After four long weeks of talking the talk, it is now finally
time for Donegal and Mayo to walk the walk. The All-Ireland final is finally
upon us, and both sides go into it confident of seeing their team lift the Sam
Maguire. It has been billed as a novel final and it is certainly the most
talked about final in recent years. Donegal go into the match as favourites,
however, support for Mayo has grown throughout the week, with numerous pundits
tipping them for glory.
In Dara O’Se’s preview, he predicted a Mayo win because
their forwards are not luxuries, and not solely on the pitch to kick scores. He
believes they will be prepared to track Donegal’s defenders when they drive out
of defence. This is an interesting point, but at what stage do you start
telling your forwards to stop worrying about your opponent, and start
concentrating on yourself? Mayo’s forwards ultimate job is to kick them to an
All-Ireland title. They can’t do that if they’re back in the right-half back
position.
Against Dublin, Mayo worked the ball up the flanks, and
kicked the ball into the corners. This proved successful and they will need to
do that again, because Donegal will not allow them through the middle. They were
also able to kick lots of impressive scores from distance. They will beat
Donegal if they can repeat that performance on Sunday. But will Donegal allow
Mayo the same kind of space that Dublin gave them? I doubt it. It will be a
different story when they have three or four men closing them down.
In the final twenty minutes of that game, Mayo collapsed. They
looked unfit, and Dublin almost beat them despite being ten points down at one
stage. Kevin McManamon caused Mayo a lot of problems when he ran at them, and
Donegal must get Ryan Bradley, Mark McHugh and Rory Kavanagh to do a similar
role, and run at their defence. If they do so, they will win frees and kick
points. From the 53rd minute of their semi-final victory, Mayo players
started to go down with cramp. It is usually around this time, that Donegal start
to turn the screw on their opposition.
Mayo also had a poor start against Dublin, and Cillian O’Connor
showed great nerve to land two ‘45’s and help them settle into the match. O’Connor
has received rave reviews since that game for his free-taking exploits. People are
quick to point out that Donegal only gave away one scoreable free against Cork.
But I think they will be doing really well to repeat that feat. They will have
to be extra disciplined, especially early in the match, as the referee, Maurice
Deegan, will be trying to put his stamp on the game, and may award some soft
frees. It is important that Donegal reduce the amount of opportunities O’Connor
gets, because if he gets his confidence up, he will be very hard to stop.
National pundits have talked about how Donegal might suffer
as a result of all the hype that has been built around them. I agree that some
of the build –up has been ridiculous, but people are excited about the GAA and
as far as I am concerned, that’s a good thing. Jim McGuinness can’t do anything
about the hype. He’s not out painting sheep or arguing about the homecoming. He
and James Horan will have their players totally focussed on the game, and I don’t
think the hype will have any bearing on the match whatsoever.
The battle between Karl Lacey and Alan Dillon will be
fascinating to watch. Dillon is the conductor of the Mayo attack, he’s the man
that makes them tick, and Donegal will surely target him as the man to stop.
Lacey has a good record at eliminating the threat of the opposition’s
playmaker, and he will have to be at the top of his game to that against Dillon.
I also expect both goalkeepers, David Clarke and Paul Durcan, to have a big say
on the result. They are competing against each other for an All-Star and both
have had impressive years. Neither man gives away goals easily, and both will
know that if they keep clean sheets, they will have put their team in a great
position.
Ger Cafferky has probably been the stand-out full-back this
year, but he will have his hands full against Michael Murphy. Murphy has had
the upper hand on Cafferky in previous games, and he certainly won’t fear the
Mayo man. Whether the Glenswily man is at the height of his fitness is another
question. However, Murphy really is a man that stands up when it really counts.
Against Derry in last year’s Ulster final and then for Glenswilly in the Donegal
County Final, when the big day came, he was not found wanting.
Colm McFadden against Keith Higgins will be another
intriguing battle. Higgins had a great semi-final, yet he had a tendency to roam
up the field and lose Diarmuid Connolly, his direct opponent. McFadden will not
follow Higgins if he marauds up the field, and will be looking to get in space instead,
in the hope that Donegal will turnover the ball. I’d imaging Frank McGlynn will
follow Kevin McLoughlin, and Donegal will need to curb his influence. It was no
coincidence that Mayo played poorly when he went off against Dublin, and
Donegal must stop him from getting on the ball.
I would worry about the midfield battle. Neil Gallagher was
exceptional against Cork, but that was the only game this year in which Donegal
have dominated the middle sector. On the other hand, Aidan O’Shea and Barry
Moran have been in superb form all year. They win a lot of clean possession and
they also put a lot of work in around the field. There are rumours that O’Shea
has a tweaked hamstring, so I’d imagine that Donegal will test him out at the
start of the match.
The one thing that can’t be forecasted is who will want to
win the match the most. Who will have the hunger? That’s why playing Dublin would
have been more favourable for Donegal. They won their All-Ireland last year,
and hadn’t the same drive this year. Donegal and Mayo players have never tasted
All-Ireland success and they will be determined to be climbing the Hogan Stand
steps at the end of the game. The one thing that seems certain, is that if
Donegal are to be victorious they will at least have to match Mayo in terms of
fight and desire to win.
I think the game will follow a similar pattern to the Ulster
semi-final against Tyrone. The first half will be a tight, tense affair, with
not much between the sides. I’d then expect Donegal’s superior fitness to put
them into the lead, before Mayo stage a late fight-back, with Donegal clinging
on to victory by two points. I predict scenes of jubilation, as Michael Murphy
becomes only the second man to bring Sam to the hills.
No comments:
Post a Comment