Dubs are still better, faster and stronger
GET READY to sit back and enjoy an All Ireland final for the ages — one that will cement Dublin as one of the finest teams of the modern era. I know there is always a danger involved in giving the biggest game of the year such a big drum roll. In recent years, football’s showpiece game had often been reduced to turgid tactical affairs — most notably last year’s final — but I believe that this weekend’s decider will be different and great. I expect it to roll pretty much like the epic semi-final the same two teams served up to us two years ago, right down to the result. The reason I see it like that is down to the belief Kerry have no choice but to come out and play. Last year, when fielding an arguably weaker team — they did not have Colm Cooper — their game-plan was centred on countering a system rather than a football team. While they prevailed in 2014, adopting such a tactical approach is not the way Kerry like to win. And it was not just the aesthetics that diminished their sense of satisfaction. Their tactics also meant they set up to ‘stay’ in an All-Ireland final, rather than actively going out and win it. In the end it took Paul Durcan’s freakish goalkeeping error for Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s side to get over the line last year. Winning All-Ireland finals is something that Kerry generally do not leave to chance. As well as being pragmatic, the Kingdom’s football men are purists and proud. This is a game where they know they will have to chase the result in order to win it, rather than hoping victory comes gift-wrapped. Kerry have excellent ball-winners — Anthony Maher and David Moran are the best midfield pairing in the country — and they will push up hard on Dublin and seek to play the game at the opposition’s end of the field. They will also seek to attack Dublin where they are weakest — a full-back line vulnerable to high ball. This is why I believe they will start Kieran Donaghy rather than Paul Geaney in the fullforward line. It’s an easy call for Fitzmaurice to make this week because Donaghy will not be an effective impact sub in this type of game, so they will seek to bleed what they can off him. In Cooper and James O’Donoghue, they have the players who can profit from the mayhem he could create. Kerry’s attack will have joy, but the bottom line is they will not have as much as Dublin. If Dublin’s defence is suspect to high ball, Kerry’s is fragile when they are ran at. It has always been something of an Achilles heel and it has never been more evident than this summer — highlighted in particular by Cork and Tyrone. While Dublin’s main focus will be on countering just one player — and Cian O’Sullivan, if fit, will sweep in front of Donaghy — the threat Kerry face will come right across the board. Jim Gavin’s team are a potent cocktail of athleticism and skill. The mobility of their defence — in particular Philly McMahon, James McCarthy and the outstanding Jack McCaffrey — causes huge problems for opposing teams. Physically they are also very imposing. It is rare to have players of such ball-playing quality who can comfortably win possession by shunting people aside. I’m thinking of the likes of Paul Flynn, Ciarán Kilkenny, Bernard Brogan and Diarmuid Connolly — I sense the latter could have a huge day. My main concern for Dublin has also been addressed: not only did Mayo present them with a stresstest they desperately needed, they did it over two games. While Kerry under Fitzmaurice have placed great stock in their own in-house preparations, there is nothing they can have done to come close to the two games Dublin got under their belt against Mayo. Better prepared, physically stronger and blessed with a broader attacking threat, Dublin will be kings again by this time next week.
‘Kerry’s attack will have joy, but they will not have as much as Dublin’