Refocused Dublin tick all right boxes

GAELIC GAMES:TOMORROW CROKE Park readies itself for the first full house of the championship, predictably with the Dublin bandwagon rolling into another All-Ireland football semi-final – a fifth since the county last won one.

Yet there’s a good deal about this fixture that diverges from the familiar. It may be sold out but there’s been an almost eerie absence of hype. Dublin have reached the stage where they’d prefer not to ride that particular tiger with all the unhappy connotations of disappointed anticipation.

Neither have Donegal been as eccentric and chatty as in past perception and the result has been a great deal of retro musing about the All-Ireland of 1992 and last year’s under-21 final, something that illustrates another unusual aspect of the match.

For all that this is such a huge opportunity for counties that haven’t seen Croke Park in September for well over a decade, there is no history between the teams, no precedent to guide expectation.

There is a definite sense about Dublin that they have refocused attention away from the Leinster championship, leading to some underwhelming displays in the past two seasons although they regained the provincial title last month.

The big question is to what extent the quest for additional gears in August has been successful. There are still reservations about the county because of the number of big matches lost on days when they could as easily have been won. Three of the semi-final defeats have been by a point and the other by two.

Was the demolition of Tyrone in the quarter-final more influenced by Dublins new mindset or their opponents’ fading capacities? If – as would be no surprise – Donegal are there on the scoreboard with 10 minutes to go and believe they have momentum will Pat Gilroy’s team simply pick them off or panic at the sight of old ghosts?

In other words are Dublin different?

Donegal certainly are a changed proposition. Jim McGuinness’s ability to combine sympathetic understanding of his players with a decisive grasp of tactical detail has transformed what used to be a talented but unfocused team into a steely collective.

Under pressure they won’t abandon ultra-defence as Mayo felt obliged to do a week ago and why would they after a championship of unbeaten matches and an average concession of nine points?

In defence they have an eager, swarming set of backs, capable of counter attack and led by experienced All Stars Karl Lacey and Kevin Cassidy and supplemented by deep lying forwards, most visibly Mark McHugh who is capable of turning defensive ball into attacking possession – as well as popping up for the goal against Antrim back in May and nearly getting another against Kildare.

In the isolated regions of the full-forward line Colm McFadden is having his best season in a while and captain Michael Murphy has played an immense role both as a finisher and creator of chances and more controversially when withdrawn as a ball winner – at all times disposing of the ball impeccably.

They will also tick the boxes that Tyrone were unable to: dynamism, hunger and energy. The problem for the Ulster champions is that Dublin won’t be short of any of those qualities.

Available attacking space will more resemble the Black Hole of Calcutta than the open plains of the quarter-final but Dublin have advantages that Donegal’s previous opponents lacked.

They have a range of scoring forwards who can instinctively take chances. No one’s likely to get rich backing Diarmuid Connolly to hit another seven from play but what defence is going to put the tour de force against Tyrone out of their mind while they double- and triple-team Bernard Brogan.

Had Kildare managed the accuracy of Dublin’s kick passing in the opening phase of their quarter-final they’d have been out of sight by half-time. Similarly if Donegal restart as poorly as they did for periods of that match they’re likely to pay a higher price than they did last month.

The Leinster champions are also unlikely to turn inside when faced with the massed barricades and kill the momentum of the attack – as Derry often did – instead of taking on the defence to test the tackle or draw the foul even though Donegal don’t easily concede frees.

It’s not difficult to imagine it all going wrong for Dublin both because Donegal are formidable and because it has so often in the past.

But this is the present and Dublin can seize it.

Dublin

Stephen Cluxton

Cian O'Sullivan

Rory O'Carroll

Michael Fitzsimons

James McCarthy

Ger Brennan

Kevin Nolan

Denis Bastick

MD Macauley

Paul Flynn

Barry Cahill

Bryan Cullen

Alan Brogan

Diarmuid Connolly

Bernard Brogan

Donegal

Paul Durcan

Frank McGlynn

Neil McGee

Paddy McGrath

Anthony Thompson

Karl Lacey

Kevin Cassidy

Rory Kavanagh

Neil Gallagher

Mark McHugh

Michael Hegarty

Ryan Bradley

Paddy McBrearty

Michael Murphy

Colm McFadden