Dublin favourites to complete the job

UNDER-21 FOOTBALL ALL-IRELAND FINAL Roscommon v Dublin:RARELY HAS an All-Ireland under-21 football final been as deftly stage-managed as this – all pre-game publicity neutered beyond relevance, as if masterminded by the best public relations strategist money can buy.

In one corner the Dublin manager, Jim Gavin: “We have the utmost respect for Roscommon,” he says. “They have a lot of experience from successful minor teams of recent years, all-in-all a very competent team. Our players are well aware of how difficult Sunday’s game will be.”

In the other corner Nigel Dineen, the Roscommon manager: “I think Dublin have been favourites for this title from a way out,” he says. “They are a very, very good side, and when the pressure has come on them in certain games they’ve responded very well, overcoming most teams with ease.”

Most grades of underage football are handled with care anyway, and can be notoriously unpredictable – a case of teams not so much being as good as their last game, but rather nowhere near as good.

Players often rise well above or dip well below expectations, making for unyielding or indeed lopsided contests.

Still it’s impossible to avoid or in any way disguise Dublin’s status as pre-match favourites – despite the best efforts of Gavin at a press conference in Croke Park during the week. There’s no denying the reality that this is an exceptional Dublin under-21 team, as reliable, capable, stable and ultimately skilled as perhaps any under-21 team of recent years.

Little wonder actually Gavin found himself almost pleading his case: after a series of impressive victories over Wexford, Laois, Westmeath and Louth in Leinster, topped off with a 3-11 to 0-14 win over Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final, Dublin go into tomorrow’s showdown as red-hot favourites – 1/4 according to the bookies – further enforced by the fact they last won the title just two years ago, when Gavin was also in charge.

Roscommon, in stark contrast, are making their first All-Ireland under-21 final appearance in 30 years. They last won the title in 1978. That’s only part of the challenge: Dublin have scored an amazing 11-75 in their five games so far. That’s a 58-point collective margin of victory, while Roscommon are more notable for the lower scoring tallies, beating Cavan 2-7 to 2-2 in their semi-final.

However, Gavin did hint at two relevant factors here: Dublin did appear vulnerable in the early stages of their semi-final against Cork, going four points down after 10 minutes; and still fresh in the minds of five of his key players is last year’s All-Ireland minor defeat to Tipperary, when being red-hot favourites possibly crippled Dublin in the end.

Those five players – Ciarán Kilkenny, Emmet Ó Conghaile, Jack McCaffrey, Paul Mannion and John Small – won’t need any reminding that it’s not over until it’s over. Kilkenny has been rightly flagged as the most exciting underage Dublin footballer in many years, but for now the Leaving Cert student seems entirely focused on this game, and all talk of the AFL or even a switch back to hurling can wait.

Gavin named certain Roscommon forwards who are equally capable of inflicting scoring damage on his own team, the likes of Cathal Shine, Paddy Brogan and the prodigious talent Donie Smith who, like Kilkenny, is straight out of the minor ranks.

Consistent Roscommon have contested six of the last nine Connacht under-21 finals, also winning in 2010 when Dineen was a selector. This year’s win over Mayo suggested they don’t mind at all being the underdogs, and likewise their win over Cavan.

“We didn’t view any of that as an upset,” says Dineen. “We’ve been focused all season, had a goal from the start of the year, to make the All-Ireland final.

“When we beat Mayo in the Connacht semi-final I think that showed how much this team wanted to win, could play football, and then in the Connacht final against Sligo we were probably the favourites, and I think we handled that very well.”

Weekend Fixtures

Today

Christy Ring Cup (all 2.30pm) – Wicklow v Kerry, Arklow; Mayo v Down, MacHale Park, Castlebar; Derry v Kildare, Celtic Park.

Nicky Rackard Cup (both 2.30pm) – Louth v Armagh, Dowdallshill, Dundalk; Donegal v Roscommon, Letterkenny.

Lory Meagher Cup – Leitrim v Tyrone, Ballinamore, 2.30pm; Fermanagh v Longford, Brewster Park, 7pm.

Leinster MHC (Round Two) – Laois v Kilkenny, Portlaoise, 7pm; Westmeath v Carlow, Mullingar, 1.30pm; Dublin v Wexford, Parnell Park, 2pm; Offaly v Meath, Tullamore, 7pm.

Munster MHC (First play-off) – Cork v Kerry, Austin Stack Park, Tralee, 7pm.

Tomorrow

Christy Ring Cup – Meath v London, Páirc Tailteann, 1pm.

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Final – Dublin v Roscommon, Tullamore, 2pm.

Hurling League Division One Final – Kilkenny v Cork, Semple Stadium, 4pm.

Connacht SFC Quarter-final – New York v Sligo, Gaelic Park, New York, 8pm (Irish time)

Camogie – National League Division One Final – Cork v Wexford, Semple Stadium, 2pm. Division Two Final – Derry v Meath, Páirc Tailteann, 2.45pm.

Women’s Football League Division Four Final – Limerick v Longford, O’Connor Park, Tullamore, noon.