WAS IT WORTH THE 8?
ONE of the most significant structural changes in the history of the All-ireland SFC kicked in over the weekend as the first round of the ‘Super 8s’ got under way.
It started with a landslide victory for Tyrone over Roscommon and though the other three games were
CROKE PARK DOESN’T WORK FOR THE FIRST ROUND OF GAMES
DOUBLE headers at GAA headquarters at the quarter-final stage of the Championship were losing their lustre in recent years anyway, but take the knockout element away and games closer to home coming up for supporters and that trend was only likely to sharpen.
Just 53,501 turned out on Saturday followed by 30,740 on Sunday. It’s not terribly long since Dublin sold out first round games in Leinster as standalone fixtures; now there is room for 30,000 more for a double-header involving them at the last eight stage of the Championship.
Moreover, the largely empty stadium seems to impact on the intensity of the games. Players could even be heard calling to team-mates at Croke Park on Sunday.
Given the novelty of playing at
Croke Park has long since worn off for the majority of teams, the GAA could do worse than saving it for the semi-finals and finals or, at least, the last stage of the Super 8s when there’s likely to be more at stake. competitive, the weekend’s action was largely underwhelming as the football Championship continues to be overshadowed by the hurling.
That should change next weekend, however, as the ‘Super 8s’ move to more intimate provincial venues.
Here are some things we gleaned from the first four games over the weekend, with eight more still to come:
DAVID CLIFFORD IS THE REAL DEAL
SUCH was his sheer quality as a Kerry minor, there was never any doubt David Clifford, inset, was going to be a senior inter-county footballer of the very highest calibre. It was just a matter of how soon.
Well, going on the evidence of his performance against Galway, he’s already there. This was a 19-year-old playing in his first senior Championship game at Croke and he scored 1-5, all but a point of it from play.
The fact he did so on a team that struggled from start to finish, particularly the forwards around him, makes it all the more impressive.
As comfortably as Kerry were beaten in the end, you can only imagine how bleak it would have been but for the Fossa starlet’s contribution.
It’s worrying for
Eamonn Fitzmaurice too that one so young should have to carry the team like that.
ROSCOMMON APPEAR TO HAVE HIT A GLASS CEILING
HAVING won six Connacht titles at minor and under-21 level combined since 2010, it’s reasonable to assume Roscommon ought to be through the developmental stage at senior level by now and at or near their peak.
Getting to the last eight for the second year running is a reasonable achievement but, once again, they look set to exit with a whimper.
Defeats like the 18-point loss to Tyrone should be out of their system by now.
But, when you think about it, is conceding 1-19 to Armagh inconsistent with shipping 4-24 to Tyrone seven days later? No, it’s not.
These type of results aren’t isolated when you consider their freefall for 12 months after a bright start to the League in 2016 and last year’s humbling from Mayo.
Rather than being the platform to reach a new level, the Super 8s are probably as good as it’s going to get for Roscommon, who face a difficult few weeks ahead.
DUBLIN CONTINUE TO PHASE IN NEW TALENT
THERE was something very Brian Cody-esque about how Jim Gavin slipped Eoin Murchan into the Dublin team for Saturday’s game with Donegal – putting his faith in a young and unheralded player to carry out an important role for the team.
In his first Championship start, Murchan acquitted himself very well on Ryan Mchugh, a player who would get in many people’s All-ireland XV.
However, given that it was a horses for courses man-marking job, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if he finds himself on the bench in Omagh, where a different set of demands will be placed on Dublin.
Elsewhere, Brian Howard’s star continues to rise after an all-action display on Saturday. He looks set to become Brian Fenton’s long-term midfield partner, while the finishing from another emerging player, Niall Scully, showed up that of his more celebrated forward colleagues.
GALWAY HAVE GENUINE ALL-IRELAND CREDENTIALS
THERE have been various staging posts over Kevin Walsh’s four seasons in charge of Galway. Becoming competitive against Mayo. Finally beating them, and keeping them under their thumb. Winning Connacht titles. Reaching Division One and more than holding their own.
But, for all that, it was difficult to take their All-ireland credentials too seriously until they had beaten a team of pedigree in a Championship game in Croke Park, something they hadn’t done in 17 years.
They did that and more when seeing off Kerry, who they hadn’t beaten in Championship football for 53 years.
In doing so, they have arguably usurped Kerry as the team most likely to unseat Dublin this year.
Dublin still cast a shadow over the other seven remaining teams and while it may yet prove too soon for Galway, their claims are increasingly credible.