Anthony Daly: Three key match-ups Dublin must get right if they are to upset Cork
Dublin got the match-up with TJ Reid wrong last week, Anthony Daly says, so it is crucial they put the right man on Patrick Horgan. That man, according to our columnist is Eoghan O'Donnell. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne
In 2014, I tried to bring Eoghan O’Donnell into the Dublin squad. He was doing his Leaving Certificate and, even though our first match against Wexford was before the Leaving, and I assured Eoghan he wouldn’t be considered for that match, he wanted to sign up for action straight away.
It summed up O’Donnell. He subsequently blossomed under Ger Cunningham but you could immediately see that O’Donnell had what it took to make it. He’s a brilliant full-back but he can play anywhere, which we’ve seen him do for DCU in recent years.
James Madden is a good man-marker but I felt Dublin got the match-up with TJ Reid wrong last week and I don’t see Dublin making that mistake this afternoon — I expect O’Donnell to pick up Patrick Horgan.
O’Donnell is a really good hurler but you do have to wind him up at times too, and present him with the biggest challenge out there, and Horgan certainly provides it.
Horgan showed again last Saturday that he’s still the main man for Cork but, while they need the other players around him to stand up, last weekend also proved that Cork need Hoggie to be as good as ever if they’re to progress in this championship.
And Dublin, and surely O’Donnell, need to try and stop that from happening.
Chris’s experience is reflected in how he’s now become the leader of this Dublin team.
He was unlucky not to be involved when Dublin won the 2013 Leinster title, when he was pushing hard for his place. He is the best half-back in Dublin so it’s a huge call for Mattie Kenny to push Crummy up into the half-forward line.
Excellent against Laois, it took him a long time to get into the match against Kilkenny but Chris certainly made his presence felt in the second half.
A huge puckout target for Alan Nolan, Crummy’s brilliant one-handed tennis volley goal last Saturday underlined his skill levels. His physique and power are central to Dublin’s cause and while Dublin have tinkered with rotating Crummy at centre-forward and in a two-man full-forward line, Robert Downey at centre-back will match up well to him, especially in the air.
Watching him with the Glen in the Cork championship, Downey looks like a player who is slow to grow into the match but he always finishes better than he started.
Still only 21, Downey is a hardy boyo and has all the attributes to become a big player for Cork. They’ll certainly need him to perform today because, if Crummy gets on top of his marker early, he has to ability to dominate him. So Downey will have to set down a marker early today.
Watching Dublin against Laois and against Kilkenny, and how well Conor Burke performed as the sweeper in both matches (especially the second half against Kilkenny), I’d be surprised if Dublin don’t deploy him in that role again today. And if that happens, and Cork set up with their own sweeper, Mark Coleman is tailor-made to play that role.
I saw Burke up close when he was outstanding for DCU against UL in the Freshers final three years ago.
He’s not the tallest player, which was reflected in his struggles on Walter Walsh last Saturday, but Burke is far more comfortable as a seventh defender because he uses the ball so well.
Cork could go with Coleman again at midfield, because he is so good going forward, but he could equally be as effective in that vein as a sweeper.
Cork played into Tadgh de Búrca’s hands last week by lashing long ball down on top of him but I’m sure Cork will have learned from those mistakes. And Coleman is the ideal guy to spray that ball wide and into the pockets of space that Cork couldn’t find last weekend.
