Lyons tries to ignore hype ahead of game

WHATEVER the public expectations in the capital, Tommy Lyons and his charges are trying to avoid being smothered in the hype by concentrating firmly and solely on the Bank of Ireland SFC quarter-final against Donegal in Croke Park this evening, (4.15pm).

But is such expectation romping through both city and county fully deserved.

The merit of the twin victories over Meath and Kildare has been questioned in some quarters as a result of what happened in subsequent outings After snatching a dramatic (and controversial) win over Louth in the qualifier competition, Meath weren’t able for Donegal. Likewise, Kildare didn’t make a great impression against Kerry. The failure of Meath to advance was surprising, given the improvement in their play against Louth. In Kildare’s case, it’s possible that a two weeks break wasn’t enough. Writing in this paper last Saturday, Mick O’Dwyer said they could have done with an extra week.

It took Lyons and his co-selectors Paul Caffrey, Dave Billings and Paddy Canning, time and patience to put together the best starting fifteen available and pick them in the positions in which they could be most advantageous to the team. For instance, when Dublin played Donegal in the opening round of the League at Parnell Park - and won by a two-point margin, 2-10 to 0-14, Ciaran Whelan was at centre-forward, where he had several outings before being restored to his best position at midfield. Several other players who have since settled into the team were not involved that day, but, significantly both Alan Brogan (one of the goal-scorers) and Ray Cosgrove were included in the full-forward line.

Last year, Donegal didn’t make much of an impact, going out to Fermanagh in the first round after a fiercely contested replay in Enniskillen before reversing that result in the qualifier. In their next outing, they lost to a late Ken Doyle point in Newbridge in what was Kildare’s best display of the year. A reasonably good League campaign, which saw them finish third in their group, gave promise of a better run in the championship which saw them qualify for their first provincial decider in four years.

There, they lost by four points to a more experienced Armagh side. However, the concession of a goal after just two minutes undermined their challenge and they never managed to bridge the gap.

However, it was a different story against Meath a fortnight ago. Donegal played with huge confidence, and the boost of a late first half goal set them up for a merited two points victory. With their defence giving little away, John Gildea prominent at midfield and Adrian Sweeney excelling in attack, they had not merely the ability but the temperament to hold out to the final whistle.

Dublin have to cope with more outside pressures than any other county, because of the concentration of media outlets in the city. How the players will respond to the pressure is impossible to say, argues Paul Caffrey, who was coach to Na Fianna when they contested the All-Ireland club final two years ago. “If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be involved in football. I’d be involved in stocks and shares,’’ he jokes. “When you are in the goldfish bowl you have to get used to it up here, with so many of the media based here, plus the radio stations. And they are as bad as the print media in terms of highlighting the profile of the team.

“Our line is we have won the Leinster championship and we are absolutely thrilled with that. We’re in ‘bonus country’ now. Really, we are in a new competition now.’’

In real terms, it’s all about team performances - about getting the most out of your players on the day. If that happens you are in with a good chance on the day. If you under-perform you are going to be out of the competition - it’s that simple!’’

In their opening round against Wexford in Dr. Cullen Park, Dublin were anything but impressive and could very well have been knocked out.

But, they achieved a considerable improvement in the Leinster semi-final against Meath, in front of the record attendance of 78,003.

The winning margin at the end was an impressive seven points, but it was notable that the game turned on the second of their goals, from Cosgrove, after he dispossessed goalkeeper Cormac Sullivan. Up to then, Meath were promising a late recovery, having struggled for a long time without the injured Ollie Murphy.

Again, another two-goal strike from Brosnan and Cosgrove proved decisive against Kildare, who paid the penalty for inconsistency - but still came agonisingly close to levelling the game with a late goal. While agreeing that goal-scoring is vital nowadays, Caffrey feels that a lot of goals ‘tend to have a bit of luck attached to them. “Some days they run for you and other days they don’t. There are very few goals scored like the one (Eoin) Brosnan scored for Kerry against Kildare - which was pure genius in terms of a fellow getting the ball, soloing 40 yards and sticking it in the back of the net.

“Shrewd judges of football will have noticed that while we beat a Meath team and while we felt we did very well on the day, they didn’t go much further in the competition. It was the same with Kildare, a team we struggled to beat on the day. They gave a very slack performance against Kerry and were beaten.

“We’re very unproven in the overall picture of things and very much untried at this level of competition. We’re not talking about winning an All-Ireland for Dublin. There’s a lot of bull going on around Dublin about this team. Our only focus is, can we get to a semi-final. If we can it would be great.

“I think it’s going to be an intriguing battle. I have great respect for Donegal football and Mickey Moran is one of the best coaches in the game. They also have John Morrisson whom I would know fairly well. He is a great coach as well. I think they are going to be highly motivated coming to Croke Park, with the bit of confidence behind them after beating Meath. I can see very little between the teams.’’