All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final: Tyrone 0-11 Dublin 2-17
PRE-SEASON training in Garvaghey has never been more unappealing. Given Dublin’s scandalous levels of excellence, and for as long as Jim Gavin wants to preside over his native county, it’s conceivable that every other elite football county is competing for second place over the next five years. Maybe longer.
Nobody can live with this
Dublin team, the youngest of the four semi-finalists.
Yesterday they were well and truly unstoppable.
In all likelihood, Mayo’s All-Ireland pain – and seemingly the pain shared by the rest of the country – is set to continue beyond the third Sunday of September.
Yesterday, the Tyrone players were like evangelists losing their religion in the full glare of 82,000 spectators.
Tyrone’s trusted belief system crumbled under the weight of Dublin’s jaw-dropping brilliance.
If Dublin are staring into a beautiful sun, their nearest competitors are staring into the abyss.
Provincial glory might be as good as it gets for the rest of the country because the Sam Maguire Cup isn’t leaving the capital any year soon.
For the first 25 minutes, Dublin played perfect football. Individually, collectively, tactically, they put on a master-class.
Mickey Harte’s teams rarely get spooked by anybody.
In fact, they pride themselves on always possessing the capacity to spook Gaelic football’s aristocracy most years.
But, after falling 1-8 to 0-4 behind after 24 minutes of yesterday’s All-Ireland semi-final, the Tyrone players looked like a team that had been mentally and physically tasered.
Things that they normally do instinctively on a football field became desperate psychological puzzles to them.
There was a period towards the end of the first half where they were turned over several times as they entered Dublin territory.
Twice the ball was stolen from Padraig Hampsey. Likewise Cathal McCarron.
These various plays showed the Dublin forwards are not only class players, they appreciate the value of tracking back.
Tyrone’s lauded defensive system, regarded as one of the meanest and efficient ever configured, was pulled apart by Dublin’s athleticism and cuteness.
While the dominant tactical discourse of the day is the ability of teams to switch from defence to attack as quickly as possible, Dublin don’t singularly rely on any particular method to break down the opposition.
They can beat you any way they wish.
Their counter-attack is razor-sharp and it injured the Ulster champions on numerous occasions yesterday – but the Dubs are equally adept at moving the ball from side to side, often using the full width of the pitch, before darting into a small pocket of space to punish the opposition.
They sauntered up to Tyrone’s defensive screen unopposed before winning countless individual foot races with their opposite numbers and then the openings inevitably came.
In those opening 25 minutes of utopian football, Dublin didn’t seem to miss.
If there can be game-changing moments in painfully one-sided All-Ireland semi-finals, it came far too early for Tyrone’s liking.
After just five minutes of play, Niall Sludden (inset, right), who had made an excellent start for Tyrone, gave away cheap possession in the middle of the field. Ciaran Kilkenny intercepted, Philly McMahon collected and found Con O’Callaghan with a perfectly weighted kick-pass.
Bearing down on goal, the Cuala stylist wrong-footed Tyrone full-back Ronan McNamee and blasted the ball into the roof of net.
Sludden recovered his composure well to emerge as one of Tyrone’s better players on the day, alongside Colm Cavanagh and Peter Harte, but the Dromore man will have nightmares about his intercepted fist pass, even though Dublin never looked like losing this semi-final.
They were never going to lose because never before has a team boasted so many complete footballers.
Jack McCaffrey broke Tyrone’s defensive lines every time he drifted forward from his wing-back position to gave an exhibition of front-foot defending.
O’Callaghan, who must surely scoop the Young Player of the Year award, was sensational at centre-forward, bagging 1-2 in the first half.
Paul Mannion out-stripped Cathal McCarron whenever the mood took him and Paddy Andrews’s fantastic movement yielded
back-to-back points in the eighth and ninth minutes.
Monaghan’s defensive set-up was ravaged after they fell to Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
The Monaghan players, quite literally, couldn’t get a hand on a sky blue jersey at times.
It was the same for Tyrone yesterday.
But the Dubs don’t rely on champagne football to overturn teams.
They can indulge in the dark arts too, illustrated by John Small’s at-times barely legal man-marking job on Peter Harte in the opening half.
The Errigal Ciaran man sent over a smashing 45-metre free to put up token resistance and won a foot race with Cian O’Sullivan – one of the few races Tyrone won – to grab an injury-time point to reduce Dublin’s lead to 1-9 to 0-5.
The half-time score-line flattered the Ulstermen.
Harte (0-2, 0-1 free) and Sludden tagged on early second half scores but Tyrone never looked capable of reducing Dublin’s lead to a reachable margin.
In fact, the Dubs should have registered two more goals in quick succession but spurned both opportunities.
In the 49th minute, substitute Kevin McManamon dodged past Rory Brennan beneath the Hogan Stand before unleashing a left-footed drive but the ball came flying off Tyrone’s crossbar.
Three minutes later, McCaffrey fluffed his lines after an unbelievably slick move involving Brian Fenton and O’Callaghan.
Every point that Tyrone mustered in the second half was a mere consolation as the scoreline did its best to disguise the gulf in class between the two sides.
A second major seemed inevitable for the Dubs and it came courtesy of substitute Eoghan O’Gara in the 68th minute.
Incisive play between Eric Lowndes and Darren Daly cut the Tyrone defence to ribbons and allowed O’Gara to palm the ball into the empty net.
Paul Flynn made an invaluable contribution from the Dublin bench by hitting three points and was denied a goal by Tyrone’s under-siege ‘keeper Niall Morgan in the dying embers.
Colm Cavanagh, thrown onto the edge of the square in the latter stages, won a penalty for the Ulstermen but Stephen Cluxton saved to deny Peter Harte.
Tyrone – and the rest of the country – were left in no doubt of Dublin’s greatness yesterday afternoon.
And you know your team is in rude health when Jim Gavin doesn’t have to summon Bernard Brogan from the Dublin bench and can afford to hold Diarmuid Connolly – returning after a three-month suspension – in reserve until stoppage-time.
As everyone left the stadium in awe of Dublin, the day also signalled the end of Sean Cavanagh’s glorious career in a Tyrone jersey. It’s a pity you don’t get to choose your own ending in this most ruthless of games.
Dublin: S Cluxton; P McMahon, C O’Sullivan, M Fitzsimons; J Cooper, J Small, J McCaffrey (0-1); B Fenton (0-1), J McCarthy; C Kilkenny (0-1), C O’Callaghan (1-2), N Scully; P Mannion (0-1), P Andrews (0-2), D Rock (0-5, 0-4 frees)
Subs: P Flynn (0-3) for N Scully (45), K McManamon for P Andrews (45), D Daly for J Small (52), E O’Gara (1-1) for D Rock (63), E Lowndes for P Mannion (66), D Connolly for C O’Callaghan (70)
Yellow cards: J McCarthy (15) N Scully (20), J Small (23), Kevin McManamon (67)
Tyrone: N Morgan; A McCrory, R McNamee, C McCarron; T McCann (0-1), P Hampsey, P Harte (0-4, 0-3 frees); C Cavanagh (0-2), C McCann; D Mulgrew, N Sludden (0-2), K McGeary; M Bradley, S Cavanagh (0-1 free), M Donnelly
Subs: D McClure (0-1) for C McCann (29), R Brennan for K McGeary (h-t), D McCurry for D Mulgrew (42), R O’Neill for M Bradley (49), C Meyler for S Cavanagh (55), P McNulty for R McNamee (60)
Yellow cards: C Cavanagh (35)
Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)
Attendance: 82,000
TYRONE PLAYER RATINGS
Niall Morgan: Made a super block to deny Paul Flynn in the closing stages. Dublin’s full court press made his restarts difficult but he still performed them with very good accuracy. 6.5
Aidan McCrory: Shadowed Dean Rock when this game was a contest and did reasonably well on the Dublin free-taker before later moving onto Paul Mannion. But the game was over by that stage. 5.5
Ronan McNamee: Couldn’t live with Con O’Callaghan’s pace and power that saw Dublin grab an early goal. Shipped a few heavy hits and had trouble handling the clever movement of Paddy Andrews. 5
Cathal McCarron: Simply couldn’t hold the speedy Paul Mannion and it was the same when Kevin McManamon entered the fray. Indecisive when he broke forward and was turned over a few times. 5
Tiernan McCann: Slung over a brilliant score from distance to show some resistance and tried to break Dublin’s defensive lines. But the Dubs were coming at the Red Hand defence from all angles. 6
Padraig Hampsey: Established himself as a defensive regular after a super Ulster Championship but coughed up possession when he entered enemy lines. Didn’t hide in the second half. 5
Peter Harte: John Small’s style of marking wasn’t always legal but the Errigal Ciaran man showed strong character to impose himself before half-time. Missed a late penalty but one of Tyrone’s better performers on the day. 6.5
Colm Cavanagh: Lucky not to see red after a dangerous lunge on Brian Fenton. Showed true grit and the requisite quality for such an occasion. Made several blocks, hit two brave points and won a late penalty. 7
Conall McCann: The Killyclogher midfielder excelled in the early throes of summer but didn’t make any headway against James McCarthy and was replaced before half-time. 5
David Mulgrew: Tyrone’s super sub got the start his play deserved but Dublin and the occasion swallowed him up. Hit one wide and couldn’t stop Dublin’s raiding wing-backs. 5
Niall Sludden: Started well before his poor pass led to Dublin’s opening goal. Rallied well and never shirked his responsibilities. Hit two second-half points when it was easy to throw the towel in. 6.5
Kieran McGeary: The U21 All-Ireland winning captain spent the entire time trying to stop Dublin’s runners on his own half-back line and had little or no effect. Replaced at the interval. 5
Mark Bradley: Isolated up front and could probably count on one hand the touches of the ball he had. Hit one wide from a tight angle. 5
Sean Cavanagh: Not the ending the big Moy man had imagined. Died with his boots on in Croke Park. Opened Tyrone’s account with a handy free but spent the day chasing sky blue jerseys. 5
Mattie Donnelly: A hugely disappointing day for one of Tyrone’s best performers this summer. Saw very little possession and hit a wide in either half. 5
Substitutes
Declan McClure: Replaced Conall McCann but faced the same insurmountable problems. Scored a point and dropped another effort short. 5
Rory Brennan: Brought a bit more pace to the Tyrone defence and had spells on McManamon and Mannion. 5
Darren McCurry: Frustrating day for the Edendork attacker. Had a couple of sights of Dublin’s posts but didn’t find the target. 5
Ronan O’Neill: Ended up dropping very deep at one point but the game was up long before his 49th minute arrival. 5
Conor Meyler: Didn’t have a lot of time to make an impression. 5
Padraig McNulty: Turned over once but showed a bit of spirit. 5
DUBLIN PLAYER RATINGS
Stephen Cluxton: Kick-outs excellent as always, did well under the one high ball he has to contend with all day. Saved added time penalty from Peter Harte. 7
Philly McMahon: Conceded late penalty for climbing all over Colm Cavanagh, but went unpunished. Picked up Donnelly early then Sean Cavanagh when he went inside. 7
Cian O’Sullivan: Provided a screen in front of a barely tested full-back line. Played the game at his leisure. 7.5
Michael Fitzsimons: Picked up Mark Bradley and held him scoreless, although Tyrone struggled to get the Killyclogher man on the ball. Picked up a yellow in added time. 7.5
Jonny Cooper: Given Tyrone’s reluctance to commit to the attack, had an easy enough afternoon sweeping alongside O’Sullivan. 7.5
John Small: Got in Peter Harte’s face and limited the influence of the man who helped sink Armagh last time out. 7.5
Jack McCaffrey: A thorn in Tyrone’s side all day, his ability to burst past his man – several were tried, several failed – helped unlock the Red Hand defence time and again. Wriggled between Niall Sludden and Colm Cavanagh to score a point and the only blot on his copybook was missed late goal chance, blazed wide when in front of Niall Morgan’s goal. 8.5
Brian Fenton: Never wastes the ball in possession and, like so many of this Dublin team, able to burst forward at pace from a standing start. Scored a first half point. Class act. 7.5
James McCarthy: Clever running provided an option for Cluxton’s kick-outs throughout the first half, and dragged Sean Cavanagh all around the place early on. Went on Declan McClure after half-time. 7.5
Ciaran Kilkenny: Dublin’s metronome, the Castleknock man was at his unspectacular best, always an option for team-mates, helping the Dubs control the tempo. 7.5
Con O’Callaghan: His pace caused Tyrone problems all day, but particularly in the first period when Dublin killed the game. Left Ronan McNamee for dead for crucial fifth minute goal. 7.5
Niall Scully: A late replacement for Eric Lowndes, got through plenty of work and pushed up hard on Morgan’s kick-outs. 7
Paul Mannion: Cathal McCarron will have nightmares about Mannion after the Kilmacud ace had him eating dust several times. Only scored one point from play but his pacy bursts were crucial. 8
Paddy Andrews: Good movement saw him sling over two excellent points in the first half before being withdrawn after the break. 7.5
Dean Rock: Dead-eyed from frees and linked play well as always. 7.5
Substitutes
Paul Flynn: Came on for the final 15 minutes and scored three points in an impressive cameo. Also saw a goal chance saved by Morgan in added time. 7.5
Kevin McManamon: Brought an injection and unlucky not to score a super goal when the ball came off the bar in the 49th minute. 7
Darren Daly: Another body at the back as Dublin saw out game. 7
Eoghan O’Gara: Only on the field for 10 minutes but scored 1-1 as the game stretched out, palming to the net to put the final nail in Tyrone’s coffin. 7.5
Eric Lowndes: Not on long enough to be rated
Diarmuid Connolly: Loudest roar of the day greeted his arrival in added time. Not on long enough to be rated
