Dublin hoping minors can relieve deepening gloom

A ROOT and branch dissection of why the Dublin seniors were so easily dismissed by Kerry on the Bank Holiday Monday is coming, but focus within the capital switches to the minors with the Leinster champions facing Down on Saturday in Breffni Park.

Their All-Ireland quarter-final was rescheduled after a number of Down minors showed swine flu symptoms ahead of the initial August 1st fixture. They have recovered sufficiently to take the field against a Dublin team that looks equipped to end a barren spell stretching back to the 1984 All-Ireland win, despite the presence of strong Kerry and Armagh sides already in the semi-final.

Respected surgeon Gerry McEntee may be a former Meath footballer but his involvement with the St Brigid’s club and role as Dublin minor manager last season leaves him well-placed to examine the upcoming fixture.

“I know a good few of them from last year. They’ll have a tough match on Saturday because Armagh were the best team in Ulster but they only pulled away from Down in the last few minutes.”

Down manager Mark Turley spoke to the Belfast Telegraph yesterday about “a rather traumatic time lately but we are getting there. Obviously we were disappointed to lose out in the Ulster final to Armagh but we have our appetite back now. I would imagine Dublin will be keen to make a point at minor level after the way in which their senior side lost out to Kerry, so we have to be on full alert.”

The very core of Dublin football is coming under severe examination in the wake of the Kerry defeat with revelations coming to light that a postmortem was not carried out after the similar, heavy loss to Tyrone 12 months ago.

One theory suggests the Dublin GAA is failing to produce enough natural footballers to combat the likes of Kerry. “I don’t subscribe to the theory that they don’t practise the skills and they are not skilful enough,” said McEntee.

“Why would they not practise the skills and why would they not be as skilful as other counties?

“I would say there is a much simpler explanation for what happened against Kerry. People can easily jump on the bandwagon by saying this team doesn’t have it but I don’t believe they bottled it.”

The rise of hurling in Dublin and increased emphasis on its promotion is something McEntee has noticed.

“The Dublin County Board have a hurling agenda ahead of the football agenda, for sure. They are pumping money and resources and effort and commitment into hurling at the expense of football.

“But if you were to ask me what are their chances of winning one or the other, their chances are still much higher of winning the football than the hurling. I don’t really understand why they are suddenly pouring everything into hurling.”

Meanwhile, Limerick hurling manager Justin McCarthy has delayed announcing a line-up for Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Tipperary to allow Damien Reale and Niall Moran more time to recover from injuries. Both teams are expected to be named tonight.