FOR THE NEUTRAL GAA fan, this is the dawn of a potentially brilliant weekend. We’ve two All-Ireland semi-finals to look forward to in two days, an unexpected treat in late August. There’s a fair bit to debate about both of them as well.
The Gaelic Grounds today will whet the appetite. The venue itself has been scrutinised from every possible angle this week. There’s been talk that it’s an insult to the players and they’ve been treated terribly. I don’t buy that. Granted there’s an argument to be had about having an American football game in the middle of our busy GAA season. But taking the players to Limerick isn’t the injustice it’s been made out to be.
From my own playing days, the big goal was to play in front of a packed Croke Park. If you couldn’t play there, you loved playing in stadiums that had a full house. That always leads to a great atmosphere. The Kerry and Mayo players can feed off the big crowd that will be in Limerick.
I was talking to a guy during the week who was telling me all about being at the ’83 All-Ireland semi-final. Dublin and their fans travelled down to Cork to Páirc Uí Chaoimh. It sounded like a brilliant novel occasion. This is going to be the same. I can’t see the players’ focus having shifted, they’ll be thinking about the challenge and the different venue is part of that challenge
Is the six day turnaround a big deal? It’s not a new thing for inter-county footballers. If you’re playing in the qualifiers in July, it’s part and parcel of it. You get used to it and build from game to game. The players may have preferred an extra few days of rest but they’re experienced in preparing properly. There’s an All-Ireland final place at stake and that will override everything.
Keegan was sent off by David Coldrick last week. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
It’s a big boost for Mayo that the Lee Keegan dismissal was overturned. He’s a huge figure for the type of attacking game they play and is a big, big player for James Horan. Mayo’s other players will get a kick from it as well. Listening to Cillian O’Connor and Andy Moran this week, I’m struck that they’re a team who have huge confidence in the ability of this team.
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I think it’s very harsh and disrespectful to Cillian O’Connor that this talk about Mayo not having a marquee forward is still going around. He’s been phenomenal for them to date. He might lack the buzz and might not be that sort of flash forward. His intelligence as a footballer means he ends up in the right place at the right time and has a huge bearing at games. 1-8 last Sunday told a lot. He’ll be a big player this evening.
O’Connor was key to Mayo’s comeback last week but Kerry didn’t help their own case during that time period. They couldn’t get their hands on primary possession and they’ll have looked at their kickout strategy. There’s been a little bit of criticism of Brian Kelly’s kickouts during that period and I’m sure it’s something Eamonn Fitzmaurice will have addressed this week. To be fair to Kelly he’s a young player in his first senior year and he finished the game well.
Brian Kelly: Kerry kick-outs will be under scrutiny this evening. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
I tipped Mayo the last day. I was hesitant then, I’m more hesitant now but I’m still going to stick with Mayo. I think they’ve a little bit more strength in their middle eight and will get the sweeper system right on this occasion as they’ll focus on the strong point in their game which is an ability to get forward in droves. It’s a tough one to call but I’ll go for Mayo.
***
It’s only two years since Donegal won the All-Ireland. They still have the majority of that side but they’re being widely written off for Sunday. It doesn’t help that some of their key players from then aren’t setting the world alight now.
Colm McFadden is a big talking point. There’s no one questioning his ability but he has gone off form. For the defensive game that Donegal like to play, no matter how good defensively they are, they need scorers. McFadden will be key, as will Patrick McBrearty who was so good when coming on in the Ulster final. Donegal will need those two to have their shooting boots on them, especially if Michael Murphy plays defensively.
Colm McFadden has been off form of late. Tommy Grealy / INPHO
Tommy Grealy / INPHO / INPHO
A blind man can see that Donegal are going to play defensive. They’ll seek to frustrate Dublin. It might not be the prettiest to look at but that’s the type of game they will bring. You would have to be very impressed with Donegal’s rate of improvement. In 2009 Cork beat them by a cricket score in a quarter-final, then three years later they were All-Ireland champions. That takes fair going.
People have their own opinion on their style of play but I think they deserve huge credit. I really admire Jim McGuinness. He wanted that job badly, he felt it was his and even when he was rejected, he came back again. Even this year McGuinness has brought the team forward again to win another Ulster title and they’re back in an All-Ireland semi-final.
I’m very impressed with Donegal’s work ethic and their huge belief that they will wear a team down eventually. No matter what you throw at them, you see them convinced that they can take it. But the big thing we’ve seen with Dublin this year is that they can cope in that setting.
Laois put them under huge pressure in the first-half and Dublin still won by 11 points. For the first 25 minutes against Monaghan, it was a tight game and then Dublin banged in two goals. Suddenly it was game over and Dublin won by 17 points.
Diarmuid Connolly's goal opened the floodgates for Dublin against Monaghan. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
I think Donegal will push them and ask the hard questions for longer than anyone else has. They’ll get in their faces, try to slow things down and try to frustrate them. But the big questions is whether they can do it for 70 minutes.
One mistake and Dublin will punish you. Where do you look to find weaknesses in their team? People say the Dublin full-back line is weak but I can’t see that. They’re all really good, strong defenders. Then in attack if you tie up Bernard Brogan, does it matter? No you have Kevin McManamon, Cormac Costello and Diarmuid Connolly all waiting to take up the slack. Then there’s Paul Flynn, who is having the summer of his life.
There’s just so many aces in the Dublin pack that it’s hard to see Donegal holding them all. And ultimately I think Dublin are going to ensure it’ll be a repeat of last year’s final.
Johnny Doyle column: Two mouth-watering clashes make for an unexpected August treat
FOR THE NEUTRAL GAA fan, this is the dawn of a potentially brilliant weekend. We’ve two All-Ireland semi-finals to look forward to in two days, an unexpected treat in late August. There’s a fair bit to debate about both of them as well.
The Gaelic Grounds today will whet the appetite. The venue itself has been scrutinised from every possible angle this week. There’s been talk that it’s an insult to the players and they’ve been treated terribly. I don’t buy that. Granted there’s an argument to be had about having an American football game in the middle of our busy GAA season. But taking the players to Limerick isn’t the injustice it’s been made out to be.
From my own playing days, the big goal was to play in front of a packed Croke Park. If you couldn’t play there, you loved playing in stadiums that had a full house. That always leads to a great atmosphere. The Kerry and Mayo players can feed off the big crowd that will be in Limerick.
I was talking to a guy during the week who was telling me all about being at the ’83 All-Ireland semi-final. Dublin and their fans travelled down to Cork to Páirc Uí Chaoimh. It sounded like a brilliant novel occasion. This is going to be the same. I can’t see the players’ focus having shifted, they’ll be thinking about the challenge and the different venue is part of that challenge
Is the six day turnaround a big deal? It’s not a new thing for inter-county footballers. If you’re playing in the qualifiers in July, it’s part and parcel of it. You get used to it and build from game to game. The players may have preferred an extra few days of rest but they’re experienced in preparing properly. There’s an All-Ireland final place at stake and that will override everything.
It’s a big boost for Mayo that the Lee Keegan dismissal was overturned. He’s a huge figure for the type of attacking game they play and is a big, big player for James Horan. Mayo’s other players will get a kick from it as well. Listening to Cillian O’Connor and Andy Moran this week, I’m struck that they’re a team who have huge confidence in the ability of this team.
I think it’s very harsh and disrespectful to Cillian O’Connor that this talk about Mayo not having a marquee forward is still going around. He’s been phenomenal for them to date. He might lack the buzz and might not be that sort of flash forward. His intelligence as a footballer means he ends up in the right place at the right time and has a huge bearing at games. 1-8 last Sunday told a lot. He’ll be a big player this evening.
O’Connor was key to Mayo’s comeback last week but Kerry didn’t help their own case during that time period. They couldn’t get their hands on primary possession and they’ll have looked at their kickout strategy. There’s been a little bit of criticism of Brian Kelly’s kickouts during that period and I’m sure it’s something Eamonn Fitzmaurice will have addressed this week. To be fair to Kelly he’s a young player in his first senior year and he finished the game well.
I tipped Mayo the last day. I was hesitant then, I’m more hesitant now but I’m still going to stick with Mayo. I think they’ve a little bit more strength in their middle eight and will get the sweeper system right on this occasion as they’ll focus on the strong point in their game which is an ability to get forward in droves. It’s a tough one to call but I’ll go for Mayo.
***
It’s only two years since Donegal won the All-Ireland. They still have the majority of that side but they’re being widely written off for Sunday. It doesn’t help that some of their key players from then aren’t setting the world alight now.
Colm McFadden is a big talking point. There’s no one questioning his ability but he has gone off form. For the defensive game that Donegal like to play, no matter how good defensively they are, they need scorers. McFadden will be key, as will Patrick McBrearty who was so good when coming on in the Ulster final. Donegal will need those two to have their shooting boots on them, especially if Michael Murphy plays defensively.
A blind man can see that Donegal are going to play defensive. They’ll seek to frustrate Dublin. It might not be the prettiest to look at but that’s the type of game they will bring. You would have to be very impressed with Donegal’s rate of improvement. In 2009 Cork beat them by a cricket score in a quarter-final, then three years later they were All-Ireland champions. That takes fair going.
People have their own opinion on their style of play but I think they deserve huge credit. I really admire Jim McGuinness. He wanted that job badly, he felt it was his and even when he was rejected, he came back again. Even this year McGuinness has brought the team forward again to win another Ulster title and they’re back in an All-Ireland semi-final.
I’m very impressed with Donegal’s work ethic and their huge belief that they will wear a team down eventually. No matter what you throw at them, you see them convinced that they can take it. But the big thing we’ve seen with Dublin this year is that they can cope in that setting.
Laois put them under huge pressure in the first-half and Dublin still won by 11 points. For the first 25 minutes against Monaghan, it was a tight game and then Dublin banged in two goals. Suddenly it was game over and Dublin won by 17 points.
I think Donegal will push them and ask the hard questions for longer than anyone else has. They’ll get in their faces, try to slow things down and try to frustrate them. But the big questions is whether they can do it for 70 minutes.
One mistake and Dublin will punish you. Where do you look to find weaknesses in their team? People say the Dublin full-back line is weak but I can’t see that. They’re all really good, strong defenders. Then in attack if you tie up Bernard Brogan, does it matter? No you have Kevin McManamon, Cormac Costello and Diarmuid Connolly all waiting to take up the slack. Then there’s Paul Flynn, who is having the summer of his life.
There’s just so many aces in the Dublin pack that it’s hard to see Donegal holding them all. And ultimately I think Dublin are going to ensure it’ll be a repeat of last year’s final.
Dublin and Donegal’s tactical warfare won’t define the future – Gavin
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