Andrews can inflict more pain
IT IS hard to believe that a footballer chasing his fourth Celtic Cross tomorrow and who has consistently delivered on the big stage, as a man-ofthe-match award in an AllIreland semi-final testifies, can still be considered underrated. But such is the lot of Paddy Andrews.
The 29-year-old Blanchardstown native has suffered throughout his inter-county career because of those that he has had to share the limelight with. He doesn’t have the superstar status of Bernard Brogan or Diarmuid Connolly, didn’t enjoy the meteoric rise of Ciarán Kilkenny or this season, Con O’Callaghan. Nor can he boast the consistent excellence of Paul Flynn.
But while Flynn and Brogan have found themselves with reduced roles in the team that Jim Gavin believes will win Dublin their historic three-in-a-row, Andrews has ensured that he is still relevant — even amid bright young things like Kilkenny, O’Callaghan and Paul Mannion.
As Dublin go chasing a third title in a row tomorrow, Gavin will know Andrews is someone whom can be relied upon. And he always seems to thrive against Mayo, kicking five points from play in a man-of-thematch performance in the 2015 AllIreland semi-final replay and kicking two crucial points coming off the bench in last September’s drawn encounter.
‘Paddy is probably still a bit small bit under-rated outside of Dublin,’ says Barry Cahill, his club-mate at St Brigid’s. ‘But he has delivered some really good performances, especially against Mayo. They really needed him in the drawn game last year, he came on and kicked a couple from play when all Dublin had on board was two own goals. So, he obviously likes playing Mayo.’
Cahill feels the forward’s versatility is a reason why he is a tad underappreciated. ‘People might not see him as someone who will shoot the lights out regularly but he is a bit of all-rounder. He can be a link man, he can be a target man. He has an eye for goal and he’s brilliant at taking points off either foot.
‘The thing I like about him is, when he receives the ball, he doesn’t need to hop or solo it. He’s able to just take the score, which obviously limits the scope for the defender to get a block or tackle in.’
And perhaps, a true sign of Andrews’ talent is that if he was put into nearly any other county in Ireland, he would be their main strike forward. Even in the Westerners. ‘Absolutely,’ Cahill agrees. ‘If you put him into Mayo, he would be the main man.’
It took some time for Andrews, whose older brother Peadar soldiered with Dublin in the 2000s, to be appreciated among his own too, though. Infamously, he was cornerback when Kerry toasted Dublin’s startled earwigs in Croke Park in 2009 and when Pat Gilroy led the county to a first All-Ireland title in 16 years in 2011, Andrews was on the outside, looking in, dropped from the panel after the League final defeat to Cork that April.
‘He took it hard, naturally enough,’ Cahill recalls of that time. ‘I think he told me he just watched the 2011 final in the sitting room by himself. We won the All-Ireland after 16 years and everything that goes with that. He was obviously delighted for the players and his friends and team-mates that he knew very well; myself and Alan Brogan in particular.
‘But it was a tough time for him. He was at a crossroads in his career. It hadn’t taken off. An option for any player that gets dropped off a county panel is that they can go back to their club and apply themselves properly and hope that they get another chance.’
And that’s what Andrews did. When Brigid’s won the Dublin title in 2011, rolling all the way to a Leinster club final, Andrews was the main man and his performances earned him a recall to the Dublin panel the following spring.
However, Cahill believes it was Gavin’s appointment, with Declan Darcy as his right-hand man, that truly kick-started Andrews’ career.
‘Jim’s appointment gave him a pep in his step, because he worked with Jim at Under 21 and Jim was fond of him. And the fact that Declan came in with Jim because Declan was a mentor for Paddy and they have a really good relationship.’
Gavin and Darcy clearly know the right buttons to push for Andrews, and the Brigid’s man has responded. It will be the same tomorrow. His contribution might not steal Monday’s headlines. He might not kick the most memorable score or play the most spectacular pass.
But quelling the influence of Andrews will be taxing the mind of Mayo management tomorrow afternoon.