Johnny McGuirk says Kilkenny won’t intimidate Dublin
The Dubs have improved steadily during a campaign that has seen them enjoy successive wins over Offaly and Westmeath but a clash with the current provincial and All-Ireland holders will offer a greater barometer as to their standing.
Dublin’s two championship wins have followed a similar pattern of second-half dominance after nervy first-half displays with their victory over Westmeath in Mullingar a fortnight ago highlighting the control they exerted by the closing stages.
Leading by just two points, having played with a strong breeze, Dublin looked in trouble at half-time but the manner in which they stifled their opponents upon the restart showcased their defensive communication and also the strength of their bench.
Manager Johnny McGuirk has stressed all year that Dublin’s strength lies in the depth that they possess with both Eoghan Dunne and Carl Sammon, who started against Offaly, making positive contributions upon their introduction.
“The hardest thing for the management is trying to select the 24 that will be available to us for any particular match and that means there are ten players from our extended panel who have worked tremendously hard.
“All the lads have put in a massive effort and the group dynamic has been very encouraging,” said McGuirk.
How effectively Dublin can stick to their game-plan tomorrow will depend on Kilkenny’s ability to outmuscle their opponents, something they did to great effect in their 2-18 to 0-11 semi-final win over Laois last Sunday week. After requiring extra-time to pip Wexford in their opening fixture, the holders looked far more assured against Laois with nine separate players scoring from play in that 13 point win.
However, here has been a strong onus on Andrew Gaffney for scores in those two games with last year’s panellist accruing 2-17 and his experience from could prove pivotal against a Dublin team that boasts few survivors from the 2-19 to 2-10 provincial final defeat at the hands of the Cats 12 months ago.
What relevance the 2014 final will have on tomorrow’s encounter is hard to quantify but the abiding lesson that Dublin can learn from last year is that Kilkenny are a different and more potent animal the further the championship evolves.
After holding Kilkenny to just three points during their Round 2 clash last year, optimism was high within the camp that Dublin could frank that result in the Leinster final but Kilkenny dominated from start to finish with their nine point winning margin flattering the Dubs.
It’s highly unlikely that McGuirk would ever allow any thoughts of complacency to seep into his squad or, conversely, for Dublin to become obsessed with the tradition and 55 Leinster titles that Kilkenny will bring to the table with the Craobh Chiaráin clubman adhering to the same mantra that has served his team well to date.
“Kilkenny may be the standard-bearer in Leinster and they never seem to have a poor team out any day but we are definitely not allowing ourselves to think too much about them. We are going out there with a view to winning the game and if we do the basics right, we feel we can do ourselves justice,” he added.
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