Dublin tactics made life difficult for Tipp forwards
But the way they kept their shape ensured Tipperary’s space in attack was limited and it allowed them make a game of it — a trick worthy of kudos.
Dublin captain John McCaffrey took up a spot in front of centre-back Joey Boland, while Liam Rushe and Conor McCormack marked Shane McGrath and Gearoid Ryan respectively.
It came with a price though. Tipp keeper Brendan Cummins was allowed hit six short puckouts, two leading to points from their midfielders but the Dubs refused to panic or alter their shape. They kept putting bodies in front of their goal to crowd the area in front of keeper Gary Maguire and limit Tipp’s chances of scoring goals.
By man marking the Tipperary forwards the game never followed the pattern of the Munster final because Dublin’s intensity around midfield and half-forward pressurised their opponents.
In addition, Gary Maguire made a crucial save from Seamus Callanan just before half time and it meant the Dubs went in at break with a spring in their step.
In fact, Tipperary facilitated this tactic by hitting a lot of ball down the middle and there was little ball into the corners or to their wing forwards and it led to Noel McGrath being a peripheral figure in the first half, as were John O’Brien and Patrick Maher to a lesser degree.
TIPP weren’t as fluid up front as they’d been in the Munster final because they didn’t move as much as they did in that game.
But the crucial score of the day came very early, courtesy of Lar Corbett.
His marker Peter Kelly is a wing-back by nature and though he had a storming second half he made a crucial error of judgment to allow Corbett inside him to score a goal easily.
The problem for Dublin was that they relied on Paul Ryan for scores from frees and although their forwards scored from play, they never looked like getting a goal.
Tipp were also able to answer every Dublin score with one of their own.
Also, Dublin were unable to pick out their forwards with good ball from midfield, resorting to long, high ball and Tipp’s extra defender was able to sweep up any breaks.
Noel McGrath played in more of a free role in the second half after Seamus Callanan was withdrawn and he had a major influence on proceedings.
Another plus for Tipp was the introduction of Brendan Maher at half time.
It augurs well for them that their most influential player of last year is coming into contention for the final after injury.
DUBLIN manager Anthony Daly will be pleased with the display yesterday, if not the result.
Before the game the common belief was that the performance was everything for Dublin but they were obviously out to prove they could put it up to a big team after their capitulation against Kilkenny in the Leinster final.
Their puck-out strategy, which focused on Liam Rushe on the left wing, yielded good dividends and they fought tigerishly but they lacked the capacity to engineer a goal.
Declan Ryan will also be pleased. He’s in an All-Ireland final in his first year as manager and his team had to battle hard for the victory as they limited Dublin to four points from play in the second half.
Padraic Maher was excellent in that period, combining good defensive play with two charges forward that yielded points.
In addition, Eoin Kelly hit three great 65s at crucial stages of the second half to keep Tipp in front, though they lacked width in attack and bunched a good deal.
Expectations in Tipp will be dampened down a little for the final after this less than perfect display, but that’s just as they would have wanted it.
