Anytime you lose an All-Ireland final there will always be some regrets, especially after winning the previous year, and I imagine Kerry will have quite a few after this one. Enough to mention anyway.
Take absolutely nothing away from Dublin. Champions again, and on merit, from the outset I felt they were going to be the team to beat this year. Players like James McCarthy and Brian Fenton and particularly Stephen Cluxton had nothing to prove to anyone. Still they made sure Dublin got over the line on Sunday, Jack McCaffrey also coming off the bench to pull some strings.
The old band can still rattle out a good tune.
The wet conditions were always likely to make it a tight game, Dublin just about coming out the right side of it. But it was there for Kerry too, no doubt about that. Which is why they’ll feel this was one they may have left behind.
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By that I mean Kerry left a lot of scores behind. They know that. They also let Dublin back in for a goal at a critical time in the game, on 45 minutes, not long after Con O’Callaghan fired his shot onto the crossbar. Even though Kerry went back in front, I soon felt the game was starting to go away from them.
That came down to a few things. Yes, David Clifford was held to some extent by Mick Fitzsimons, but he was there for Clifford’s two scores from play too. And it wasn’t just a one-man job. At times Fitzsimons had another Dublin player or two for support.
The first thing to say about that is David Clifford owes Kerry absolutely nothing. He won them the All-Ireland last year practically single-handedly. The same way Maurice Fitzgerald won it for us in 1997, or Michael Murphy did for Donegal in 2012.
Some of the scores Clifford did get were actually harder than some of the ones he missed. For whatever reason. You can’t blame shot selection, and he didn’t do anything different than he normally would. It was just one of those days where it didn’t always come off. So whatever postmortem is done in Kerry over the winter no one will be laying any fault on his doorstep.
Dublin just squeezed Kerry to such an extent that anytime Clifford got the ball, Fitzsimons was right there with him, with one or two more in close proximity. That ultimately choked up the space.
So Clifford didn’t have a bad game, he’s just a victim of his own high standards. The way Clifford was drifting across the lines, Fitzsimons had to be there 24/7 as well. That was clearly the war cry, for players to stick to Clifford as close as possible whenever he was on the ball. It worked a treat, especially the way Dublin squeezed the play in the second half, making sure Fitzsimons had those extra bodies.
Cluxton had a huge bearing on the game too. I said before the game he hadn’t been tested yet, and I didn’t think Kerry tested him on Sunday either.
That first point he kicked, the 45, he ambled up as if he owned the place. I felt at least one or two of the Kerry players should have reminded him they were there as well, crash into him, whatever, just to send some sort of signal that he’s not going to get away with this nonsense. Get inside his cage and rattle it a little bit.
Now, he’s such a good kicker he probably would have kicked it anyway. At the same time, it was remiss not to test his pulse. His kick-outs were excellent too, just his chemistry with the likes of Brian Howard, who won something like eight kick-outs, then Sean MacMahon too when he came on.
Obviously James McCarthy got stuck in, and I’d never blame any player for that. Everyone could gauge after five minutes the way David Gough was going to let the game go, in part because of the conditions. It wasn’t a game he wanted to slow down, or in rain like that he could have been on the whistle all afternoon. He did his best to leave it go, and when that happens players will always push the boat out as far as it can go.
If anything, I’d blame the Kerry players for not throwing themselves around a little more, like McCarthy did. Like Fenton, he was leading the way for Dublin, in contrast to Kerry, who to me where short of more leaders like that.
As the second half progressed, I also felt Dublin were getting their scores that bit easier than Kerry. The Kerry ones took a much harder shift, going through loads of bodies to get into scoring positions. Okay Paudie Clifford kicked two super points in that period, but for all that effort, all that labour, it’s telling when the opposition then come down the field and kick a point almost at their leisure, with minimal fuss.
Like Fenton did in that second half. That really sucks the oxygen out of you, takes a lot of the good out of what you’ve done. Fenton and Howard both had big games in the middle of the park. That’s what you need to win All-Irelands.
We saw that leadership from the Dublin bench as well, McCaffrey especially, his injection of pace on top of his decision-making on the ball a real fillip for Dublin, Dean Rock also showing his old experience in the end.
In contrast, some of the Kerry replacements made mistakes on the ball, ran into traffic, or got turned over, when simply keeping possession was paramount. Tom O’Sullivan also had a chance towards the end , but to me just didn’t look sure of his game. At that stage Dublin were making the better decisions, but I wouldn’t blame Kerry for not trying, they never stopped in their intensity and work-rate. Their regrets are elsewhere.
As for the season as a whole I wouldn’t say it was a poor championship. Part of the problem for the first few weeks was that it was being compared to the hurling. I certainly think there were enough good games to consider it a success. We saw some superb individual performances too, some very tight games as well in the likes of Kerry-Derry.
I’ve said before though, it needs more breathing space, get the month of August out if it anyway. Whereas he we are, all over by the end of July. Nothing to look forward to now until next year.
Darragh Ó Sé – Football team of 2023
1 Stephen Cluxton (Dublin)
At the time I thought it was a mistake to bring him back, instead Sunday was another crowning moment, and without him on the field Dublin would not have won.
2. Conor McCluskey (Derry)
Had a super season, was especially good against Kerry, excellent in his defending but also with his pace when moving up the field.
3. Michael Fitzsimons (Dublin)
Did well throughout the season, even though he got a fair bit of help with David Clifford on Sunday.
4. Tom O’Sullivan (Kerry)
Did very well on Cormac Costello on Sunday, and was consistent throughout the season.
5. James McCarthy (Dublin)
Another standout season when he led from the front throughout, was especially good late on against Monaghan.
6. Gareth McKinless (Derry)
Brought a new dimension to the Derry defence and their attack from centre back, we saw rampaging every time he got the ball.
7. Conor McCarthy (Monaghan)
An outstanding season for Monaghan, in defence and coming forward, and especially against Dublin in the semi-final.
8. Brian Fenton (Dublin)
An absolute automatic here, back to his very best this summer and showed real leadership and overall ability again in the final.
9. Brendan Rogers (Derry)
Showed frightening fitness levels in every game, a real engine in his Derry team and always good for a score.
10. Paudie Clifford (Kerry)
Was very good in the second half on Sunday, but consistent all summer alongside his brother in difficult circumstances .
11. Enda Smith (Roscommon)
I feel he deserves inclusion here because he was excellent in every game this summer for Roscommon, even if their team aspirations fell a little short.
12. Brian Howard (Dublin)
To me Howard deserves his place based on his overall input, while Paul Mannion was quiet enough outside of the final.
13. Shane McGuigan (Derry)
Another of the Derry players to have a big summer, consistent and accurate and very good in the semi-final against Kerry.
14. David Clifford (Kerry)
The standout forward of the summer and for me the footballer of the year, and nothing more to be said about that.
15. Colm Basquel (Dublin)
Was quiet in the first half, but in fairness came out and played exceptional in the second half on Sunday, a big player for Dublin all year.
