Dublin claim Division 2 title after goal glut sees off Derry

Rory Gallagher’s charges came into this final boasting the meanest defence in the league. Their average concession per game was 0-10. Here they were ripped open time and again

SPOT THE BALL: Con O'Callaghan of Dublin watches on as his side score the first goal during the Allianz Football League Division 2 final against Derry at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Allianz Football League Division 2 final

Dublin 4-6 Derry 0-11 

An afternoon of oddities at GAA HQ.

Dublin on the undercard. Strange.

Derry’s defence being totally and utterly dismantled. Stranger again.

Rory Gallagher’s charges came into this Division 2 final boasting the meanest and most organised defence in the league. Their average concession per game was 0-10. Three green flags was all they had leaked across seven games.

Ten scores was again the total conceded in Sunday’s decider. The difference on this occasion - and it was quite the difference - was that four of those 10 scores were green flags.

And it is no exaggeration to add that Dublin could have had four green flags more.

John Small and Tom Lahiff both failed to convert the chances put on a plate for them in the opening half. Into the second half and Daire Newcombe, Sean Bugler, and Killian O’Gara were all added to the guilty bench on the single charge of goal wastefulness.

O’Gara was excused for punching to the net Dublin’s opening major two minutes after the restart.

Goal number two was a Paul Mannion penalty after Con O’Callaghan was fouled by Conor McCluskey. Con mightn’t have ended up on the Dublin scoresheet, but his was a busy assists sheet. He had a fine duel with McCluskey.

Tom Lahiff played John Small inside for goal number three on 50 minutes, with sub Lorcan O’Dell the provider of their somewhat fortuitous fourth late on.

Goal number three ended this game as a contest, the fourth was salt splashed into an open Derry wound.

We wondered at half-time if Dublin’s unfamiliarity with such an early throw-in time was a contributory factory in their first half display. For about as strange as seeing Dublin in the curtain raiser was a Dublin first half tally of 0-4.

Of course, it should have been a great deal more than that. They kicked one more wide than they raised white flags. They took neither of the two goal chances they created. John Small blazed the football over the crossbar with his opportunity on 20 minutes. Seven minutes later, Lahiff saw his low shot deflected up and over by Odhran Lynch.

The opening for Lahiff had its roots in a Conor Glass turnover down the opposite end. If a Dublin 1.45pm start was usual, equally so was Derry’s carelessness in possession.

Glass’ turnover was the latest in a string of plays where Derry were uncharacteristically loose in their use of possession. Niall Toner handpassed the ball to nobody on one turn. In the ensuing passage, Ethan Doherty kicked a percentage pass that was taken by a blue shirt.

Derry regularly had four men stationed inside the Dublin 20-metre line. But the problem was they did nothing more than that. Their movement was non-existent. For Dublin, there was no great difficulty in defending against it.

For those out the field in red, the smarter option, though it wasn’t always taken, was to take aim at the posts from distance. Conor Glass’ seventh minute point was the perfect example of such.

Glass’ superb fetch from a David O’Hanlon restart on the half hour mark ended with a Shane McGuigan point, the second of his first half three.

Derry led 0-6 to 0-4 at the break. Their afternoon went rapidly downhill from there.

Scorers for Dublin: J Small (1-1), K O’Gara (1-1 each); P Mannion (1-0 pen), L O’Dell (1-0 each); L Gannon, B Fenton, C Kilkenny, T Lahiff (0-1 each).

Scorers for Derry: S McGuigan (0-6, 0-3 frees); Paul Cassidy (0-2); P McGrogan (0-1 ‘45), N Toner (0-1 free), C Glass (0-1 each).

Dublin: D O’Hanlon; M Fitzsimons, D Byrne, D Newcombe; J Small, C Murphy, L Gannon; B Fenton, J McCarthy; C Basquel, S Bugler, T Lahiff; K O’Gara, D Rock, C O’Callaghan.

Subs: C Kilkenny for Rock (8 mins, inj); P Mannion for O’Gara, L O’Dell for Basquel (both 44); N Scully for Lahiff (54); R McGarry for Bugler (68).

Derry: O Lynch; P McGrogan, G McKinless, C McCluskey; C Doherty, Pádraig Cassidy, Paul Cassidy; C Glass, B Rogers; N Toner, E Doherty, B McCarron; S McGuigan, N Loughlin, B Heron.

Subs: B Heron for Murray (35); S Downey for Glass (38); B Heron for M Downey (56); E McEvoy for McGrogan (68); N O’Donnell for Rogers (73).

Referee: L Devenney (Mayo).