AFTER HIS MANAGER Jim Gavin “accepted full responsibility” earlier this week, Dublin star Bernard Brogan says that he and his players must shoulder the blame for the 2013 All-Ireland champions’ defeat to Donegal in this year’s semi-final.
Just why Dublin lost, is harder for the former Footballer of the Year to explain but he has some ideas.
“It’s hard to know really – Jim held his hands up – but I think the players themselves would say the same.
“Me personally, missing a couple of frees at an important time in the game where we were six points down and could have started something. Everyone else is saying the same, Diarmo [Connolly] missing a couple of chances, Kevin [McManamon] said he missed one that he never misses in Croke Park.
“It was strange how all these happened at the same time.”
Brogan also admits he was surprised that Donegal were able to create so many goal chances and suggests the result may have been different if Dublin had raised the green flag first.
“We probably didn’t expect Donegal to get two or three goals on us. We’d been so ready to go forward and we just got caught on the counter a couple of times.
“In fairness to Donegal – on the first one – if [Eoghan] O’Gara’s ball to me been a foot forward and I might have been able to steer it into the net or, if Diarmo’s ball had hit the corner, it might have been a different game and we’d all be talking about Dublin today being All-Ireland champions, you never know.
“But that’s the bounce of the ball and, in fairness, in the past we’ve had a bit of luck. In 2011 we had the bounce of the ball where it has went our way. Sometimes these things don’t go your way but as players we’d be disappointed that we didn’t give a good account of ourselves and push and ask the questions of Donegal that we would have liked to.”
Brogan says the most disappointing aspect of the defeat was that he and his fellow players felt as if they’d more to offer the game than perhaps they did.
“It’s one thing walking off the pitch after losing, after giving it your all and saying, ‘we asked all the questions, we threw everything at them and they came out the better team’.
“But when you come out and you feel as if you haven’t given everything that you could or you haven’t done enough, it hurts the players and, me personally, I’d be very disappointed.”
While Brogan is yet to re-watch the game, the Dublin players have met with Jim Gavin in the wake of the defeat to debrief and try move forward as a unit.
“I haven’t watched the game back yet.
“We met up after the game and we had a good chat. Jim put us in together and we had a very honest chat about what happened and where we’re going and we’re going to put a line in the sand and move on.
“We were obviously going into club championship the following week. It was good to meet up and have that chat. If we hadn’t had it, I was very disappointed coming into the meeting but I did feel a lot better coming out of it.
“We had a very open conversation and everyone came away from it a lot better than they did coming into it. Still doesn’t change the fact of where we were and what happened but at least we can move on and take lessons from it.”
God bless him. Hiding being gay for years hiding the HIV also . The years and years of stress that he put himself under is sad. Always came across as a great genuine nice guy. Hope he has a long long life ahead of him still . I wish u well
@john s: did you read a different article to me? He said he has HIV, being gay was never mentioned but you assume he must be gay if he has hiv? Or did i miss something
@Karl Charlie: in fairness to John S (whoever he is) I didnt take you’re interpretation of what he’d written.
@Karl Charlie: he is gay that’s a fact do you not no who he is ?
@Karl Charlie: came out in 2009..
@Karl Charlie: in fairness to John S (whoever he is) I didn’t take your interpretation of what he’d written.
@bmul: i realised that after i googled it!! No idea who the lad is i dont follow uk sports teams
@Karl Charlie: classic example of contrived outrage….you go off on one not knowing who you are talking about….
Poor man. Seems to have been tormented all his life, both internally and externally. Medically, HIV has a different prognosis now. Socially, there’s still a stigma associated with it. Hats off to him. He’s a hell of a role model for anyone.
Best wishes to the man. He always came across as very genuine. A role model for anyone who has an interest in compassion and humanity.
We all worry about what People think, wasting our energy away, Gareth is a Wonderful Human Being, an inspiration to us all. Please God he will live many Happy years with this condition.
@tennis nut: why would his HIV status have anything to do with his rugby? I have a feeling you may need to educate yourself further if you think it does
@Vocal Outrage: because there is potential for blood contamination
@tennis nut: I’ll tell you who isn’t inspirational. A small minded bigot who doesn’t have the balls to to step out from the veil if anomomity.
@tennis nut: It’s because of judgemental people like you that causes the fear in others not to come out and say who or what they are. Watch the interview with Nigel Owens and it may help you understand where these people are and the horror they feel in having to ‘come out ‘. It may even educate you an g o d knows it seems like you need it.
@thomas patrick: You might need to educate yourself. Nowadays, if he is taking his treatment as prescribed, the virus reaches undetectable levels and is virtually untransmittable. The only recorded cases of transmission, a small number anyway, have been when patients were taking their treatment irregularly.
What’s shameful is the fact that society made it so hard for him to be who he is. Life with HIV is not what it was decades ago. Wishing him all the best. Brave man.
@Laura Mulcahy: how did society make it hard for him ? I think you ll find that when people come out they quickly find the opposite.
Wow unreal best of luck to him
@Louise Lennon: Is it Sunday?
@Darren: why does everyone automatically think he’s gay because of hiv?
@Louise Lennon: because he came out as gay years ago!!!!!!
@Louise Lennon: because he’s gay?
@Louise Lennon: The whole coming out thing made it pretty obvious Louise.
@vfagan: gay or not gay hiv is real!!
@Louise Lennon: take the shame and be out :)
@Louise Lennon: take the shame and BOW out I meant:( ;)
@Louise Lennon: stop digging Louise.