DOWN meet Meath in the Tailteann Cup final on Saturday fortnight in a repeat of the famous 1991 All-Ireland final, an event ingrained in my memory when I sat with my father in the corner of the lower Cusack Stand.
I was mesmerised by Hill 16 –even more so by ex-Down player Connaire Harrison’s father, who had managed to climb onto the roof of the old Nally Stand with a Down flag in one hand and a Tricolour in the other.
It was my first experience of running on to Croke Park. Paddy O’Rourke had just kicked the ball high into the Hogan Stand – and for kids like me, a wonderful appetite to emulate those men was born that day.
Down were brilliant in beating Laois in the semi-final in a most convincing and oddly ruthless display of score-taking. The game was won after the second goal was scored by my Saval club-mate, Pat Havern.
Meath manager Colm O’Rourke will be wary of the threat posed by a team who have all bought into the Conor Laverty project. Laverty is the most modern of coaches, who understands how the game is now played. You feel that Colm, in contrast, is still clinging to the older methods and a kicking game associated with his own time playing for Meath.
Perhaps the Royal County are adaptable and, in a one-off final, can negate the potency of Down’s ‘offence’.
I do not use the word ‘attack’ as it implies that only the Down forwards contribute to the scoreboard. Down defenders are as likely to pop up in the full-forward line as someone who starts there. No one player, except possibly the goalkeeper, will consistently take up his on-field starting position.
In many ways the game today is easier than the past, played behind the halfway line without much pressure on the man or the ball. The days of having a man-marker follow you to hell and back or being isolated in one-on-one positions on the field are rare enough.
The football field is becoming a risk-free environment. This makes for poor entertainment – but adult football is, for the most part, simply about winning and losing.
Speaking of which, the harsh dichotomy of knock-out Championship football was on display at Pearse Stadium where Mayo dumped out Galway.
I honestly felt they would take care of Mayo. The outcome of this contest wasn’t about Mayo, however, it was about Galway pair Damien Comer and Shane Walsh.
Comer was causing all sorts of problems in the first half and the blow of his half-time exit meant Galway had no target man when playing into a stiff breeze. Comer would have held the ball, drawn frees and generally caused defenders to gravitate towards him in the second half, possibly freeing up runners off the shoulder. Comer is a fierce competitor – gladiatorial even.
Shane Walsh just couldn’t get his angles right – on another day he walks away with 10 points. Walsh has found it difficult to reach the heights of last season. With a controversial transfer to Dublin, winning a club title with Kilmacud Croke’s and finding himself a new life in the capital, it is easy to forget he is still young and carries the hopes of a county on his shoulders.
The most open Championship in years became more open with Galway’s exit. Neither Armagh nor Monaghan would have been pleased to draw the other. They say familiarity breeds contempt and these players will be sick of meeting each other at this stage.
I think it is too close to call. Armagh may have an extra week’s rest, but there are advantages to immediately coming into a game off a win.
Monaghan are a heavyweight boxer who has never managed to secure the belt, but every possible champion has to beat them in order to be considered a contender. There is always one big punch in them.
The group victory over Galway was significant for Armagh. This Orchard panel had to beat one of the big guns of Dublin, Kerry or Galway eventually.
A lot will depend on how Rian O’Neill integrates back into the starting 15, the influence of Rory Grugan and the scoring of Stefan Campbell, Jason Duffy and Conor Turbitt. Jarlath Og Burns should also come back into the half-back line and his powerful running and height will be critical in securing primary ball and getting Armagh up the field. It will also be fun to watch Rory Beggan play Ethan Rafferty. Prepare for that pantomime if you will.
Mayo will beat Dublin. Eh? I hear you say. Dublin are vulnerable. They have superb talent and I have no trouble believing they will come again to dominate the Championship in the future – albeit not to the extent they once did.
They have been very inconsistent the past two years. I don’t think you can come through a poor provincial championship like Leinster untested and expect to beat the other current contenders out there who have all experienced tougher routes to the quarter-finals.
Going to Salthill and beating last year’s All-Ireland finalists takes serious character – the kind of character that can help a team go to Dublin and deliver a result. Also, it is not a final so Kevin McStay will not be accompanied by the kind of pressure associated with the county choking at the final hurdle. Mayo have nothing to lose.
The same arguments I made against Dublin’s chances this season also apply to Kerry except for one thing – Dublin don’t have a David Clifford. The boy king is perhaps unmarkable on his day, and Tyrone go in with fans buoyed by the win against Donegal but nonetheless realistic about the team’s form.
With the Canavan brothers, Mattie Donnelly and Darren McCurry finding form, Conn Kilpatrick playing really well around the middle and Kieran McGeary, Conor Meyler and Padraig Hampsey well accustomed to beating anyone on their day, Kerry will be seriously tested. But Kerry are still Kerry.
Derry will be looking forward to playing Cork at Croke Park. It is a test, but a very winnable one. The Rebels have done well to get to a quarter-final, which may come across as condescending, but given the starting base for John Cleary, it is an achievement nonetheless.
There are some huge matches to look forward to. It’s just a pity they are not all free-to-air....
