GAELIC GAMES:DUBLIN'S INEPTITUDE has to be the story. It was billed as the start of something. Certainly they are a brand new team with five debutants, but the Leinster champions were ripped apart by Wexford, trailing by seven points 10 minutes into the second half.
Then some familiar faces arrived to secure a 2-16 to 0-16 victory in extra-time. The Brogans. Conal Keaney. Mossy Quinn. Bryan Cullen.
Same old same old.
Only 49,757 turned up at Croke Park for yesterday’s double header (Laois and Meath must do it all again next Saturday) and when Matty Forde, back from a long absence, made it 0-10 to 0-3, Hill 16 began to empty. Disaster. Only the hard-core Dubs stayed. They began singing in the rain.
But Wexford couldn’t hold it together. Bernard Brogan scored a goal not long after Denis Bastick was sent off. Keaney moved out the field and came to life. Alan Brogan, unfit but introduced after 20 minutes for Eamon Fennell, shot timidly at Anthony Masterson. The Wexford goalkeeper did his best Robert Green impression but survived.
Dublin finally took the lead on 63 minutes, only for Ger Brennan to follow Bastick off the field. Brennan only came in because Cian O’Sullivan’s hamstring went pop early on.
Extra-time meant 13-man Dublin became 15 again. A rule unique to the GAA. The original centre back option, Cullen, and former Dublin points machine Tomás Quinn, were dropped into the mix by Pat Gilroy.
Two minutes in a shot by Quinn came back off the post, allowing Bernard Brogan fire into the top corner of the net. His second goal ensured seven previous wides were quickly forgotten.
Cullen – recently over a chronic back problem – put them four clear. Quinn got another at the start of the second period as Wexford run out of gas.
Turns out Gilroy is a master tactician.
Redemption all over the field.
“Look, you fear that kind of performance when you’re off for two months, you fear what way are you going to come out and I suppose the one thing was the team kept its composure. Even though we weren’t playing well we did keep our composure,” said Gilroy.
“There was no losing the head at half-time, and we got back into it well in the second half.”
Three draws from three games yesterday. You could have got odds on that of 939 to 1 in one bookmakers.
With the World Cup and everything going on there shouldn’t be room for the local stuff. The Dublin drama and Kerry’s excellence insisted there had to be. Paul Galvin’s entrance into games alone should guarantee a peak in viewing figures!
Cork rattled Kerry in Páirc Uí Chaoimh but were hauled in as a Marc Ó Sé point forced extra-time. It was tempestuous. The Gooch drawing important frees; a Kieran Donaghy goal despite the close attentions of Graham Canty. There was throat-grabbing and good football. Kerry won again.
“We’ve gone through front doors before and it hasn’t paid off and now we have the only choice of going the back door,” said Cork manager Conor Counihan.
“Look, it is the only door open. We are going to have to rise ourselves again. Take the challenge. That’s going to be difficult over the next week or two but the group of fellas are very committed. We are not going to let go that easily.”
Canty was sent off late on and Counihan felt wronged. His Rebels can seek vengeance on the back roads. “We worked too hard and too long to leave go of this now.”
The main attraction from the first round qualifiers, to be played on June 26th, will be the all-Ulster affair between Armagh and Donegal.
The silver lining for Wexford is London at home. For them, it is about “what if?” this morning. They had a great chance. They couldn’t take it.
“We just didn’t have that killer instinct,” admitted manager Jason Ryan.
Qualifier draw
Round One (June 26th)
Wexford v London
Carlow v Derry
Kildare v Antrim
Offaly v Clare
Mayo v Longford
Armagh v Donegal
Cavan v Wicklow
Tipperary v Laois/Meath
First team has home advantage
