DUBS SET BENCH MARK
Will the champions’ All-Star substitutes determine this final?
Mayo feel that their first 15 match up with the Dubs
ERIC Lowndes has never received a reaction quite like it. In his dreams, the St Peregrine’s player probably imagined himself being called on to the field in an All-Ireland semi-final to a rapturous welcome, the ripple of excitement spreading around Croke Park and rising to a crescendo as Hill 16 roared to acclaim the man in the number 12 Dublin shirt.
Except those in charge of the live stadium feed quickly recognised the case of mistaken identity.
At a distance, with a straight back and square jaw, and wearing the number 12 jersey, Dublin’s fans mistook him for Diarmuid Connolly — hence the reception for the gifted St Vincent’s player and four-time All-Ireland winner who had been exiled for 12 long weeks due to suspension.
A quick camera pan to Connolly on the bench, wearing an unfamiliar number 20 jersey, only drew a louder roar.
In a game where Dublin were coasting to victory with a performance of such intelligence and high level coaching that it arguably represented the peak of Jim Gavin’s reign, the biggest reception and main talking point afterwards centred on Dublin’s bench.
It wasn’t until the 70th minute, four minutes after Lowndes had been introduced, that Connolly joined the fray. When the final whistle ended not long after, he didn’t exactly wear the expression of a man happy with such limited game time with an All-Ireland final coming up. And yet at least he got on the pitch. Bernard Brogan, four-time All-Star, was one of two former Footballers of the Year who didn’t see any game time at all with Michael Darragh Macauley being the other.
Paul Flynn, another four-time All-Star, had to wait until the 45th-minute to stretch his legs, making a big play for a final start by kicking three booming points. Kevin McManamon, the best impact sub in the modern game, came on at the same time. The next forward was Eoghan O’Gara, who plundered 1-1 in the 10 minutes or so on the field.
All of which prompted the question as to whether it was the most talented, honour-laden bench in the history of Gaelic football.
Heading into the final against Mayo, the obvious next question is whether Dublin’s ‘A list’ team of reserves will be the difference in tomorrow’s final.
Compare that to Mayo’s attacking reserves. Of the four substitutes Mayo introduced in the drawn semi-final against Kerry, the one player to get his name on the scoresheet was wing-back Patrick Durcan.
Stephen Coen’s versatility has seen him fill a number of different roles; David Drake added energy and a high work rate when he came on while Conor Loftus only got a run-on in garbage time.
In the replay it was Loftus who made a big impression after replacing Diarmuid O’Connor at half-time, firing two good points.
In terms of proven forward talent and medal-winning experience though, the deck is firmly stacked in Dublin’s favour.
Durcan is the five-star talent that Mayo have been keeping in reserve to tilt the pendulum in their favour coming down the home straight.
The way the modern game has evolved has only heightened the emphasis of a strong bench. Both hurling and Gaelic football have followed the path of timed, tactical substitutions, players expected to empty the tank by the hour mark before being replaced. Just look at Derek McGrath’s use of Jake Dillon and Shane Bennett in Waterford’s two man inside line. Colm Boyle’s strategic withdrawal on different occasions for Mayo is just another example.
Addressing teams’ attempts to run the clock down saw a subtle change in timekeeping with a guide of 20 seconds being added for every substitution.
That’s part of the reason why last year’s final ticked into 78 minutes.
Mayo would be confident that their first 15 match up with Dublin just fine, if last year’s final and replay are to be used as an obvious guide.
But they understand too that the impact of Cormac Costello off the bench for Dublin was the defining aspect of the second game. In a contest of such fine margins, his three points — the first and second with the left, the third with the right — were like daggers to the heart of Mayo’s ambitions.
Twelve months on, Dublin’s bench has an ever more clinical edge to it in a summer where the same player hasn’t featured due to injury.
It adds weight to the logic that it is in a manager’s best interest to finish with his strongest 15 on the field, as much as start. In the hurling final a fortnight ago, the contest turned on the star attacking talent off the bench introduced by Galway against Waterford. Niall Burke scored two points, was fouled for two more. Jason Flynn added two as well.
How Mayo defuse Dublin’s attacking threat from the bench will be key while at the same time finding a way to best utilise their own men from numbers 16 to 26.