CORA STAUNTON’S VERDICT

Firepower and experience will help Dublin see off the challenge of Cork and make it back-to-back All-Ireland titles

THEY can tell themselves it’s just another game, but deep down they’ll know that’s a lie. For the ladies footballers of Dublin and Cork, the weight of an All-Ireland final will drop down like a tonne of bricks tomorrow afternoon, and whoever copes best will be champions.

Think about it from the players’ perspective; you’re going from playing in front of a few thousand people in Roscommon in the semi-finals to Croke Park, where more than 40,000 people will watch your every move along with a huge TV audience.

Having been involved in last year’s final, I know how certain girls struggled with the occasion – all the extra build-up and noise can get inside your head. It has to be factor for anyone experiencing it for the first time, and that’s where Dublin will have a big advantage.

Cork, for all their success, have more inexperienced girls, whereas all of Dublin’s side were involved last year and that could swing it.

We can analyse recent games all we want, but the final takes on a life of its own. I’m expecting a physical battle, one that’s edgy, tense, and at times fiery. Anytime we played Dublin that’s what it was and the same with Cork.

Trust me, there won’t be any love lost between these two teams. There could well be sin-bins and it’ll be important how the referee manages the game as tempers flare, which they almost certainly will.

Physically, Dublin have the slight edge with the number of bigger, stronger players, but match-ups are going to be key – three in particular.

The first is Roisin Phelan on Sinéad Aherne. The latter should be player of the year if Dublin win and it’d be well deserved after racking up 4-24 in the championship to date. She’s exceptional when games need to be won, and how Cork deal with her is hugely important.

From a Dublin perspective, the key match-up is Niamh Collins on Doireann O’Sullivan, one of the Rebels’ key shooters. They’re two in-form players so whoever gets on top could decide the whole game.

The third is Noelle Healy, who I expect will be marked by Cork’s Melissa Duggan as she has the speed to cope with the Dublin flyer. Healy has been emphatic this year and even when she’s not scoring, she has such an influence in attack. If Duggan can stop her momentum, Cork will go a long way towards winning.

Both teams have been hitting huge scores through the championship, but I don’t see the same tomorrow. There’ll be a lot of emphasis on defence.

In Mick Bohan and Ephie Fitzgerald, you’re looking at a battle between the two top ladies football managers in the country, and if I was Bohan I’d target Cork’s midfield. Whoever can win the most possession around the middle third – which should be Dublin – will have the platform of ball into the full-forward line. Dublin are quite defensive, they play on the edge, as do Cork.

I think Bohan will target the Cork leaders, aware of how much more importance they have in a slightly inexperienced side on a day like this. That will put extra pressure on their young players to step up.

Cork don’t have a settled midfield like Dublin. They named Doireann O’Sullivan there in previous games but she played as more of a forward. It’s normally Aisling Hutchings and Hannah Looney and that could be an area Dublin over-run them because Lauren Magee has been so consistent alongside Olwen Carey.

Dublin have matured so much under Bohan, sticking to a system and doing it very, very well. Sinéad Finnegan acts as a sweeper, but once the player she marks goes past a certain point you’ll always see the likes of Lyndsey Davey, Carla Rowe, Niamh McEvoy or Nicole Owens tracking back, picking up her player.

Finnegan then drops into the pocket, in front of whoever’s in the full-forward line, which for Cork will probably be Eimear Scally, Orla Finn and Doireann O’Sullivan. Finnegan covers that space into the ‘D’ remarkably well.

Sweeper

Cork won’t play with a traditional sweeper that sweeps all the time. In the early stages of the Donegal match they didn’t have one but when Geraldine McLaughlin got a couple of points they put one back, which worked well. Their sweeper will try to get on as much ball as possible and push forward, whereas Dublin’s more oldschool sweeper, Finnegan, won’t be overly adventurous, it’ll be their wing forwards that work really hard to cover Finnegan’s player

To get at Dublin, Cork have to stop the likes of Aherne and Healy, which is easier said than done.

But there is one big area Cork have an edge – history. This side has never been beaten by Dublin in a championship game and got the better of them in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 finals. If Cork can stay in it until 10 minutes to go, that’s where Dublin’s mental resolve will be tested.

In pivotal moments, those defeats can come back to affect you, especially the memory of the final in 2014 when Dublin were 10 points up with 15 minutes to play.

The majority of the Dublin team have been around for a while so if things are close these things do come into your mind, and Cork will try to trigger that by staying in the game as long as they can. Dublin, though, are a team that try to blitz teams in the first half and build a comfortable half-time lead, and they’ll try to do exactly the same here.

Down the stretch, the benches will have a huge impact and Dublin have the more experienced, stronger personnel in that regard. You can’t look past Saoirse Noonan coming off Cork’s bench – she’s been one of the household names over the last few months – but Dublin’s bench just has such depth with Deirdre Murphy, Amy Connolly, Hannah O’Neill and many more.

In Croke Park on All-Ireland final day, you need fresh legs in the last 10 minutes and we saw that in last year’s final when Sarah McCaffrey came on and scored two goals against ourselves.

Dublin have more speed in their forward line and they’ll run at that Cork defence for the first 15 or 20 minutes, trying to find gaps. If they can build up a lead they’ll manage the game very well from there, but Cork’s biggest strength is their fullback line so it won’t be easily done.

Cork’s match-winners are Doireann and Ciara O’Sullivan, who’ve held the team together through their transition, and that’s a threat that will have to be stopped. If Dublin can keep those two quiet, they’ll give themselves every chance.

I think it’s going to be very close, a humdinger of a game, but in the end Dublin just have more firepower. In an All-Ireland final it’s always very hard (and foolish) to write off Cork – they’ve been there so often and don’t tend to lose – but I think when all is said and done, the Brendan Martin Cup will be staying in Dublin.