Football

You won't beat Dublin by trying to contain them says Aaron Kernan

Former Armagh defender Aaron Kernan in action against Dublin's Bernard Brogan in an era gone by. The Dubs' relentless winning machine will not be stopped by a defensive containing job, Kernan believes. Picture: Cliff Donaldson
Former Armagh defender Aaron Kernan in action against Dublin's Bernard Brogan in an era gone by. The Dubs' relentless winning machine will not be stopped by a defensive containing job, Kernan believes. Picture: Cliff Donaldson Former Armagh defender Aaron Kernan in action against Dublin's Bernard Brogan in an era gone by. The Dubs' relentless winning machine will not be stopped by a defensive containing job, Kernan believes. Picture: Cliff Donaldson

HAVING seen his fair share of National League football, Aaron Kernan remains convinced that trying to do a containing job on Dublin will only result in inevitable defeat.

The former Armagh wing-back, who has been on co-commentary duty for eir Sport throughout the league, believes that a more competitive All-Ireland series is in the offing this summer, with the emergence of Galway and the apparent attacking improvements of Ulster duo Tyrone and Monaghan appearing to have created a wider group capable of challenging.

Dublin’s average winning margin in last year’s championship prior to the All-Ireland final was just under 15 points.

They were beaten by Monaghan and twice pushed hard by Galway in their final three league games, though Kernan feels the latter’s approach will have to become more offensive if they are to mount a proper assault on reaching the first Sunday of September.

“Galway, for me, have been brilliant throughout the National League. You wouldn’t say they’ve come from nowhere but nobody really saw them doing what they did.

“You would have thought consolidate and don’t get relegated. They have a lot of big, powerful men and really good footballers.

“But if you’re going to be negative about it, they only kicked 0-14 against Dublin in the league final.

“It was a great game, great intensity and very enjoyable to watch. But 0-14 won’t win you a Connacht Championship game, let alone a bit game in the Super 8s or the final stages of the All-Ireland series.

“They have the potential to go more offensive. They have outlets in the half-forward line to get up to 19, 20 points. That’s where they need to strike that balance.

“If they do, then you’re talking about Dublin having more competitors.

“You know what you’ll get from Mayo. I think Kerry will be better come championship. Galway will pose problems, and then the likes of Monaghan and Tyrone will make it a competitive championship.

“But you can only hold Dublin back for so long. If they get a run on you, the next thing the game’s out of sight and you can’t just turn the tables and say ‘now we’ll go all out for them’.

“You need to keep chipping all the time, you need to have your outlets and constantly keeping the scoreboard ticking to outscore them.

“Because holding that team, what’s the point in keeping them to three, four, five points? You’re still inevitably going to get beat.

“I’d far rather set your stall out at the start of the year with a view to beating them by putting scores on the board. You’ll only hold them for so long and eventually the gap will come, and they’ll put you away in a five-minute spell.

“Galway were right with them and next thing, three kickouts, three scores in a row. That was it. That was all the breathing space they needed. They didn’t need to go and beat Galway by 10 points or 15 points.

“They knew they had them at arm’s length and they put the game out of sight. They can do that with everybody.

“It’s for you to see can you put them on the back foot, can you go ahead of them, can you stay ahead? That’s the challenge to everybody, not how little can you concede against them.”