Leinster SFC semi-final - Dublin 2-11 Wexford 1-10
Dublin were lucky to escape Croke Park with a fortuitous win over a gallant Wexford side. The four-point winning margin very much flattered a Metropolitans side which could well have been beaten, should Ben Brosnan's free-taking form deserted him in the second-half. That really is the story of this match, in many ways. Wexford led by three points at half-time, and it could have been more had Dublin not been allowed a highly controversial goal - Diarmuid Connolly appear to take at least nine steps before finishing to the net. Dublin though, rallied to start the second-half, with Wexford missing a couple opportunities to get the first score of the period, before Stephen Cluxton stepped up to slot over a long range free for Dublin. This was a chance missed for Wexford at a time in the match when another point or two might have really rattled the All-Ireland champions. Instead, it was the yellowbellies whose confidence collapsed. They continued to move the ball well in attack, but weren't showing the same patience to create good shots, leading to some questionable shot selection. This combined with Brosnan's free-taking struggles, - he missed five kicks over the course of the afternoon, including three relatively straightforward ones in row, during a critical time in the second half. With the Wexford able to register two second-half points, - compared to twelve wides - Dublin duly took advantage.
Michael Dara-McAuley's introduction for the second-half really turned the whole game on its head, with the Dublin midfielder doing an excellent job of winning breaking ball and running at the Wexford defence. Why Dara-McAuley wasn't selected to start ahead of Eamon Fennell, is a mystery. On one hand, McAuley is an All-Star quality midfielder - one of the best in the country, and a guy genuinely possess the skills, and a natural understanding of how to play the game of football, as well as his size and strength. Fennel on the other hand doesn't seem to understand the first thing about playing gaelic football. He's big and strong, and he'll certainly win some ball for you in midfield, but his decision-making has been called into question numerous times and he simply does not effect the game the Dara-McAuley does.
Wexford did not have a player of comparable quality to either, to spring from the bench. Matty Forde has reportedly been playing Junior football for the county. If he would commit, imagine the difference even a half-fit Matty could have made coming on for the last 20 minutes on Sunday? Counties like Wexford, just can't afford to lose players of such quality and it is sad that such a truly incredible talent has been lost to the GAA community at such a young age. Wexford now face Tipperary in the All-Ireland qualifiers - a draw they will no doubt be reasonably happy with, though it will be a tough task to win in Thurles.
For Dublin, the next day out will be Leinster final day, and a renewal of their old rivalry with Meath. Meath looked impressive in beating Kildare in the other semi-final and Dublin won't have it all their way. It's an exciting prospect, though I doubt whether we'll have any true indicator of where the Dubs are at untile they're out of the Leinster cauldron. There seems to me to be a lack of focus, or intensity to the All-Ireland champions this season, and it will be interesting to how the will react in a game where they are really being pushed to the brink. Wexford came close yesterday, but kicked away their opportunity. Meath, - on the basis of their performance Sunday - look exactly the kind of team to beat Dublin. They did an excellent job of running at the Kildare defence, winning themselves a lot of frees in the process. If they do this in the provincial final, they'd be exploiting probably the greatest weakness in Dublin's defence, and they've showed that in Cian Ward and Brian Farrell they have free-takers to punish teams.
For Dublin, the key is getting the team selection right, and playing with sufficient intensity. The intensity shouldn't be an issue, with a huge crowd expected in Croke Park, but the team selection is a different story entirely. Michael Dara-McAuley's introduction for the second-half on Sunday really turned the whole game on its head, with the Dublin midfielder doing an excellent job of winning breaking ball and running at the Wexford defence. Why Dara-McAuley wasn't selected to start ahead of Eamon Fennell, is a mystery. On one hand, McAuley is an All-Star quality midfielder - one of the best in the country, and a guy who genuinely possess the skills, and a natural understanding of how to play the game of football, as well as his size and strength. Fennel on the other hand doesn't seem to understand the first thing about playing gaelic football. He's big and strong, and he'll certainly win some ball for you in midfield, but his decision-making has been called into question numerous times and he simply does not effect the game the way Dara-McAuley does. This is a crucial decision for Dublin going into the Leinster final, given the superb recent form of Meath's young Conor Gillespie. Dublin are likely to also be missing forward Diarmuid Connolly, who was issued a straight-red card on Sunday for striking a Wexford player off the ball. This is the second time in as many years Connolly has received his marching orders for such an offence, following on from his dismissal in last year's All-Ireland semi-final against Donegal. Who they replace him with will now be among the biggest questions heading into the next match? Eoghan O'Gara is probably the most likely, given the unexplainable love affair Gilroy has with him. There are better options available though, - even Mossy Quinn would surely be preferable?
So Dublin march on in the quest to win back-to back All-Irelands, while Wexford must travel the scenic route once again. One has to commend this Wexford team for the way they've performed in recent years and stubbornly refuse to give up, but it must be a devastating blow for this group of seasoned players to fall narrowly short against Dublin yet again. It's long road back to Croke Park for them now.
Michael Dara-McAuley's introduction for the second-half really turned the whole game on its head, with the Dublin midfielder doing an excellent job of winning breaking ball and running at the Wexford defence. Why Dara-McAuley wasn't selected to start ahead of Eamon Fennell, is a mystery. On one hand, McAuley is an All-Star quality midfielder - one of the best in the country, and a guy genuinely possess the skills, and a natural understanding of how to play the game of football, as well as his size and strength. Fennel on the other hand doesn't seem to understand the first thing about playing gaelic football. He's big and strong, and he'll certainly win some ball for you in midfield, but his decision-making has been called into question numerous times and he simply does not effect the game the Dara-McAuley does.
Wexford did not have a player of comparable quality to either, to spring from the bench. Matty Forde has reportedly been playing Junior football for the county. If he would commit, imagine the difference even a half-fit Matty could have made coming on for the last 20 minutes on Sunday? Counties like Wexford, just can't afford to lose players of such quality and it is sad that such a truly incredible talent has been lost to the GAA community at such a young age. Wexford now face Tipperary in the All-Ireland qualifiers - a draw they will no doubt be reasonably happy with, though it will be a tough task to win in Thurles.
For Dublin, the next day out will be Leinster final day, and a renewal of their old rivalry with Meath. Meath looked impressive in beating Kildare in the other semi-final and Dublin won't have it all their way. It's an exciting prospect, though I doubt whether we'll have any true indicator of where the Dubs are at untile they're out of the Leinster cauldron. There seems to me to be a lack of focus, or intensity to the All-Ireland champions this season, and it will be interesting to how the will react in a game where they are really being pushed to the brink. Wexford came close yesterday, but kicked away their opportunity. Meath, - on the basis of their performance Sunday - look exactly the kind of team to beat Dublin. They did an excellent job of running at the Kildare defence, winning themselves a lot of frees in the process. If they do this in the provincial final, they'd be exploiting probably the greatest weakness in Dublin's defence, and they've showed that in Cian Ward and Brian Farrell they have free-takers to punish teams.
For Dublin, the key is getting the team selection right, and playing with sufficient intensity. The intensity shouldn't be an issue, with a huge crowd expected in Croke Park, but the team selection is a different story entirely. Michael Dara-McAuley's introduction for the second-half on Sunday really turned the whole game on its head, with the Dublin midfielder doing an excellent job of winning breaking ball and running at the Wexford defence. Why Dara-McAuley wasn't selected to start ahead of Eamon Fennell, is a mystery. On one hand, McAuley is an All-Star quality midfielder - one of the best in the country, and a guy who genuinely possess the skills, and a natural understanding of how to play the game of football, as well as his size and strength. Fennel on the other hand doesn't seem to understand the first thing about playing gaelic football. He's big and strong, and he'll certainly win some ball for you in midfield, but his decision-making has been called into question numerous times and he simply does not effect the game the way Dara-McAuley does. This is a crucial decision for Dublin going into the Leinster final, given the superb recent form of Meath's young Conor Gillespie. Dublin are likely to also be missing forward Diarmuid Connolly, who was issued a straight-red card on Sunday for striking a Wexford player off the ball. This is the second time in as many years Connolly has received his marching orders for such an offence, following on from his dismissal in last year's All-Ireland semi-final against Donegal. Who they replace him with will now be among the biggest questions heading into the next match? Eoghan O'Gara is probably the most likely, given the unexplainable love affair Gilroy has with him. There are better options available though, - even Mossy Quinn would surely be preferable?
So Dublin march on in the quest to win back-to back All-Irelands, while Wexford must travel the scenic route once again. One has to commend this Wexford team for the way they've performed in recent years and stubbornly refuse to give up, but it must be a devastating blow for this group of seasoned players to fall narrowly short against Dublin yet again. It's long road back to Croke Park for them now.
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