I think I’m 29 from 31 in GAA championship predictions this season - only incorrect calls being Tipperary v Kilkenny and Donegal v Mayo - so please pay attention. Dublin will beat Mayo comfortably.
[quote=“Sidney, post: 825687, member: 183”]What Sunday showed is that Dublin’s overall attacking game is so strong and relentless that they can afford to carry individual players when they play poorly.
It’s a bizarre fact that few of Dublin’s players stood out as having really good matches and yet they still scored 3-18. Of the starting team you could say that almost half of them actually played pretty poorly or were at best average. Cluxton, O’Brien, Brennan, McCaffrey, Flynn, Kilkenny, Mannion were all either roasted or nowhere near their best.
.[/quote]
that’s a fair point Sid but when are these guys going have this game and play like a unit?..we are waiting since kildare game for another performance like that and now there’s only one game left…talent alone won’t beat Mayo, its going to take something a bit more calculated and planned…the forwards seem to be getting more and more individual as the year goes on as opposed to actually gelling with eachother…its worrying…especially when our half forward line will more than likely be playing on the backfoot in final…brogan ran for one ball before he as taken off and to say he looked bolloxed is an understatement…he won’t last the full 70 if he’s honest with himself…Mannion simply didn’t want to know at times when game was in the fire in second half…
that’s rubbish to say the game was practically done when Donaghy went in…Also donaghy never needed much of a run to catch a ball…its a basketball thing…they learn to spring from a stationary position more than the traditional gaelic football run up…look at Macauley, he’s the exact same…Mcgarrity of Mayo was the same in his time too…Donaghy got a perfect ball sent in between and O carroll but if anything his timing was off and actually he was too wrried about where o carroll was and leaned back into him as opposed to concentrating on the flight of the ball…o carroll ended up fisting it away…
in fairness…bar the ger brennan blip you have been close to right nearly every time…why are you so confident?
[quote=“caoimhaoin, post: 825563, member: 273”]Scumpot - You are getting far too carried away. This is not a great Kerry team, they have a couple of outstanding individuals, but it’s an average enough team. Declan and Darren O Sullivan were largely ineffective and have been for a while. Really it was Gooch, JOD & Walsh that did all the damage and Galvin played well for 2 or 3 6-7 min bursts. Other than that they were poor all over the field.
Ignore history and colour of the jerseys. Dublin need to respect Mayo more than Kerry, and I wonder is this the case. I get the feeling the Dubs made a big thing out of it being “Kerry”. Some of the young lads really under performed and froze somewhat (McCaffery, O Brien, Killkenny for example) and I think it could be related to the “big thing” made of Kerry.
Mayo will ask far more questions and will be far more relentless than Kerry.[/quote]
Mayo won’t ask more questions than Kerry…they’ll ask different questions…their forwdas won’t be near as crafty as Kerry’s but they will be twice as industrious… Also there is no fear of Dublin not respecting Mayo…I’d actually say the Dublin players were mad to beat Kerry to get to mayo as they feel they owe them for last year…if anything Mayo mightn’t fear Dublin…
I didnt say the game was done when he went in, merely that the two main balls he got went in after the goal, and nothing came out of them, be that down to his poor attacking of the ball, good defending or sheer weight of numbers. IMHO none of the balls in were of good quality anyway, for what its worth the best deliveries Donaghy received with Kerry were from Sean Ban and Tomas. Finally, Donaghy has taken run ups in the past coming from the back of the square to the point of it and catching the ball at its peak, he used never merely be a stationary jumper, that seems to have crept in recent years, the reason for which I’m not fully sure. O Carroll has had his number in their last 2 major outings so credit to him for that but others have as well and as I said earlier he may very well be a busted flush at this stage of his career, be it due to injury appetite or sheer ability.
fair enough…I think he’d actually roast o carroll if he concentrated on football…but Carroll seems to upset him with his antics and gets inside donaghy’s head…Donaghy seems to waste a lot of time mouthing at lads…the sign of a fella sick of his lot…Declan o Sullivan is going through the motions aswell…think the appetite is gone…don’t think he has ever been the same player since 2011 final…you know he’s struggling when you see even jack o connor taking him off last year against Donegal… who is Sean ban?..yerra…
Sorry, Sean O Sullivan.
[quote=“Sidney, post: 825687, member: 183”]What Sunday showed is that Dublin’s overall attacking game is so strong and relentless that they can afford to carry individual players when they play poorly.
It’s a bizarre fact that few of Dublin’s players stood out as having really good matches and yet they still scored 3-18. Of the starting team you could say that almost half of them actually played pretty poorly or were at best average. Cluxton, O’Brien, Brennan, McCaffrey, Flynn, Kilkenny, Mannion were all either roasted or nowhere near their best.
Good as Mayo are I just don’t see them living with that.[/quote]
I would consider putting Ritchie Feeney on McCaffery. McCaffery struggled with the size of Walsh the last day and he can lose a man. Feeney is a bit like Walsh in his ability to find space and lose his man in scoring positions. He also struggles with the size of these players.
I think you are failing to realise how porous the Kerry back line is, and when their midfield misfired it was always likely Dublin would score big.
Mayo are far better defensively and their backs will make the Dublin forwards think more and chase. This is not something Dublin had to do Sunday. Their forward pressure and chase is poor and it’s one of the reasons they constantly struggle with Mayo.
That extra running those forwards need to do can’t be underestimated.
I’m on Mayo right now at about 51/49.
You contradicted yourself in the first could of lines. More questions =more industrious
The Mayo defence haven’t faced much in the way of quality attacking play this year. What Dublin throw at them in that department will be on a vastly different level compared to anything in their previous matches.
Granted it was only the league but their backs couldn’t cope at all with the Dublin forwards in the two matches in March and April. Dublin also cut them to shreds in the last 20 minutes of the semi-final last year when they awoke from their slumber.
To deal with the threat of Dublin on top form you basically need a full on Donegal-type defensive system and Mayo don’t play that way. I don’t see anything in the way Mayo play that suggests they will stop Dublin getting their usual five or six goal chances. In a shoot-out Mayo will lose because Dublin, overall, have better footballers, they will not be beaten on fitness and they have better substitutes to bring on. Mayo have not scored a goal against Dublin in their last four meetings.
Cillian O’Connor is supposed to have resumed light training. I think it’s likely he’ll be pumped full of injections and start. Makes no sense to have him as a sub if he’s able to play any part.
how is it a contradiction kev??.. are you saying Mayo’s forwards will be as crafty as Kerrys??cop on…but they will be fitter and will track Dublin’s backs for full 70 minutes…hence its a different questions as opposed to more questions…I’d prefer if you actually talked about the actual game pal…you’ve been miles off this season with regards Johnny Buckley’s worth , Cian O Sullivan’s and Dermot Connolly this year…You grossly under estimated Kerry on sunday…they were never going to go quietly…with a month to prepare for one last stand against a team they had previous with and that would let them play an open game they were always going to put in a performance…
[quote=“Sidney, post: 825725, member: 183”]
Cillian O’Connor is supposed to have resumed light training. I think it’s likely he’ll be pumped full of injections and start. Makes no sense to have him as a sub if he’s able to play any part.[/quote]
its a risk either way…if Mayo start him and he has to go off its a huge psychological blow that could affect the team…also if philly macmahon is in the vicinity the chances of that happening increase considerably…
Anyone else think Sunday’s match is being overrated? Colm Keys called it the greatest match ever in today’s Indo.
Football is as much about defending as it is about attacking which makes a mockery of Spillane’s rant at half time about the match overcoming the cancer (or words to that effect) of the defensive mindset.
Some seriously porous defences on show last Sunday.
Also people saying Gooch in the first half gave the best display ever seen in Croke Park. He missed at least one very kickable point. Also his pass for Walsh’s goal was nothing special - he just got his head up. When you compare it to Bernard Brogan’s first half against Cork in the 2010 semis then I don’t think Gooch surpasses it.
I don’t think it was overrated. I personally rate it higher than some of the other epic games I attended such as Tyrone v Kerry in 2005 and 2008 and Wexford v Carlow in 2002.
I have judged all 3 fairly. Connolly was patchy but his decision making against Meath and Cork was a disgrace. That doesn’t change. Last Sunday he stood up when needed an delivered, yet he still nearly blew a few chances. To take the free with the left was audacious but also he was probably the only guy to kick it at that stage. I really liked that brashness. I have adjusted my view on him, but he is still capable of blowing up. We just have to accept him for what he is.
Buckley played well in 3 of 4 games in his first year. That’s not too bad really. One bad perfoances is not reflective of a player. You are very reactionary to a player having one good or bad game. There is more to come from Buckley.
O Sullivan has always been a very good player, he was poor at midfield for a good while. Made a massive step against Cork, showed great flexibility the last day and he destroyed Gooch.
I think I have been balanced and realistic about all the players.
What do you make of Donnacha Walsh being allowed to walk through unopposed for Kerry’s second goal?
Or Paul Mannion outjumping his corner back (who didn’t even challenge him) for the first Dublin goal?
Or the 3 Kerry players going for the same ball and allowed Michael Dara McAuley to burst through the lot of them in order to set up McManamon for Dublin’s second goal?
[quote=“farmerinthecity, post: 825744, member: 24”]Anyone else think Sunday’s match is being overrated? Colm Keys called it the greatest match ever in today’s Indo.
Football is as much about defending as it is about attacking which makes a mockery of Spillane’s rant at half time about the match overcoming the cancer (or words to that effect) of the defensive mindset.
Some seriously porous defences on show last Sunday.
Also people saying Gooch in the first half gave the best display ever seen in Croke Park. He missed at least one very kickable point. Also his pass for Walsh’s goal was nothing special - he just got his head up. When you compare it to Bernard Brogan’s first half against Cork in the 2010 semis then I don’t think Gooch surpasses it.[/quote]
2 great goals, for different reasons.
It’s hard to remember all games. Tyrone-Kerry was great. But on memory Sunday was the best game I can remember.
Anytime Galway an Kerry meet has been very very good as well.
[quote=“farmerinthecity, post: 825748, member: 24”]What do you make of Donnacha Walsh being allowed to walk through unopposed for Kerry’s second goal?
Or Paul Mannion outjumping his corner back (who didn’t even challenge him) for the first Dublin goal?
Or the 3 Kerry players going for the same ball and allowed Michael Dara McAuley to burst through the lot of them in order to set up McManamon for Dublin’s second goal?[/quote]
can be put down to the fact that mannion backed the ball falling short and the corner back didn,t when he realised his mistake it was too late.
for Dublins 2nd goal which you allude to MDM i thought it was very por communication form the Kerry men, 3 of them sucked into one contest for the ball, bound to be free men somewhere else.
Can;t recall Walsh’s goal at present.
[quote=“caoimhaoin, post: 825749, member: 273”]2 great goals, for different reasons.
It’s hard to remember all games. Tyrone-Kerry was great. But on memory Sunday was the best game I can remember.
Anytime Galway an Kerry meet has been very very good as well.[/quote]
From memory I would have the following ahead of Sunday: 2005 All Ireland between Tyrone and Kerry, 2005 semi between Tyrone and Armagh and match between Kerry and Galway which was played under lights in Croker in the middle of the summer.