Single-minded Dubs have weapons to win dogfight

THREE days after 1992 Dublin captain Tommy Carr said the players were right to go to Donegal’s semi-final before they had even qualified for the decider, it was interesting to hear what his former team-mate and current manager Pat Gilroy said about last weekend’s game between Kerry and Mayo.

“None of us went to the other semi-final because it’s none of our business until after Sunday. Unless we win,” he insisted.

Whether it was coincidence or not, it was certainly interesting for Gilroy to reveal such a detail at a time when the talk of a Kerry-Dublin final is rampant.

Coming back to Liam Horan’s point in these pages last weekend about hype being a vicious circle, it will have been impossible for him to cocoon his players from such speculation.

But he’ll have done his damnedest. Last month, Dublin trained the evening of Tyrone’s qualifier win over Roscommon and Donegal’s victory over Kildare. It gave some insight into how Gilroy attempts to keep his players focused on themselves solely.

This is an incredibly professional Dublin outfit, one burned by too much semi-final heartache and instilled with so much of a single-mindedness to let expectations get to them. But sure as day follows night, should they lose to Donegal tomorrow — and they can — hype will be cited as the primary reason and next to no credit will be given to the victors themselves.

It’s because of Donegal that this game is shaping up to be a dog-fight. Dublin will lead on occasions but likely never enough to be comfortable given how Jim McGuinness’ side reeled in Tyrone and Donegal the last couple of games.

It’s extremely difficult not to sound patronising about Donegal when they have achieved so much already this year.

And yet they have exceeded all expectations. Promotion to Division 1 and an Ulster final berth would have made for an excellent year.

A first Ulster title in 19 years has transformed 2011 into an exceptional year and yet McGuinness is probably more deserving of admiration for keeping his players wanting more than just provincial honours than capturing the Anglo-Celt Cup itself.

Their sense of unity has hardly been seen in Donegal and yet it will fall on the shoulders of a couple of players, Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden, to score enough to win.

As was seen in the first-half against Kildare when Michael Murphy was on the bench for the most part, the Donegal defence, led by the cast-iron spine of Neil McGee and Karl Lacey, will do enough to keep their team in a game but without scores they are hamstrung.

The statistics bear that out. In their five SFC games excluding extra-time against Kildare, Donegal have put up an aggregate total of 69 points compared to Dublin’s 74 with one game less.

They boast a better goal rate than Dublin but on just one occasion in this championship have Donegal scored more than 15 points. However, that might be balanced out by the fact they’ve conceded one goal and a late one too when they had put up their biggest tally of the summer against Cavan. But what’s forgotten in the avalanche of plaudits for Donegal’s enforcement is just how good this Dublin defence is. It was a risk on Gilroy’s part pushing Ger Brennan back between the two lines the last day but it worked well. Rory O’Carroll is but one of four defenders on song while the vigour of Paul Flynn has given such an assurance to the Dublin centre. Diarmuid Connolly won’t score seven points again tomorrow but he’s given McGuinness something to think about when Mickey Harte was concentrating too much on what damage Bernard and Alan Brogan could do.

At this stage of the championship, stopping teams scoring isn’t sufficient enough to win. Donegal can do that. Kildare and Tyrone will testify. But those same two teams will say Dublin’s victories were more resounding.

The Leinster champions to prevail by two, but their bodies will know all about it.

- Verdict: Dublin

Picture: FOCUSED: Pat Gilroy has gone to great lengths to ensure his players avoid distraction. Picture: Sportsfile