The celebrations at the final whistle said it all. Big decisions were taken in the Dublin camp this year and at the end of Gaelic football’s biggest day the emotions came spilling out – joy, relief, vindication.
Dublin, back on top of the pile.
Yet, for all the pre-match talk of traditional football and open play, Sunday’s All-Ireland final was very tentative and tactical, particularly in the first half.
Nerves were evident early on, Seán O’Shea dropped an effort short and Brian Howard registered a poor wide. But, not for the first time, Stephen Cluxton oozed composure and trotted up the field to show the forwards how it should be done, kicking over the game’s opening score with a beautiful strike.
He finished the game with 0-2 to his name and with a 100 per cent retention of his kick-outs. He truly is one of the all-time greats.
On the kick-outs, Dublin went after Kerry’s restarts. When Shane Ryan stood over the ball in the third minute, Kerry had six defenders in their own half of the pitch. But Dublin still pushed eight players on in that moment, which meant the space for Ryan was further out the field. He went long where O’Shea collected brilliantly but he immediately took a mark as he was surrounded by three Dublin players. It was a sign of what was to come in terms of the pressure Dublin were going to put on the ball.
Defensive intensity was a feature of their first-half display. In the seventh minute, the Dubs had everybody back, the central plank was completely closed off and Kerry were forced to skirt around the edges. Dublin waited for a moment of vulnerability in the Kerry attack and when it arrived Paul Mannion, Eoin Murchan and Brian Howard swarmed in on Tom O’Sullivan and turned the ball over.
There was real aggression in their defensive play, and it wasn’t just turning the ball over, their transition to attack was also effective. Midway through the first half, Jack Barry slipped a ball to Gavin White but Lee Gannon pounced, bombarded the Kerry defender with a frenzy of tackles and eventually the ball popped out to Con O’Callaghan.
It’s one thing having bodies back and turning possession over, it’s another having the capacity to turn that moment into something tangible and Dublin did that brilliantly on Sunday. They broke from that turnover with serious pace – 12 seconds and 100 metres later Paul Mannion popped the ball over the bar, 0-5 to 0-3.
Dublin were good in scramble defence as well. On one of the rare occasions David Clifford got away from Michael Fitzsimons, the Kerry forward created an opportunity for a goal but within seconds three Dublin players had closed off the path. They ultimately turned the ball over and that defensive play generated the biggest cheer of the afternoon, up to that point. It had been the first real moment of danger orchestrated by Clifford but the result fell in Dublin’s favour because of brilliant teamwork.
Kerry struggled to get the same levels of defensive solidity. Dublin were clever in that they chose not to flood too many bodies inside the offensive 45, thus not filling the area with Kerry defenders either.
Mannion was able to waltz inside the 45-metre line and score a point pretty much uncontested in the ninth minute and a few moments later Brian Fenton took off on a run and wasn’t tracked by Dara Moynihan. The Dublin forwards in front of Fenton split to create space and he stroked the ball over the bar.
Despite all of this, Kerry led at the break because of Paul Geaney’s goal.
In the build-up, Fitzsimons clearly made the decision to put Clifford on his right foot, he didn’t want the Kerry captain coming back on his left. But Clifford identified the dynamic that was playing out and showed his class to pop a pass across the face of the goal. It caught the Dublin defence by surprise.
Kerry pushed three ahead early in the second half but then their Achilles heel struck again. Immediately after Geaney gave Kerry a three-point advantage, from the very next kick-out a Dublin move ended with Colm Basquel popping over a point. He was able to take three solos and not meet a Kerry tackle before getting a shot off. It was too easy.
Dublin’s goal was huge. It came from a slow Kerry build-up and at times there is nothing worse than having too much time on the ball. That’s what happened to Gavin White and it perhaps created a wee bit of indecision in his choice of pass.
Basquel, like most of his team-mates all afternoon, was constantly alive and waiting to pounce for turnovers. He seized the moment with White’s pass. Suddenly, the goal was on. The speed and intent of Paddy Small’s sprint to get himself in the right position was telling, he gave everything to make that dash. There might have been a slice of luck with the shot in terms of the deflection, but there was no luck in terms of how he found himself in that position.
Kerry’s reaction was brilliant, to be fair, and they went three points up again, but the impact of the introduction of Jack McCaffrey was seismic. With his incisions, speed, directness, quality and experience, he’s almost the perfect sub to influence a game coming down the straight. He was superb.
At 1-11 apiece, Kerry had two huge opportunities, but Tom O’Sullivan and Clifford both missed.
Then, with the All-Ireland final in the balance, Fenton was permitted to breeze straight through the Kerry defence, 1-12 to 1-11. Kerry should have made it harder and tougher in that moment for Fenton to get a shot off but, not for the first time all afternoon, they did not.
The triumph puts James McCarthy, Fitzsimons and Cluxton out on their own in terms of All-Ireland SFC wins and it’s nothing more than they deserve. Perhaps the biggest compliment you can give the trio is to say none of them are hanging on, they were all instrumental in this success.
Cluxton, two points and a 100 per cent retention on kick-outs. Instrumental.
The unbelievable job Fitzsimons did on Clifford. Instrumental.
And McCarthy, the best player in the country this season. Instrumental.
Dublin have been fortunate to have these players come along at the same time, not just in terms of the quality they bring but also the leadership they have shown over the years.
I have spoken previously about Dublin circling the wagons for 2023 and what it might all mean. We got our answer in those celebrations. Big decisions were made this year and on Sunday evening at Croke Park the Dublin players and management realised their dreams had worked out exactly as planned.
