Dubs win at leisure, but Gavin still wary 2-15 0-16
TYRONE TRIP NEXT UP FOR ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS
AFTER the first two matches of the reordered GAA world, optimists were making two big assumptions. They were doing so in pursuit of hope. The football summer is a world coloured blue, and many are desperate for a wider palette.
So they saw Tyrone flouncing Roscommon and supposed that Mickey Harte’s team must be the side that some believed they were 12 months ago.
That is a big assumption to make, given how poor Roscommon were, and given that there is no marked difference in how Harte’s team play to the way they did when humiliated by Dublin last August.
And the second assumption related to the champions, and in particular their strength.
They defeated Donegal by five points, but after Niall Scully’s second goal two minutes into the second half, they were very, very comfortable.
Jim Gavin’s replacements then mustered four points from play. Donegal fans booed as Dublin played keep-ball in the closing
moments. The Hill countered with ‘olés’ in defence of their heroes.
It ended up an emphatic triumph — and yet the critics wondered.
It is reasonable to argue that this squad has not the extensive strength of even two years ago, when Kevin McManamon, Paddy Andrews, Diarmuid Connolly and Paul Flynn might lead the charge from the substitutes’ roster.
Connolly is gone, the others are older and no longer as influential as before.
But the truth is there is little to offer solace to the speculations of those who left Croke Park on Saturday night, speculating about
the ongoing health of the greatest team of this or perhaps any age.
Dublin do not need to be the best iteration of Dublin ever to win the All-Ireland this year; they just need to be good enough, and nothing we have seen in this summer so far suggests they will not be that.
Gavin dropped Eric Lowndes and Philly McMahon for this match, confirming afterwards the changes were tactical.
Lowndes did come on for Jack McCaffrey with the match well won, but there was no sign of McMahon, who had a wretched afternoon in the Leinster final
against Donie Kingston.
Michael Darragh Macauley was replaced after 46 minutes. He has served Dublin with tremendous distinction, but even his most committed advocates would not claim he is a stylist.
In a side with James McCarthy and McCaffrey providing impetus from the half-back line and the elegant ferocity of Brian Fenton at midfield, and the restless brilliance of Ciarán Kilkenny, there is no pressing need for Macauley’s earthier approach.
Gavin, in short, has loads of options.
He was extremely polite about
Tyrone after this match, extending to a reflection on how well received his Dublin team are every time they visit Omagh.
Some laughed when he said that, given the flinty reputation of Tyrone at home and Dublin’s occasionally mottled history there.
But Gavin is not a man for ironic flourishes, at least not in public. He appeared to be just polite, but one can understand why he might be anticipating the trip.
It should provide a more thorough diagnosis of Dublin’s health. Notwithstanding reservations about Tyrone, Dublin will be dis-
commoded simply by having to leave their home this late in the year.
Healy Park at 7pm on a Saturday should be able to summon an atmosphere befitting the occasion. Dublin could lose and still make the semi-finals given they have Roscommon in Croke Park in their final group match.
But they won’t want that; going north and returning with a win would crush Tyrone for the second time in 12 months, as well as stamping down the desperate tendrils of hope some tried to coax from this performance.
Dublin were not flawless, but they didn’t have to be and that was what frustrated Declan Bonner most. Jamie Brennan missed a terrific goal chance just before Scully’s first three-pointer.
Had Brennan scored, it would have put Donegal two points in front less than 10 minutes before half time.
For all of the opening period, they contested well, pushing up aggressively on Dublin’s kick-out and finding space for Ryan McHugh, in particular, to cause problems.
But Donegal’s own kick-out strategy completely misfired, while the early concession of another goal to Scully in the second half finished the contest.
Dublin remain imperious. Tyrone challenge that status next. God speed.