Eamonn Fitzmaurice: Dubs may no longer be invincible, but they're not done yet
Dublin's Peadar O'Cofaigh Byrne in possession at Celtic Park on Saturday.
Make no mistake about it, Saturday was a statement win for Derry.
Regardless of what Rory Gallagher might say publicly he would have felt from the start of the season that this game would really inform the level of progress from last year's All Ireland semi final loss to Galway.
The fact the first half last Saturday evening in Derry bore a strong resemblance to that semi-final, where Derry were very un-Derry like, and they recovered to win, underlines how far they have come.
And against opposition no less than Dublin, who were going well. The frightening thing for everyone else is that there is even more in them.
Dublin will still be very much in the conversation later in the season but they are no longer the force they were. Recently when talking about Tiger Woods, Pádraig Harrington said: “It’s a players job to create his own reality and in that matter optimism is better than realism. It’s a pundit’s job to be realistic.” Of course the Dublin players and management will continue to believe they can but the evidence is mounting to suggest the opposite. The line between optimism and realism is lengthening.
As Gallagher himself admitted afterwards they stood off Dublin in the first half. Their trademark synchronicity was missing, all over the field. I think Dublin deserve credit for this. Employing a tactic that Derry themselves use to great effect, they stretched the pitch to its full length and width. Imperatively they ensured that they had at least three bodies, and sometimes more, inside the 20 metre line when they were in possession for a set offence. Obviously these players had to be marked and it drew Derry back towards their own goals.
While they still had everyone behind the ball, Derry were too deep and it allowed more space on the fringes. Dublin are masters at exploiting this, and have been for a long time. Also, their skills and body language was noticeably sharper than it has been thus far in this league. They were willing to kick with accuracy and pace as they switched the play from side to side, as they probed. The ponderous soloing and hand passing so evident in some of the earlier matches was dispensed with.
They got a series of great scores where the likes of James McCarthy broke the line with pace and caused panic at the back for Derry. Cormac Costelloe, Lee Gannon and Con O’Callaghan - with a wonderful left hand hop and right foot kick - all profited. They were going long from kickouts, pressing Derry’s restarts, tackling in numbers, led from the front by Dean Rock, and were aggressive at the back. In short it looked like the Dublin of old.
As good as Dublin were, Derry did not help themselves in the first half in two other critical cornerstones of their game. Where normally they are clinical, they were wasteful. They kicked four very scoreable wides, including two frees and David O’Hanlon saved a fantastic one on one chance from Niall Loughlin. They missed a number of goal chances against Kildare as well the previous week so Gallagher will probably be working on this in Owenbeg Tuesday night.
A small bit of composure is all that is lacking. Still, it’s better to be creating the chances. Also there was a distinct lack of aggression on the ball from the Ulster men. One of the central features of their game is how they punch holes in the middle third of the field by taking on their men one on one at pace. This creates the overlaps that allows them to attack with intent. They are also excellent at running lines at right angles to the man in possession up front to constantly test the opposition when faced by the blanket defence. This was also absent in the first half. They fixed it at half time though.
While Gallagher has been around the block, elite managers can change a match with their substitutions or in game changes. He certainly effected change with all of his substitutions but the introduction of Gareth McKinless at half time was pivotal in turning the tide in Derry’s favour. McKinless and Brendan Rogers injected the aforementioned pace on the ball and line-breaking in the middle third so lacking in the opening half. It punched holes in the Dublin rearguard and caused problems for them. McKinless’s burst led to the Niall Toner goal. Rogers was magnificent in the second half as he wore down a previously dominant Brian Fenton and deservedly kicked the winner. The other substitutes all impacted, Oísin McWilliams and Lachlan Murray got a score each and Shea Downey was fouled for one of the late frees.
It is unlike Dublin to lose a tight game coming down the stretch. In 2017 we drew with them in a great battle in Tralee, with Paul Mannion kicking a late equaliser. That was probably close to the peak of that Dublin team and they were so good in tight spots back then. They won and indeed drew many games that most teams wouldn’t and they were exceptional when presented with that scenario. In fact they enjoyed it and it got them going. On that evening in Austin Stack Park, they brought on Cian O’Sullivan, Paul Flynn, Kevin McManamon, Eoghan O’Gara, Paul Mannion and Bernard Brogan as their subs. Not too bad!
On Saturday, they introduced Niall Scully, Colm Basquel, Seán Lowry and Brian Howard. Come championship Scully and Howard will probably start, underlining the change their squad is undergoing. As well as affecting them on match day this has to be having an impact on training.
On OTB's football podcast last week, Paddy Andrews dismissed James O’Donoghue’s point that Dublin may be undercooked when it comes to the group stage of the championship. Andrews stated that Dublin have been dealing with that situation for years and that the leaders within the group would drive it, to ensure they would be at the correct pitch. That leadership is important but the competition within the squad is diluted. Back then they were all looking over their shoulder as there were a host of replacements available to take the jersey from them if they were underperforming. Famously Bernard Brogan didn’t even make the ‘B’ team for the A v B prior to the All-Ireland in 2019. Those A v B matches were tougher than most of the games they played, ensuring that they were indeed ready for whatever a championship Sunday might bring. That is no longer the case.
Valery Lobanovskyi, the great soccer coach from Soviet times believed that at the highest level, the bonds between players are at least as important as the players themselves. This is probably a further challenge for Dessie Farrell as he integrates the new players with the multiple All-Ireland winners, and as the players themselves try to build relationships on and off the field. Dressing room dynamics and hierarchies can be strange things and it takes players with cojones to come in to that setup and stand out. Lee Gannon comes to mind.
When they have everyone back for championship they will still be extremely hard to beat, but crucially they are beatable. The invincibility that cowed opposition for the best part of a decade is gone.
