DUBLIN and Kerry players will have found it virtually impossible to think about anything other than Sunday’s All-Ireland final this week.
No other game matches the intensity that comes in the build-up to this game. Everywhere you go, people talk to you about the game; every night, going to bed, you imagine the feeling of lifting Sam Maguire come 5pm on Sunday; your mind constantly drifts to the game. The game consumes your every thought.
It’s difficult to explain how much mental pressure builds up in the weeks leading into the game. It is almost a feeling of relief when you board the bus for Croke Park on the afternoon of the game. Some players embrace the pressure, while others use up too much energy before the game and allow it to affect their performance.
The majority of the players taking the field on Sunday have been down this road before and that experience will help them cope. Jim Gavin and Éamonn Fitzmaurice will have given special attention to how their players are coping mentally in the lead up to the game. Both managers have some difficult selection decisions to make and not all of them are for positive reasons.
Jim Gavin must decide if the free-taking of Dean Rock is important enough to make up for his limited contribution from play. Rock was ineffective in both games against Mayo, while his standards from placed balls dropped off as well. The obvious replacements for Rock would be Alan Brogan or Kevin McManamon. In an ideal world, both would be better coming off the bench as Brogan is unlikely to last 70 minutes and McManamon’s hard running style is better suited to take advantage of tiring defences.
Éamonn Fitzmaurice has tinkered with the balance of his full-forward line this year. The half-forward line of Stephen O’Brien, Johnny Buckley and Donnchadh Walsh dominated against Tyrone. The introduction of Paul Geaney at half-time in that game was possibly the winning of the match, with Kerry’s forward play being much more cohesive as a result.
Kieran Donaghy provides an aerial threat, but Dublin easily nullified the danger of Aidan O’Shea against Mayo. When Kieran Donaghy plays, the Kerry forward play can become a little one dimensional. The players seem intent on kicking long ball at every opportunity and it limits the ability of James O’Donoghue, Geaney and Colm Cooper to influence the game.
Geaney should get the nod to play alongside O’Donoghue and Cooper. It will be interesting to see the role that Cooper plays. He looked like a player struggling to regain his match sharpness in the semi-final. It’s possible we will see him play in a more withdrawn role, much like he did to devastating effect against Dublin in the 2013 semi-final. There was space to be exploited in the centre of the Dublin defence against Mayo and Cooper’s football intelligence would allow him to find those areas despite his lack of form.
The fitness of Cian O’Sullivan is crucial to the outcome of the game. He is the one natural sweeper in the Dublin team. Johnny Cooper and Philly McMahon have both been tried in the role before, but they don’t have the ability to read the game the way O’Sullivan does. The concern from a Dublin perspective is that they need O’Sullivan as the covering defender in front of the full-back line and in the holding role at centre-back.
Mayo were able to find gaps in the centre of the Dublin defence and Kerry will look to exploit this area.
One of the big strengths of the Kerry team is their decision making in possession. Against Tyrone, when the opportunities of finding the inside forwards were limited, they exploited the space 35-45 metres from goal to get scores. The Dublin defence can be exploited in the same way.
The area of Kerry’s play that impressed me most against Tyrone was their defensive set-up. Tyrone really struggled to break Kerry down once they got themselves organised in defence. However, they struggle to contain runners when their defenders are left isolated to play man on man. Tyrone created several goal chances when they attacked off turnover ball and it’s unlikely Dublin will be as wasteful.
Considering their defensive strength and weakness when run at from broken play, I’m not sure if Kerry will push up on the Dublin kick-outs. Pressuring Stephen Cluxton’s kick-outs would be a risky strategy as it could leave their defence exposed.
On the flip side, Kerry have been the one team to regularly force Dublin to kick long and they will believe they can dominate in the air in midfield. They have previously done it by covering zones rather than marking man to man. It’s likely they will try to pressure Cluxton for periods of the game, but it may not be a strategy for the full 70 minutes.
I’ve doubted the desire of the Kerry players all year. Winning an All-Ireland the previous season takes the edge off everyone, no matter how much you refuse to admit it. However, Kerry have not shown any signs of their hunger waning. Like Kilkenny in hurling, winning in Croke Park in September is considered the norm and hero status is not bestowed on their players from winning once.
This is the toughest match I’ve had to call a winner from this year. I think Dublin have the better individual players in defence and up front. Kerry, though, have a more proven defensive set-up which allows the weaknesses in some players to be covered. The Kingdom also have the better midfield and would expect to dominate any aerial duals.
There have been signs that Dublin’s tactical nous has been improving and the two games against Mayo will have improved them greatly.
Pushed for a winner, I’ll go with Dublin’s better forwards to get them over the line. Maybe that’s the idealist in me who wants to see the better individuals defeat the tactically superior team.
