As usual, Dublin leave us with plenty to ponder
Rumours of unrest in a football camp don’t necessarily prove fatal — consider Kerry’s position at this time last year and how that story unfolded. However, leaving the rumours aside and looking at it from a manager’s perspective, it is always a concern when more than one or two alterations are made to a team in the middle of the Championship; it essentially means your team is unsettled, which usually affects performance levels in a negative way. The Dublin management altered a third of their team for this match. Strangely there was no change to the full back line which had conceded three goals and five points to the Meath full-forward line in the Leinster semi-final.
Incessant rain made for slippy underfoot conditions. Since the arrival of John Evans, Tipp have used a short passing, running game with the emphasis on fitness and hard work, but the conditions were not suited to this type of game and the amount of handling errors made by Tipperary from the start was almost twice that of Dublin. It cost them.
Dublin, as is the norm when they play in Croke Park, attacked incessantly from the throw-in and led by six points to one after 10 minutes. Tipperary were indisciplined in this period and conceded most of the frees after turnovers out the field put their backline under pressure. Nerves also played a part.
When Michael McAuley flicked the ball to the net in the 20th minute following good work by Eoghan O’Gara, it looked a straightforward task for Dublin. But they handed Tipp the advantage as Barry Grogan took his chance after a slip by Rory O’Carroll. For the last quarter of the half thanks to good work by Hugh Coughlan around midfield. Tipp secured a foothold in the game and Philip Austin, their most effective attacker, Grogan and Conor Sweeney caused problems for the Dublin back line.
At the short whistle there was only two points separating the sides and Dublin, lacking confidence in front of goal, were vulnerable. However one crucial switch made by the Dublin management at half time saw Eamon Fennell come into the side at midfield, and he was to give them a marked advantage in this area as the second half progressed, winning and breaking ball to good effect and registering a point for good measure. With better possession going into them, the Grade A players up front for Dublin — Alan and Bernard Brogan — were in a position to influence proceedings decisively. That they did, with 11 points in total between them, eight from play.
At the other end of the pitch Dublin had an extra defender in front of their full-back line and this ensured few chances for Tipperary to avail of. A feature of the game was the amount of short, uncontested kickouts both teams were allowed to complete but invariably Tipp managed to turn over these balls either in the tackle or with terrible passing.
For Dublin the areas of most concern are the full-back line which conceded a goal and four points again from play. Midfield too, which struggled to take control until Fennell’s arrival.
Their attack remains over-reliant on the Brogans even if Eoghan O’Gara was effective on this occasion with his direct style. Will this performance put the rumours to bed? I don’t think so and with two of the players dropped being brought in as subs in the second half and Paul Casey returning Lazarus-like for the last 12 minutes, the likelihood of a settled team going forward is remote.
