for maximum impact. There is still a question mark over some of the older legs, but then Harte is showing his astute tactics in the way he’s now using Brian Dooher and Stephen O’Neill.
Ryan McMenamin is kept in reserve this time too, although we’ll see for how long. Their experience alone is worth a lot to Tyrone. I would also question some of the pace in the Tyrone defence. Joe McMahon and Conor Gormley struggled for a good while with Donie Shine and Seán Kibride, and Tyrone’s tactic of six men on six against Roscommon didn’t work. They adjusted that at half-time, and that worked a lot better. Dooher came in and essentially anchored himself at centre back, and that made a big difference.
Pat Gilroy will know Dublin will need to park the double-decker bus in the back line, and be ultra-defensive. The other important tactic for Dublin is to hit their opposition with that intense, high-tempo game – and so expose the lack of pace in some of the Tyrone players.
Seán Cavanagh is Tyrone’s obvious threat with his bursting, scoring runs from midfield, but Kevin Hughes wouldn’t be up to the pace, and I think Dublin can target the Tyrone midfield as a weakness. But they’ll have to keep a very close eye on Cavanagh. If can easily ghost into the forward line, and if he gets half a sniff at goal, he’ll go for it. Tyrone are that bit smarter than Dublin in using possession. Okay, much has been said about the 17 wides Tyrone kicked in last year’s defeat to Dublin, but that was largely because of the close tackling and harassing of Dublin. I don’t think Tyrone will be as generous with the wides this time.
It’s a huge game for both teams but I’m leaning towards Dublin. I believe it’s a great opportunity for them, and that being the fresher team is an advantage. Expectations are down too after the Leinster final. To win they’ll need their best team performance of the year so far, and by that I mean less reliance on Bernard Brogan. He’s going to be tightly marked, that’s for sure, so his role will be to pass off to his team-mates, instead of trying to shoot from crazy angles like he did against Wexford. He needs to be more astute about when to pull the trigger and when to offload, because Tyrone will punish him and Dublin otherwise.
Diarmuid Connolly is still a very dangerous man to have in front of goal, and we know Alan Brogan is in excellent form. I expect both managers will unload the bench, and that’s why Dublin will need to be absolutely concentrated over the 70 minutes.
Both teams are capable of goals, Tyrone even with limited possession. And I think goals may well settle the game, and with that in mind, if Dublin can maximise their scoring potential it should be enough to see them through, because I think they have the wider spread of scorers.
Gilroy will realise Dublin have nothing to fear in this Tyrone team. They’ll need to play the game at their own pace, move the ball quickly into space, and stretch Tyrone – and sustain that for the 70 minutes. It will require the total combination of mental and physical effort, and if they manage that, Dublin will get over the line first after a titanic battle.
