Kerry fired-up to shoot down Dubs’ unbeaten record
DARREN Frehill of RTÉ put up an interesting piece of footage from the archives in mid-week.
A passage of play between Dublin and Galway from the Heffo era in which Anton O’Toole was subject to a slide tackle, soccer-style, and grounded. Cut to Michael O’Hehir’s commentary: ‘He was tripped alright but it was outside the penalty area so there wasn’t a free or anything like that.’
No black card. No retrospective fine or match-ban via video evidence. Not even a referee’s whistle. Different days. To those then who want to blow up the clear edge to the current rivalry between Kerry and Dublin, such as Éamonn Fitzmaurice feeling the need to retaliate to what he felt is an orchestrated campaign to blacken his team’s name, just remember how sanitised things are now compared to what went before.
This afternoon’s league final will be all the better for the spice in the build-up.
Dublin know that for way too long, this was the most one-sided rivalry in sport.
What probably grates more than anything in Kerry is that Dublin currently have a squad of players with a superior skill set. In the history of the game, how often can that have been said? It took Kevin Heffernan to push the boundaries with a physical training regime that transformed Dublin from outsiders to revolutionaries. A lesson not lost on Mick O’Dwyer who took it as a personal challenge, his wire-to-wire sprint regime one foundation stone of the greatest team the game has known.
It wasn’t all about the grace and finesse of Mikey Sheehy by any means.
With the Gooch retired, Kerry’s bid to inflict Dublin’s first defeat in 37 league and championship games takes on an added layer of meaning. And yet the prospect of a sixth successive loss to the old enemy looks most likely.
The manner in which Jack McCaffrey steamed through to crack the winning goal against Monaghan said it all about the character of the All-Ireland champions under pressure. Tyrone, Donegal, Kerry and Monaghan all rattled Dublin’s cage but this isn’t Ballybofey on a wet Sunday when players can’t hop the ball. This Dublin team is finely calibrated for the high tempo surrounds of Jones’ Road.
If Kerry have unearthed a midfield treasure in Jack Barry, Michael Fitzsimons too has grown in stature just as Tadhg Morley for Kerry.
The recent listing of 16 blue- chip forwards fighting for selection in a front six suggests the bench can make all the difference if needed. With Gooch gone and James O’Donoghue only on the mend, it’s Dublin who have the superior attacking spread.
The fact that Paddy Neilan hasn’t refereed a Division One game yet this season drew a headline in the build-up. With the respective teams coming into this with so much baggage, perhaps Croke Park wanted a truly neutral observer.
A scattering of underage titles suggests a train coming in Kerry. Just now though, Dublin still look that bit further down the line. Verdict: Dublin