Colm O’Rourke: Everything rests on the fitness of Dublin’s big two
By Sylvia A. Huff 2 years agoThe outcome of today’s All-Ireland semi-final may depend more on who doesn’t play as much as who does. Dublin may be short two of their greatest heroes in Con O’Callaghan and James McCarthy. If so, the balance tilts very much towards Kerry, who are the team under most pressure to deliver. The golden boys of minor have no senior medals. Patience is wearing thin in the Kingdom as the Dubs have had to take a section of Fort Knox to house their All-Ireland medals of the last decade.
’Callaghan brings the goal threat for Dublin. In the Leinster final they scored five, against Cork without Con they never looked like getting one. Maybe Dublin were playing it safe and knew they would beat Cork without McCarthy and O’Callaghan and they will be released battle-ready today. If so, then Kerry beware.
We will not know for sure until close to 3.30. Or not. Even the pre-match interviews will reveal nothing. Managers often talk about players undergoing a last-minute fitness test, but anyone who believes that is still getting presents from Santa.
So my prediction is that Kerry will probably beat a Dublin team short of these two heroes. If one is available the gap narrows, if the two are fit then it is the Dubs for me.
Playing and being fit are two different things. Both players missed most of the early part of the year and while it is hard to make a judgement of actual physical fitness, this is not a time to be missing the intense
in-house games which is the difference between fit and match fit. One thing for sure is that McCarthy will be purring along like an electric car, but it is the first touch, the quick pass and split-second timing which can be lost if he is not up to match speed.
Close
Kerry’s David Clifford. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Kerry have had their injury issues too, but all seem fit and well now that the greatest show on earth nears. Will there be any bigger or more atmospheric game in the civilised world this weekend? Dublin v Kerry on a hot Sunday afternoon has made and broken many reputations over the last 47 years that I have been watching, and this will be no different.
This is a real test of nerve for Kerry. The massed ranks of Dublin supporters will be on the Hill and it takes players of real character to play well in this type of atmosphere. The challenge game stars shrivel and those who have a bit of inner steel will shine. The big Kerry problem is whether they have enough of the characteristics needed to win at this level. Despite all their reputations and underage success, they have failed to deliver when the fat was in the fire, last year against Tyrone, in 2020, against Cork, 2019 in both drawn and replayed finals against Dublin. It is getting to be a rather bad habit.
Kerry have an age profile that is just about perfect. They can make football look like a beautiful game, so why are the multi-decorated stars still looking for Sam? Until they deliver the doubts remain and if they can’t pull this one off then the voices will grow louder. It is not about bad luck either. There is an old Irish saying that luck never gives, it only lends. And then it takes back. So Kerry can’t argue that they have been unfortunate, except the injury to David Clifford last year was a telling blow.
The other side of that is there is an over-reliance on Clifford and if he is not making music then the rest are not dancing. That was certainly true against Mayo in the quarter-final. It was a fairly patchy performance by Kerry which in my view was probably the right way to win — as long as there is more in the tank. If this day does not bring out their best then these players will have a big question mark over them. In the past Kerry reserved their best performances for this type of game. That was then, this is now so I’m in the doubting Thomases’ brigade.
Look at this from the other side. Dublin will have no fear of Kerry. They are used to beating them. The wheel has turned full circle. From the 1970s to the noughties it was always more likely that Kerry would win, and often crush Dublin in the process. The Snapchat, Tik Tok and Instagram generation from the Kingdom have never seen those days and this adds even more pressure on Kerry today. Another defeat might make Kerry people question whether God created their county to house the greatest players. Well, that might be stretching things a bit. They will always believe that.
Dublin have all the proven greatness. Fenton, Kilkenny, Howard, Cooper, Rock. Add the two injured stars and it is a group of the most talented players ever seen. They have to manage Clifford though. Mick Fitzsimons is likely to draw the long straw. Where others would be unnerved by such a task, he will take it on with enthusiasm. He is a team player and he will have it all worked out. His thinking will be that if he keeps Clifford relatively quiet, then the chances of Dublin winning will be greatly improved. And if he does not get a kick at the ball in the process then so be it. It is all about the team, the team, the team.
Maybe Fitzsimons won’t be up to it and Clifford could run riot. If that happens then Kerry will win easily and a few old Dublin soldiers will go on long holidays. For the most part, Fitzsimons will be expected to paddle his own canoe. In the early part of the Allianz League he and all the other Dublin backs were under pressure, but this is a test which will heighten his senses.
The most important of the other Dublin defenders may be Eoin Murchan, who is a wonderful player and has the speed to give a helping hand. He is unlikely to be put directly on Clifford, at least to start. He is a bit small and Clifford is a big man. Murchan also looks too young for such a task. Those same looks are deceptive, but if he turned up at Croke Park in his confirmation suit there would be lots of even Dublin supporters who would not know him. They would likely give him a pat on the head and put €20 in his breast pocket for luck. Murchan, though, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
This, then, is the day when Kerry need the likes of Jason Foley, Diarmuid O’Connor, Paudie Clifford, Seán O’Shea, Dara Moynihan and Gavin White to move to a different level. We all know they have speed, class and are brilliant ball players. But are they winners?
At the very least, Kerry have a bench and Jack O’Connor must be wondering whether to start David Moran or bring him on later in the game with Paul Murphy, Tony Brosnan and Killian Spillane. This is going to be hot and is likely to be decided in the last ten minutes. The stronger bench looks to be on the Kerry side this time.
We always take fitness on trust in big games but today the conditions will be extreme. I always liked days like that as players lacking either fitness or thickness would wilt quicker when the thermometer climbed close to 30 with the heat being radiated around. In that sort of environment I always go for the old dog for the hard road. That is, of course, Dublin. They are not as good as four or five years ago but they are playing with renewed enthusiasm.
However, in this case, there is the each way bet. Without O’Callaghan and McCarthy all bets are off and Kerry could hardly look such a gift horse in the mouth.
PATHS TO ALL-IRELAND SFC SEMI-FINAL
DUBLIN
Dublin 1-24 Wexford 0-4 (Leinster quarter-final)
Dublin 1-27 Meath 1-14 (Leinster semi-final)
Dublin 5-17 Kildare 1-15 (Leinster final)
Dublin 0-21 Cork 0-10 (All-Ireland quarter-final)
LEADING SCORERS
Dean Rock 1-26 (0-17 frees, 1-0 pen, 0-2 mark, 0-2 ‘45’)
Con O’Callaghan 2-13 (0-1 mark)
Cormac Costello 2-7
Ciarán Kilkenny 1-9
Brian Fenton 0-10
KERRY
Kerry 0-23 Cork 0-11 (Munster semi-final)
Kerry 1-28 Limerick 0-8 (Munster final)
Kerry 1-18 Mayo 0-13 (All-Ireland quarter-final)
LEADING SCORERS
Seán O’Shea 0-19 (0-9 frees, 0-2 ‘45s’)
Paul Geaney 0-10 (0-2 mark)
David Clifford 1-7 (0-4 frees, 0-1 mark)
Killian Spillane 1-4
Tom O’Sullivan 0-6
LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
2019: Dublin 1-18 Kerry 0-15 (All-Ireland final) Replay
2019: Dublin 1-16 Kerry 1-16 (All-Ireland final) Draw
2016: Dublin 0-22 Kerry 2-14 (All-Ireland semi-final)
2015: Dublin 0-12 Kerry 0-9 (All-Ireland final)
2013: Dublin 3-18 Kerry 3-11 (All-Ireland semi-final)
This is the 32nd championship meeting between the counties since they first met in 1892. Kerry have won 17 times to Dublin’s 11 while there were three draws. They have met in 11 semi-finals previously with Kerry winning six to Dublin’s four while one was drawn (1941). Kerry’s last semi-final win was in 2007.