Five games that defined the Gavin era
2013: Dublin 3-18, Kerry 3-11
What if Jim Gavin hadn’t delivered Sam in his maiden campaign – would all the subsequent success have followed, regardless? We’ll never know. What’s clear, in retrospect, is how hard they were pushed at the business end – by Mayo in the final but just as much by Kerry in this classic semi-final.
Ignore the seven-point margin, it hides a multitude. Dublin circa 2013 were a far more gung-ho version of what they’d become; and even though they scored 1-9 in the first half here, their defence was shredded at the other end, with Colm Cooper loading
the bullets for James O’Donoghue (a brace) and Donnchadh Walsh to fire three first-half goals.
Thus, Dublin trailed by two points at the break. Gavin responded by switching Cian O’Sullivan from midfield to man-mark the ‘Gooch’. That helped to stifle his influence, but this was still a game of inches: Kerry led by four at one stage, by one as late as the 67th minute, and it was level before Kevin McManamon’s goal on 69 minutes kick-started a match-winning 2-1 salvo.
2014: Donegal 3-14, Dublin 0-17
The most significant championship match of the Gavin era remains the only one he ever lost. This was the watershed semi-final ambush that signalled the end of Dublin’s swashbuckling phase and convinced the manager that his team needed to evolve to ensure they were never again left exposed like this. And yet, for all the talk of a tactical masterclass by Jim McGuinness, this ambush was that close to never happening.
After Diarmuid Connolly sold a sublime solo-dummy to kick his third point from play, the game was in its 27th minute and the Dubs led by 0-9 to 0-4. It could have been more: goal chances for Bernard Brogan and Connolly had come to nothing.
But then Donegal got motoring and Ryan McHugh’s 33rd-minute goal appeared to sow the seeds of full-blown Sky Blue panic. Defenders piled forward in the second half; Donegal gleefully punished on the counter.
Further goals from McHugh and Colm McFadden set up a shock-and-awe sixpoint victory. Gavin’s Dublin would never be the same again...
2016: Dublin 2-9, Mayo 0-15
Has there ever been a stranger half of football? The surreal first stanza of this All-Ireland final stalemate was so unlike what we had come to expect from Gavin’s marquee attack: the first Dublin player to score was Dean Rock via a 31st-minute free and yet they already led at that juncture, courtesy of own goal gifts from Kevin McLoughlin and Colm Boyle.
Dublin were 2-4 to 0-5 ahead at the break; but Mayo went on to launch three comebacks to force a replay.
The significance of this match can be summed up by Gavin’s next move: he made three late changes to his match programme team. Into the side came Michael Fitzsimons (who would be named man of the match), Paddy Andrews and Paul Mannion. Out went David Byrne and two former Footballers of the Year, Michael Darragh Macauley and Bernard Brogan.
While all three would appear as subs, the ruthless replay response revealed a Codyesque side to Gavin’s management,
and another sub, Cormac Costello, helped ensure victory at the second time of asking.
2017: Dublin 1-17, Mayo 1-16
In terms of sheer quality and operatic drama, this probably ranks as the best All-Ireland final of the eight contested by Gavin’s men in seven seasons. It was certainly the high point of this epic Dublin-Mayo rivalry.
Once they recovered from the early shock of a stunning Con O’Callaghan goal, Mayo did almost everything right: brilliant defending established the platform for a one-point lead at half-time, and they were two up as late as the 63rd minute, the holy grail in tantalising sight.
But what followed encapsulated arguably the greatest strength of Gavin’s team: their refusal to panic and their ability to game-manage their way out of the tightest corner.
In a fraught finale, with the game all square, Diarmuid Connolly drew the foul and not even a flying GPS could distract Dean Rock from nailing the decisive free.
All that remained was a bout of nerveless keep-ball from the Dubs to seal the three-in-a-row.
2019: Dublin 1-16, Kerry 1-16
Another pulsating All-Ireland final that revealed chinks in Dublin’s armour, but one in which they managed to survive. Much of the trouble stemmed from defence, where the absence of a sweeper left their full-back line exposed. This was summed up by Jonny Cooper’s attempts to curtail David Clifford, resulting in a penalty (superbly saved by Stephen Cluxton) and a double-yellow red card.
For all that, Dublin looked sure-fire winners when five up after 55 minutes… 11 minutes later, trailing by one, 14 men were on the edge of the abyss.
From there on, their control of possession (if not their execution) was masterful. Gavin’s replay response struck just the right chord: he didn’t over-react, but he did make one critical change, introducing Eoin Murchan and this time setting up with a sweeper. The rest is history…