Dublin 1-11 Derry 0-7:PAT GILROY doesn't really do dizzy, which is just as well. The transformation from pariah to prophet would leave anybody's head spinning.
Gilroy finished last season talking about his side presenting themselves in Croke Park like startled earwigs. Seldom has such a nice piece of phrasing got such a chilly reception. Suddenly though the derision has stopped and the faithful are falling into place. That’s how unlikely Dublin’s start to the league has been.
It’s been a long time since a Dublin team treated the league with anything but disdain and with all the talk of transition there was no reason to suppose that the Dubs would be getting particularly excited about the secondary competition now. Successive defeats of Kerry and Derry, franchises who believe in the league and all that it stands for, have changed things somewhat.
It’s a happy place to be. By design and by accident these wins have been brought about by a team bearing little or no resemblance to that which has come to grief in recent championships. There has been an honesty and humility to the football though which has served Dublin well and if Gilroy ends up with less flash on the field but more leaders and labourers he could have cracked the code.
As for Derry? Damien Cassidy won’t be overly worried about his sides mixed start to the campaign. Derry have nothing to prove in the competition and will be happy to get through it all without taking the drop to the next floor.
With most of Dublin’s bigger names hoping at least to come on stream as the spring progresses it will be interesting to see how many of the men who fashioned this success can survive.
Alan Hubbard has long had a retinue of admirers who have insisted that the biggest problem for Dublin is not whether to play him but where to play him. On Saturday he was busy all night as a wing forward, shunting to and fro in the manner of a Dooher or a Galvin. Dublin have needed that.
They have also needed specialists for the full back line and if injury has kept Ross O’Carroll out of the number three jersey so far there is little doubt that he and his brother Rory will occupy two thirds of the positions on offer there this summer. On Saturday Rory filled in at full back and coped well.
The feature act in the centre of the park is tug-of-love midfielder Eamonn Fennell. In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king so Fennell doesn’t have to look like the new Mullins to make you understand what the fuss is about. Three points last week, two points this week a good pair of hands and a heap of raw-boned potential. It will be interesting to see how he test drives on hot days in Croker but for now he is a gamble worth pursuing for all parties concerned.
This Dublin side bear one thing in common with recent models. Dublin went into the break trailing by a couple of scores but with 20 minutes left they had made four changes to their line-up introducing big fish Bernard Brogan to the pond to good effect. His equaliser on 55 minutes set the evening up for a grand finale, the sort of test any team hopes for in league action in February. Dublin finished the night with power and confidence clipping the next four points before offering the final flourish of a fine goal from Kevin McManamon.
DUBLIN: M Savage; P Conlon, Rory O’Carroll, M Fitzsimons; P Griffin, C O’Sullivan, J Brogan; E Fennell (0-2) , R McConnell (0-1); A Hubbard (0-1), M MacAuley (0-1) , K Bonner; T Diamond, B Kelly (0-1), K McManamon (1-1). Subs: B McManamon for Diamond (ht), D Nelson (0-1) for Brogan (ht), D Kelly for Hubbard (48), B Brogan 0-3 (0-2f), for B Kelly (51), P Casey for K McManamon (70).
DERRY: B Gillis; B Og McAlary, G O’Kane, D McBride; C Kielt, M Lynch (0-2, two frees), L Hinphey; F Doherty, Patsy Bradley; J Diver, J Kielt (0-4, 3 frees), A McCartney; E Lynn, C OBoyle, A McLaughlin (0-1). Subs: M McGoldrick for McAlary (23 mins) M Craig for McCartney (31 mins) S Bradley for Lynn (41 mins) B Mullan for O’Boyle (48 mins) I Moore for Bradley (50 ,mins).
Referee: P Hughes (Armagh)
