Jonny Cooper unfazed at Dublin’s ‘suspect’ defence fears
Dublin leaked two goals in their Leinster quarter-final win over Laois, the first time they’ve conceded more than one in a provincial game since Meath put five past them in 2010.
In fact, they’ve only conceded more than a goal in a Championship game three times in that period, to Kerry (2013), Donegal (2014), and Fermanagh (2015).
Dublin face Meath again on Sunday week in the Leinster semi-finals and the Royals will hope to summon the spirit of 2010 and capitalise on the absence of Rory O’Carroll and Jack McCaffrey.
Defender Cooper accepted that an improvement is necessary, conceding that Stephen Attride’s goal for Laois was a ‘carbon copy’ of the ones Dublin let in against Donegal in 2014, but rejected the assertion about their long ball difficulties.
“The full-back line was always suspect since 2013,” said Cooper, smiling. “So it’s nothing new to me, to be honest with you.
“Look, it’s the usual, ‘Dublin are small in the full-back line. They’re suspect at high balls’. It’s that sort of stuff. I’m well used to hearing it and probably other lads are at this stage too. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a threat that any opposition can have on a given day.
“That’s certainly there but people tend to, especially with Rory gone, push that point a little bit further, try to get a little bit more change off it. That’s all external, what people think. It is what it is, the challenge is there to defend a high ball on any given day but it’s no more difficult that Rory isn’t there or someone else isn’t there.”
Meath scored 20 points in Sunday’s quarter-final over Louth. Their best asset was the pace and craft of Eamon Wallace and Cillian O’Sullivan though they can mix it up and send high ball into towering duo Andy Tormey and Mickey Newman if they wish.
“They have big men up there in the full-forward line and they can mix and match with different players,” said Cooper. “I’m sure they will target us there. I’m sure they’ve looked at it, at whatever joy they can get or try to get there. I’m sure they’ll try to pursue it.”
Cooper accepted that Dublin did make defensive errors against Laois and said they were sucked out of position at times, just like the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Donegal.
“A carbon copy more or less,” he nodded. “That was the big learning point from 2014 against Donegal, defensively we were caught on the hop and that was quite sour for us all to be involved in. We looked at it quite closely and put in a structure that wouldn’t allow that to happen again so it is disappointing that it’s come up again. But it was a personal and a collective responsibility that lads deviated from what they were supposed to be doing.”
Meanwhile, former All Star goalkeeper Gary Maguire has said he isn’t taking former colleague Conal Keaney’s criticism of the Dublin hurlers to heart. Keaney, a club colleague at Ballyboden St Enda’s, appeared to hit out at Dubs boss Ger Cunningham after their heavy defeat to Kilkenny last weekend when he Tweeted that the tactics were “a shambles”.
Keaney also suggested Dublin’s best players aren’t available to them and said that change is needed though didn’t specify if this was with regard to Cunningham or with the tactics generally.
“It’s his opinion,” said Maguire. “He’s well entitled to his opinion. He’s probably done more for Dublin hurling that anyone really in the recent past. We can’t influence what people outside the squad are going to say. I don’t know, maybe he was looking for a Sunday Game spot. The new Joe Brolly! I don’t know. But I wouldn’t take it too seriously.”
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