Monday, August 29, 2011
1. Allowing Dublin to get possession from every one of their kick-outs
DONEGAL’S tactic of allowing Stephen Cluxton to find one of his free team-mates with each of his 16 kick-outs was seriously flawed. It allowed Dublin to build from the back throughout and meant that Donegal always had to chase down possession.
Jim McGuinness’s men did not score in the last 30 minutes of the game while Dublin hit five points. Some of that was definitely down to tiredness and mental fatigue on Donegal’s behalf. They really lost their way in the last quarter. Conceding possession so cheaply and without even challenging the opposition lacks ambition. Donegal were saying to Dublin, ‘Come at us and we will stop you scoring’. But how were the Ulster champions also meant to get a match-winning total on the board? It took Pat Gilroy and his team a long time to adapt to the Donegal blockade but the introduction of Kevin McManamon changed the dynamics of the tie. Even when the game was going away from Donegal and they were only against a 14-man Dublin side, McGuinness still stuck to his defensive strategy and Cluxton was still allowed to pop any of his restarts to free Dublin defenders.
Donegal and McGuinness have had a good season, collecting Division Two and Ulster medals, however they need to adapt and one key thing to change is the illogical tactic of not contesting opposition kick-outs.
Fine, if you do not win the kick-out, rush back and defend, but not to even contest what can be made a 50:50 opportunity to get possession is overly negative and helped Dublin enormously to power on and win.
2. Dublin’s experience and patience was critical
THIS Dublin panel and their management team lost an All-Ireland semi-final last year to Cork by one point. In 2009, they were pounded by Kerry.
Those harsh (last year) and harrowing (2009) defeats have taught them a lot. They have improved, hardened and picked a more balanced side.
When they were staring down the barrel of another defeat yesterday after 44 minutes as Colm McFadden put his team three points to the good, they responded and altered their style admirably. Their intensity improved immeasurably and they picked up the pace of the game. McManamon’s bustling and direct style of play was crucial as he really drove at Donegal. He committed opposition players to the tackle and used his low centre of gravity, power and close ball skills to suck in three or four opposition players before releasing the ball into space. Gilroy made a great decision in bringing him on for a frustrated and ineffective Barry Cahill.
McManamon is a forward and Cahill is a defender. Where Cahill had worked hard, he never threatened Donegal but his replacement was decisive and direct from his introduction. Another big factor was Karl Lacey’s departure through injury on 42 minutes. Lacey has been the foundation stone at the heart of Donegal’s game-plan all season. His pace, football brain and link play had been superb and he was magnificent against Kildare. It is no coincidence that Dublin only scored three points all from frees in the 42 minutes that Lacey was on the field of play. And they hit five, two from play, when he was gone. Cahill’s biggest contribution in his 35 minutes on the field was the late tackle which earned him a yellow card on the double All Star. It left its mark and Lacey never looked likely to be able to continue for too long afterwards. His forced withdrawal was a massive blow to his team.
3. Donegal’s over-reliance on the hand pass
AT one stage in the second half Donegal had used 201 hand passes compared to Dublin’s 60. When your attacking forays are built almost exclusively around hand passing the tactic becomes predictable and easy to defend against. Dublin varied their attack and tried to kick where possible. Donegal rarely committed numbers forward and Colm McFadden often cut a lone figure up front, even after Diarmuid Connolly had been sent off for an act of stupidity. Yes, it was a harsh red card, but Connolly only has to look into the mirror for someone to blame. Few neutrals will be sorry to see Donegal gone and based on what they produced yesterday, neither am I. The public and the GAA have the final they want and hopefully the entertainment value will be on a different level to yesterday. That wouldn’t be hard.
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