FINTAN O’TOOLE: Yesterday's Division 1 final first lads and thoughts on that remarkable second-half. Which was the bigger story, the Cork comeback or the Dublin demise? And what effect is this going to have on either for the months ahead?
JOHN FOGARTY: It being Dublin, not enough credit is being given to Cork for the character they showed. Nowhere near enough credit. Dublin lost their shape and their gameplan. Their defensive wall crumbled. The fact of the matter is Cork have been where they are and have recovered.
RAY SILKE: Reasonable point and I agree with it to a degree. However the misses by Mossie Quinn and Dean Kelly were inexplicable and will surely rattle Gilroy's confidence and belief in them. It brought back echoes of the All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo in 2006.
BRENDAN O’BRIEN: That second-half undid an awful lot of good work for Dublin over the spring, plain and simple. But it was set up for Cork - the up and coming Dubs at Croker and a chance to prove to everyone that they are a better team than they were given credit for last September.
FINTAN O’TOOLE: Those second-half misses stood out, even one point for Dublin during Cork's comeback would have steadied their ship.
JOHN FOGARTY: Cork wanted to beat Dublin more than win another league title. They might have been the spring kings but there's no doubt who are still the boys of the summer.
RAY SILKE: Bad luck was a factor too against Dublin. No manager can factor in his best player having to go off with a hammer and if Bernard Brogan had not got injured this water cooler would have a tint of blue in the H2O.
JOHN FOGARTY: Dean Kelly's miss was an awful kick; he snapped at it. He wouldn't be known as a finisher but a decent prospect, regardless. I wouldn't criticise Mossy Quinn's second free but no excuses about the first. He'd be the first to admit that too.
FINTAN O’TOOLE: The importance of the Brogan's to the Dublin attack was highlighted once again. Without them in the closing stages of the second-half, Dublin collapsed up front.
BRENDAN O’BRIEN: That's the thing. Cork showed the importance of the group by winning without so many of last year's key men. Take away two of Dublin's big boys and the rest go to pot.
JOHN FOGARTY: And yet they won without Brogan during this league. As much as Cork won without some of their marquee men yesterday, let's remember who's to come into this Dublin team (or at least be seriously considered) - the two O'Carroll’s, Alan Brogan, Paul Griffin, David Henry, Eoghan O'Gara, Eamonn Fennell... and there's more.
FINTAN O’TOOLE: Both teams are likely to have notably different starting 15s if they meet further down the road.
BRENDAN O’BRIEN: I'd still back Cork.
JOHN FOGARTY: The two O'Carroll’s are major men for Dublin. Can see them both coming in and Fitzsimons possibly making way for Griffin.
RAY SILKE: Cian O'Sullivan is a good player too and would be ahead of Ger Brennan in some regards. The jury is out on Paul Brogan too. When Donncha O'Connor got going he did very well and Paul was a bit headless tearing up the field. I prefer the full-back to do his primary job first. Mick Lyons. Gary Fahy. Darren Fay etc.
JOHN FOGARTY: What about Paddy Kelly yesterday? Talk about control.
FINTAN O’TOOLE: That was the one thing that struck me in the second-half yesterday, Cork's composure on the ball. Kelly the key man in that regard.
RAY SILKE: Dublin will face the winners of Laois or Longford in a few weeks now. And they will need their top XV for that test too or they could find themselves in trouble.
BRENDAN O’BRIEN: Don’t know. I've seen Laois twice recently and they are very limited, especially up front. And Dublin would breeze by Longford on the evidence of Saturday's game.
RAY SILKE: Thought Kingston was a big in everyway addition when he was sprung.
JOHN FOGARTY: There was a lot of chatter yesterday Laois would have won had Kingston been on from the start. Wouldn't be so sure of that. The numerical advantage played into his lap.
BRENDAN O’BRIEN: The negative tactics employed by both Donegal and Laois were horrible to see. The displays of McFadden, Murphy and Kingston were the only real shafts of light for me.
RAY SILKE: Not great to see Michael Murphy dragging down a Laois attacker as he advanced. Very cynical and pretty ugly to watch.
BRENDAN O’BRIEN: Shades of Peter Canavan against Kerry.
JOHN FOGARTY: If Longford and Roscommon were the poorest quality final of the weekend, yesterday's Division 2 game was close to it in terms of how bad a spectacle it was. There was a prominent former Donegal man in the press-box raging at half-time about his county's style of football. Wonder if the end justified the means for him at the final whistle, though.
FINTAN O’TOOLE: It's been a good spring for Donegal but are they going to run out of steam by the middle of June? Or is there evidence that they can maintain their run?
JOHN FOGARTY: It's all about Ulster for Donegal this year. Their record in the province isn't as bad as Derry's but that's where McGuinness wants to start making inroads. You can see what he's doing. He has a plan and like most new managers he's building from the back in year one.
RAY SILKE: They will beat Antrim in Ballybofey and that will keep their run going. As long as they can keep Murphy & McFadden fit and flying they will be difficult to beat. They have not won Ulster since 1992 and that is some carrot.
FINTAN O’TOOLE: And yesterday a setback for Laois or had the objective already been achieved in claiming promotion? I expected a better performance from them.
JOHN FOGARTY: MJ Tierney was the prophet of his own doom when he said he wouldn't get as many frees yesterday as the last round game. Apart from one glorious point, Colm Begley was so quiet too. Meaney is an excellent footballer and has to be moved away from full-back. They've the makings of a decent side but were far too focussed on stopping Donegal rather than beating them.
RAY SILKE: You have to be pleased for Louth too on Saturday, a very good win for them. Brian Donnelly & Paddy Keenan were impressive, great impact from JP Rooney. What was the story with the lack of lighting at the end? Looked awfully dark on the TV. I expected "Do not adjust your set" to appear.
FINTAN O’TOOLE: Donnelly looks a ready-made replacement for Brian White, he converted one brilliant second-half free. The lighting issue was very strange, Paddy Keenan spoke afterwards about how he found visibility a real issue towards the end of the second-half.
JOHN FOGARTY: Thoughts on the tunnel incident?
RAY SILKE: Anytime you have boys taking a few swings at each other in the tunnel is dangerous. And could get very nasty in 30 seconds. Does not look good and a very simple solution is that the linesman or 4th official just lets one team in first - and a minute later the second one. Moving on, a rotten display by Roscommon on Saturday. Fergal O' Donnell was right to be disgusted The Connacht champions looked far from impressive.
FINTAN O’TOOLE: Can thoughts of next week's game with New York be submitted in mitigation?
JOHN FOGARTY: Think it can in the sense they're leaving for it on Thursday, the jetlag, what happened last year... all concerns
RAY SILKE: There is only one big game with the big ball this week and that is Cavan v Galway in the U21 final on Sunday. Reckon "head-office" would like to see a Cavan win. As Terry Hyland pointed out, "they deserve it”.
FINTAN O’TOOLE: That U21 game should draw a fine crowd. Massive match for both counties, a title would be a huge boost.
JOHN FOGARTY: It will, and Cavan are going crazy for it. I'd have a slight fancy for Galway based on the win over Cork and how well-rounded they are all over the field
RAY SILKE: Both counties could really do with a win. Galway were relegated and have been really poor for the past few seasons at senior level. So a victory, especially in Croker would be huge. Whereas an adult title for Cavan would also be massive. Too much hype in some ways (and we’re guilty too) about Galway's midfield youngsters. They are both only 19. Cavan will be very difficult to beat.
JOHN FOGARTY: It's some curtain raiser for the hurling. Your own thoughts on it, Fintan?
FINTAN O’TOOLE: Haven't seen Cavan play, but Gearóid McKiernan appears to be their main man. Galway's defence really impressed me against Cork, particularly Colin Forde and Tomas Fahy. Mark Hehir at centre-forward is another good prospect. Would go for Galway as well yet the U21 championship this year has consistently turned up surprising results.
JOHN FOGARTY: It has but Cork presented a tougher test than Wexford. Going on that but wouldn't be surprised by Cavan winning either. Definitely an U21 final to be excited about.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/rODQem3dyy0/post.aspx
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