Second-half collapse will alarm Rebel management
After 40 minutes yesterday, Cork led by 2-11 to 0-7. They were doing well, had that 10-point lead and looked in a very good position.
However, once Michael Darragh Macauley scored a very fortuitous goal — coming straight into his arms off the upright from a Philly McMahon shot — Cork seemed to lose their way.
Brian Cuthbert’s side only scored two more points, and conceded, including Macauley’s goal, 2-13.
That is a big enough score to lose most games, never mind leaking it in half an hour.
There are two ways to look at Dublin’s resurgence.
One, they had the firepower in the likes of sub Bernard Brogan, to come in and inflict serious damage. He hit five points in his first appearance since last year’s All-Ireland final and added a lot of composure to Jim Gavin’s attack.
Or alternatively, you can take the view that Cork completely lost their way.
And that is a view that has a lot of credence.
They conceded 2-13 to two points in the final 30 minutes of play and looked a bedraggled outfit by the final whistle.
How did things turn so sour, so fast for Cuthbert’s side?
Firstly, Brian Hurley had been magnificent in the first half and had run Rory O’Carroll ragged, however due to a middle third collapse, he got no service on the restart.
Secondly, Dublin won all the breakdowns around midfield for the entirety of the last 25 minutes and constantly ran at a swamped Cork defence.
Once the Dubs got the whiff of a collapse and a bit of corrosion in the Cork rearguard, they went at them time and again, pouring through the middle constantly.
Cuthbert did bring on John O’Rourke, Aiden Walsh and a few others to try and stem the tide, but it was to no avail.
This defeat asks some serious questions of Cork before the championship and it will be interesting to see if Paddy Kelly will be the man for centre-back come the summer.
Likewise, who is the best player to partner Aidan Walsh at midfield? Or is there anything they can do to strengthen their full-back line? Can they survive up front with what seemed a massive over-dependence on Brian Hurley?
The scorelines in both games yesterday at Croke Park were remarkable for Gaelic football.
2-20 and 2-13 with Dublin and Cork. And Derry hit 2-15, to Mayo’s 1-16.
Breaking a 20-point tally is no mean feat and yesterday was just another confirmation of how the new rules have set up the games for big scores.
The fact that body checking and deliberate pull-backs are gone from Gaelic football is a good thing, and it definitely suits teams with fast mobile players and big panels which have quality subs to come in when starting players have given their all for three-quarters of a high intensity encounter.
What team in football does that remind you of? Who are best suited to maximise on the new rule changes? Dublin is the answer.
They have scintillating pace from their full-back line up to number 15 and beyond. Philly McMahon, Jonny Cooper, James McCarthy, Macauley, Paul Flynn, Diarmuid Connolly, Andrews, McManamon, O’Gara and the two Brogans. And they were without Cian O’ Sullivan, Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey yesterday too.
When they started to run at Cork from deep, and especially from the half-back line, the Rebels had no response.
And they won’t be the only team to suffer that fate in the coming months either.
Even at half-time, you knew if Dublin got on a roll and got a goal, they could revive themselves.
They have serious firepower all through their team and when they go on all-out attack they are a sight to behold.
After winning two All-Irelands in three years, they don’t fear anyone. Nor should they.
Their 3-18 to 3-11 victory over Kerry in last year’s roller-coaster All-Ireland semi-final has really what cemented that self belief.
Once they shook off their lethargy yesterday and tore into Cork, there was only one team in the contest.
And with 10 minutes left yesterday, it was impossible to see anyway back for Cork.
The only team that seems capable of beating Dublin this year appears to be themselves.
