Dublin's character crucial in final act

All the experiences of the bad days over the past 10 years stood to Dublin as they held their nerve down the stretch, writes JOHN O'KEEFFE

LIKE MOST people it took me a while to catch my breath after this one. Even if it wasn’t a classic All-Ireland final, it was absolutely gripping, from start to finish. In the end Dublin couldn’t have won it in any more exciting style, and you have to give them full credit for their victory.

What they’ve been through the last number of seasons had clearly built superb character, that never-say-die attitude, and that’s what ultimately delivered it for them. I think most other teams if they were four points down in All-Ireland final with about six minutes to play, especially against Kerry, would have given up hope, or felt their day was done.

But not this Dublin team. In fairness they kept on battling, and no better player than Kevin McManamon to make that decisive impact as a substitute. It was something he was always capable off, and I think of all the players on the bench he was most likely to deliver the crucial score. It was the one likely goal chance Dublin would get at that stage, and the shot was in the hands of the right assassin.

It was a terrific goal, and immediately reignited Dublin. There was no way they were going to lose it after a score like that.

Suddenly, Kerry were shaken to the core. But the truth is they had been a little complacent, a little lazy even, going into that last 10 minutes. Maybe some minds thought they had the game won, and a four-point lead towards the end of an All-Ireland is usually safe enough.

Even if Dublin looked beaten at that stage, they’d been through so much over the last 10 years, really, that they simply had to hang in there, which is exactly what they did, and hope the break went their way – which it did too.

Something about losing all those close games or big showdowns over the last 10 years finally inspired and lifted Dublin to the ultimate victory, and no one can them deny them that. Losing so many games can develop a strong mental edge, and Dublin never lost that here.

For all Kerry’s experience, they lost some of the composure in the end, and at that stage destiny seemed to take over, and the incredible willingness of this Dublin team to win. They also had the legs on Kerry for the last 10 minutes. Philip McMahon and Eamonn Fennell made a contribution as well when coming on, so it really was the complete team performance.

Indeed Dublin’s work ethic, their real team spirit, is reflected in the fact there is no obvious contender for man of the match. There are no prima donnas on this Dublin team, and instead they play unselfish football, for each other. Although one player who I think really did stand out over the 70 minutes was Michael Dara Macauley, who worked tirelessly around midfield and channelled an awful lot of possession.

For Kerry too there was no standout player. Colm Cooper tried his best, but had what must go down as a very, very frustrating day. Mick Fitzsimons made it very difficult for him, and the Gooch never got the space he likes, and ended up coming way out the field to find some possession.

There can no doubt that Kerry will look back on this game and feel it was one they left behind, but that’s partly their own fault, and partly due to Dublin’s never-say-die attitude. At the same time I felt there was something a bit lazy, a bit casual, about Kerry’s game, even in the second half. They were sloppy with some use of possession and it’s certainly not typical of Kerry, and I felt they paid dearly. Kerry were certainly guilty of a few too many unforced errors.

But that doesn’t take away from the brilliance of Dublin’s victory: It’s been a long time coming, and they’ve also been working on it for a long time, even when you think about those early morning training sessions.

I’m delighted for players like Bryan Cullen, who has endured many a disappointing day in the Dublin jersey, and the same for Stephen Cluxton. He’s the consummate footballer, and in some ways it was entirely fitting that he stepped up to take the final free, with his typically undaunted style. That was a pressure kick, make no mistake about it, yet he made it look all so easy.

As a game I felt both defences actually got on top, and made sure scoring was at a premium throughout – especially in the first half. Kerry tried to recycle too much ball, whereas they could have played a more direct game, and that way might have got more ball into Kieran Donaghy, who was actually having one of his better games.

In other words Kerry played too much football at times, especially in the first half, and that seemed to suit Dublin just fine.

It’s most unusual for a Kerry team to only score 1-2, especially in an All-Ireland final. The Gooch’s goal was very well taken but after that Kerry seemed to experience something of a scoring drought in that first half, which came back to haunt them too.

Of course a lot of that was down to the harassing and blocking and general crowding of the Dublin players, which meant Cooper and Declan O’Sullivan never got the sort of space they wanted. In fact the only Kerry player that looked capable of finding space in that first half was Darran O’Sullivan, who was able to break the tackle and run into space.

Over the course of the game Kerry’s midfield was largely ineffective as well, even though Bryan Sheehan made amends in the first 15 minutes of the second half. That was the period when Kerry really got on top, but perhaps not enough to kill off Dublin. A few reasons for that: I think Paul Galvin was introduced far too early, and therefore never made the impact he was capable of, or least might have. There was no reason to take off Kieran O’Leary as early as they did.

I also have to wonder what they took off Eoin Brosnan before the end, because their defence seemed to open up a little too easily toward the end too.

Kerry possibly weren’t ruthless enough, or at least they were a little casual, or even sloppy, in some of their play, and Dublin made sure the price for that was the All-Ireland title.