AFTER AN ABSORBING, enthralling 70 minutes Dublin are the team left standing. We were told that it’s hard for the champions to find that hunger the following year. Questions were asked of Dublin and whether they’d have that edge you need to win an All-Ireland.
They lost Jack McCaffrey and Rory O’Carroll this year. Stephen Cluxton had a meltdown in the first-half of today’s game, Paul Flynn and Ciaran Kilkenny were quiet while Diarmuid Connolly missed a few chances you’d expect him to nail. And yet despite finding themselves five down at half-time, Dublin have made it back to September.
They chipped away at the half-time deficit and were composed in the last 15 minutes as the game sat in the melting pot. Great teams don’t rely on one or two players to perform. Dublin shared the responsibility, although Dean Rock contributed handsomely with 0-12.
But with the game tied in those final minutes, so many Dublin players stood up. Kevin McManamon, Eoghan O’Gara and Connolly all took on shots to seal one of the greatest comebacks we’ve ever seen from this group of players.
In truth it could have gone either way in those five minutes of stoppage-time, but Kerry were out on their feet.
Dublin have so much athleticism and pace. Their tackling was simply immense. This is a truly great team who play football the way it should be played.
Now Mayo stand in their way of retaining the All-Ireland title for the first time since 1977.
***
Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
2. Kevin McManamon’s impact
What did the people of Kerry ever do to Kevin McManamon? More than any other player, he seems to delight in breaking hearts in the Kingdom. So often relegated to the role of impact substitute, McManamon thrived once again in the starting lineup.
He scored 0-2 and was a constant nuisance in the Dublin attack. The St. Jude’s forward’s swashbuckling style of direct running lifted Dublin out of their funk after half-time. He made the final few minutes his own.
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McManamon stripped O Beaglaoich of possession, kicked Dublin in front and then sent Peter Crowley sprawling with a big hit between the 69th and 73rd minute. On second viewing McManamon’s shoulder on the young Kerry defender should have been a free in.
Sport often hinges on such fine margins. You’d have fancied Bryan Sheehan to level the game up if the free was awarded, but Dublin put themselves in a position to win the game with their work-rate after half-time and they got the rub of the green with that call.
Seconds after the tackle, Connolly raced upfield and kicked the insurance score. There was no way back for Kerry.
This morning, you could have written a checklist of things Kerry needed to do in order to beat the Dubs. They delivered on most of those and still found themselves on the losing side.
Disrupt Stephen Cluxton’s kickouts, check. Target the Dublin full-back line with high balls, check. Score goals, check. Keep a clean sheet, check. Bring on subs with pace in the final quarter, check.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice got so much right, but they just met a better team. Conceding so many frees within scoring range hurt them, with Rock in immaculate form in front of the goals.
Kerry’s zonal marking for Dublin’s kickouts spooked Cluxton and let directly to Darran O’Sullivan’s goal.
Kerry left four forwards up top (Paul Geaney, Kieran Donaghy, Colm Cooper and O’Sullivan) but they never looked quite as threatening as they did during that scoring burst before half-time.
Ignoring that ten minute spell at the end of the second quarter, Kerry scored just 10 points across the other 60 minutes.
They seemed happy to sit on their lead in the closing stages. Fitzmaurice made the decision to replace Geaney with Marc O Se after 65 minutes, when Kerry led by two. By the time a break in play allowed Kerry to make the substitution, Dublin had that gap down to one.
Geaney kicked a remarkable 1-4 while living on scraps, and Kerry missed his presence in the full-forward line. Similar to when Fitzmaurice called James O’Donoghue ashore in the 2015 All-Ireland final, Kerry withdrew their most potent finisher when the game was on the line.
***
Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
4. Looking ahead to the final
Kerry deserve a huge amount of praise for contributing to one of the best games at Croke Park in recent memory, but as Mayo will tell you, semi-finals are for winning.
This Dublin team is mature and street wise. Jim Gavin is calm and measured on the sideline, but his team play with real fire. With real purpose. Dublin were able to hold onto possession for spells near the end and then inject pace into the play and find a score.
They’re not fazed by defensive systems. They show a real patience and keep probing back and forth until they spot a gap. Gavin places a huge trust in his team to think their way out of trouble.
Mayo’s form has been extremely patchy so far this season, but Kerry exposed Dublin’s underbelly. The only team in the country who can live with Dublin’s athleticism for 70 minutes is Mayo. It promises to be an intriguing final.
***
Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
5. The future in Kerry
This could be the last time we’ll see Marc Ó Sé, Kieran Donaghy and Aidan O’Mahony don the green and gold jersey. This team needs an injection of youth, but the losing the aforementioned trio will rob Kerry of three great leaders.
Fitzmaurice might decide to step down after his four-year reign. Things were looking bleak when he took over but he ensured Kerry remained at the top table during his tenure.
He brought them to two All-Ireland semi-finals and two finals during that time, winning Sam Maguire in 2014. Ultimately, Dublin was the one code he couldn’t crack. Dublin ended Kerry’s season in ’13, ’15 and ’16.
It’s not all doom and gloom for the Munster champions. They’ve got plenty of young talent coming through and stand on the verge of winning a third All-Ireland minor title in-a-row. They’ll be back.
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5 talking points as Dublin break Kerry hearts in a game for the ages
1. Dublin prove they have the hunger
AFTER AN ABSORBING, enthralling 70 minutes Dublin are the team left standing. We were told that it’s hard for the champions to find that hunger the following year. Questions were asked of Dublin and whether they’d have that edge you need to win an All-Ireland.
They lost Jack McCaffrey and Rory O’Carroll this year. Stephen Cluxton had a meltdown in the first-half of today’s game, Paul Flynn and Ciaran Kilkenny were quiet while Diarmuid Connolly missed a few chances you’d expect him to nail. And yet despite finding themselves five down at half-time, Dublin have made it back to September.
They chipped away at the half-time deficit and were composed in the last 15 minutes as the game sat in the melting pot. Great teams don’t rely on one or two players to perform. Dublin shared the responsibility, although Dean Rock contributed handsomely with 0-12.
But with the game tied in those final minutes, so many Dublin players stood up. Kevin McManamon, Eoghan O’Gara and Connolly all took on shots to seal one of the greatest comebacks we’ve ever seen from this group of players.
In truth it could have gone either way in those five minutes of stoppage-time, but Kerry were out on their feet.
Dublin have so much athleticism and pace. Their tackling was simply immense. This is a truly great team who play football the way it should be played.
Now Mayo stand in their way of retaining the All-Ireland title for the first time since 1977.
***
2. Kevin McManamon’s impact
What did the people of Kerry ever do to Kevin McManamon? More than any other player, he seems to delight in breaking hearts in the Kingdom. So often relegated to the role of impact substitute, McManamon thrived once again in the starting lineup.
He scored 0-2 and was a constant nuisance in the Dublin attack. The St. Jude’s forward’s swashbuckling style of direct running lifted Dublin out of their funk after half-time. He made the final few minutes his own.
McManamon stripped O Beaglaoich of possession, kicked Dublin in front and then sent Peter Crowley sprawling with a big hit between the 69th and 73rd minute. On second viewing McManamon’s shoulder on the young Kerry defender should have been a free in.
Sport often hinges on such fine margins. You’d have fancied Bryan Sheehan to level the game up if the free was awarded, but Dublin put themselves in a position to win the game with their work-rate after half-time and they got the rub of the green with that call.
Seconds after the tackle, Connolly raced upfield and kicked the insurance score. There was no way back for Kerry.
***
3. Kerry get tactics spot-on but Dublin still win
This morning, you could have written a checklist of things Kerry needed to do in order to beat the Dubs. They delivered on most of those and still found themselves on the losing side.
Disrupt Stephen Cluxton’s kickouts, check. Target the Dublin full-back line with high balls, check. Score goals, check. Keep a clean sheet, check. Bring on subs with pace in the final quarter, check.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice got so much right, but they just met a better team. Conceding so many frees within scoring range hurt them, with Rock in immaculate form in front of the goals.
Kerry’s zonal marking for Dublin’s kickouts spooked Cluxton and let directly to Darran O’Sullivan’s goal.
Kerry left four forwards up top (Paul Geaney, Kieran Donaghy, Colm Cooper and O’Sullivan) but they never looked quite as threatening as they did during that scoring burst before half-time.
Ignoring that ten minute spell at the end of the second quarter, Kerry scored just 10 points across the other 60 minutes.
They seemed happy to sit on their lead in the closing stages. Fitzmaurice made the decision to replace Geaney with Marc O Se after 65 minutes, when Kerry led by two. By the time a break in play allowed Kerry to make the substitution, Dublin had that gap down to one.
Geaney kicked a remarkable 1-4 while living on scraps, and Kerry missed his presence in the full-forward line. Similar to when Fitzmaurice called James O’Donoghue ashore in the 2015 All-Ireland final, Kerry withdrew their most potent finisher when the game was on the line.
***
4. Looking ahead to the final
Kerry deserve a huge amount of praise for contributing to one of the best games at Croke Park in recent memory, but as Mayo will tell you, semi-finals are for winning.
This Dublin team is mature and street wise. Jim Gavin is calm and measured on the sideline, but his team play with real fire. With real purpose. Dublin were able to hold onto possession for spells near the end and then inject pace into the play and find a score.
They’re not fazed by defensive systems. They show a real patience and keep probing back and forth until they spot a gap. Gavin places a huge trust in his team to think their way out of trouble.
Mayo’s form has been extremely patchy so far this season, but Kerry exposed Dublin’s underbelly. The only team in the country who can live with Dublin’s athleticism for 70 minutes is Mayo. It promises to be an intriguing final.
***
5. The future in Kerry
This could be the last time we’ll see Marc Ó Sé, Kieran Donaghy and Aidan O’Mahony don the green and gold jersey. This team needs an injection of youth, but the losing the aforementioned trio will rob Kerry of three great leaders.
Fitzmaurice might decide to step down after his four-year reign. Things were looking bleak when he took over but he ensured Kerry remained at the top table during his tenure.
He brought them to two All-Ireland semi-finals and two finals during that time, winning Sam Maguire in 2014. Ultimately, Dublin was the one code he couldn’t crack. Dublin ended Kerry’s season in ’13, ’15 and ’16.
It’s not all doom and gloom for the Munster champions. They’ve got plenty of young talent coming through and stand on the verge of winning a third All-Ireland minor title in-a-row. They’ll be back.
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Should Kerry have been awarded a free in the dying seconds of their encounter with Dublin?
Late points carry Dublin to victory over Kerry in All-Ireland semi-final cracker
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