Mccarthy: It would be an awful pity if there was no final

JAMES MCCARTHY says it would be “terrible” if the Allianz League final doesn’t take place.

Dublin take on Donegal in the Division One semi-final on Saturday, while Kerry and Tyrone meet in the other semi, but a decider will only take place if Dublin and Tyrone come through.

That’s because Donegal and Kerry are in Championship action on the weekend of June 26/27 and the GAA has committed to affording counties a two-week run-in so if either of them come through their semi-finals, the title will be shared.

Mccarthy (above) has won five League medals with Dublin and would prefer to win another.

“It would be terrible, like,” he said. “I know any of the League finals I’ve played over the years, I remember all the games, really good games, really great matches, so it would be an awful pity if that didn’t happen this year, but I suppose the GAA’S hands are tied on it.

“It would be an awful pity if there wasn’t a match that you had to play for to win the

competition, we’ll see how it works out, there might still be if ourselves and Tyrone win, so we’ll see how it works out.”

Mccarthy added: “We had a free weekend just gone by. I don’t think it’s any issue with teams playing week on week. That could have been a weekend where you’d have had the semi-finals or whatever.

“Obviously, the calendar was laid out a few weeks back and they’re being rigid and sticking to it. If it doesn’t happen and there’s no League final, it would be a pity. Time is the issue I suppose. Nothing we can do about it now.”

The Government has designated the Division One League final as a test event at Croke Park should it go ahead, and a crowd of 3,000 would be accommodated.

Mccarthy added: “I didn’t know that but every game we play, we always want to win it. It’s no different to a warm-up game or a challenge game, it’s a focus we’ve had in the team over the years and I don’t think it ever serves you well going into a game half-cooked or half-hearted with it.

“So against Donegal on Saturday we’re full gung-ho wanting to win this game and we’re really looking forward to it.”