AISF 2010: Corcaigh vs Áth Cliath

[screenexile]

A number of things have struck me about today and I'll try and go through them.

1. Dublin are a one man team, everything is built around BB and bar Alan the Dublin team is a crowd of muscle bound athletes with limited football ability. Fair play to Gilroy who realised this and came up with a fantastic gameplan that maximised his resources! If he was Cork manager they would have won the game at an absolute canter.

2. Cork are surviving through hunger and having decent footballers, their tactical naieveté will be found out by either Kildare or Down unless they come up with a decent system of play for the final.

3. The way Down are being dismissed on this thread is staggering!! They played excellent football to get to this stage and are playing a team that got beat by Louth and were lucky to escape with a draw against Antrim. This is not to say Kildare are a bad team but they haven't been up against a serious side yet and I think the Down game will be very close!

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

1. Dublin are a one man team, everything is built around BB and bar Alan the Dublin team is a crowd of muscle bound athletes with limited football ability. Fair play to Gilroy who realised this and came up with a fantastic gameplan that maximised his resources! If he was Cork manager they would have won the game at an absolute canter.

Don't forget about Mickey Whelan, and Tyroneman Michael Kennedy too for that matter 

[Dinny Breen]

lucky to escape with a draw against Antrim

Were at the game? Kildare shot 23 wides in that game, the day they buried a players father and mentor to many of them. They never looked like losing expect for a 5 minute spell at the end, the replay was a true relection of the difference bwtween those two sides.

[Donnellys Hollow]

lucky to escape with a draw against Antrim

Were at the game? Kildare shot 23 wides in that game, the day they buried a players father and mentor to many of them. They never looked like losing expect for a 5 minute spell at the end, the replay was a true relection of the difference bwtween those two sides.

Not to mention Deegan's display that day!

[paddypastit]

A number of things have struck me about today and I'll try and go through them.

1. Dublin are a one man team, everything is built around BB and bar Alan the Dublin team is a crowd of muscle bound athletes with limited football ability. Fair play to Gilroy who realised this and came up with a fantastic gameplan that maximised his resources! If he was Cork manager they would have won the game at an absolute canter.

2. Cork are surviving through hunger and having decent footballers, their tactical naieveté will be found out by either Kildare or Down unless they come up with a decent system of play for the final.

3. The way Down are being dismissed on this thread is staggering!! They played excellent football to get to this stage and are playing a team that got beat by Louth and were lucky to escape with a draw against Antrim. This is not to say Kildare are a bad team but they haven't been up against a serious side yet and I think the Down game will be very close!

While I don't agree with the assessment of Kildare, I agree with the other three points. Down at 9/2 for the AI is a good bet. IMO, the two best teams left after the quarters are playing next week. 

The fact that Cork squeaked by the team that was 4th of the four, by a distance, doesn't change that, although they are now 2/5 for the AI with all the major bookies (PP, Ladbrokes, Boyle and Betpack) which is total nuts. On that basis the winners next week will be 2/1 or 5/2 which is decent odds in such a two horse race and should make the handicap betting really good value.

[ONeill]

The All-Ireland final was today.

[Orangemac]

Apologies, meant Shane Ryan.

Glenn Ryan in his day wouldn't have went amiss either.

[Donnellys Hollow]

The fact that Cork squeaked by the team that was 4th of the four, by a distance, doesn't change that, although they are now 2/5 for the AI with all the major bookies (PP, Ladbrokes, Boyle and Betpack) which is total nuts. On that basis the winners next week will be 2/1 or 5/2 which is decent odds in such a two horse race and should make the handicap betting really good value.

Unlikely I'd say. They'll ease out a shade after next Sunday. Whoever wins next Sunday will be around the 13/8 mark - maybe 7/4 max.

Most bookies probably have significant antepost liabilities on Cork since the League but I imagine there'll be plenty willing to lay them as the Final approaches on the evidence of today.

[tyroneman]

Quote from: tyroneman on August 22, 2010, 10:05:22 PM

    Quote

        Who are the top 3?

        What basis now makes them top 3?


    I would have thought that as Munster and Ulster champions this year and having shared every All Ireland between them since 2003 - Tyrone and Kerry would still qualify (on averagesuccess) as 2 of the top 3 teams in the country.

    Cork are the next best thing.

    Just my opinion and yes - technically the 2 teams in the final this year could be classified as the top 2..this year.


Can't see how you can still consider Tyrone as a top 3 given their decline since 2008. Kerry will soon be in the same decline if they don't get a top four championship fiinish in 2011.

Top three could well be Kerry, Cork and Dublin, one on record and two on the up.  Kildare and Down could be one hit wonders or could be on the threshold of much more.

A decline that has seen them reach an AI semi final, an AI quarter final and win 2 provincial championships in a row. If Kerry are there "on record" I believe Tyrone would also have to be there.

Why would Dublin be in the top 3? - what have they won at AI level since 95 remind me? How many finals have they contested since then?

Still....it's agame of opinions 

[paddypastit]

The fact that Cork squeaked by the team that was 4th of the four, by a distance, doesn't change that, although they are now 2/5 for the AI with all the major bookies (PP, Ladbrokes, Boyle and Betpack) which is total nuts. On that basis the winners next week will be 2/1 or 5/2 which is decent odds in such a two horse race and should make the handicap betting really good value.

Unlikely I'd say. They'll ease out a shade after next Sunday. Whoever wins next Sunday will be around the 13/8 mark - maybe 7/4 max.

Most bookies probably have significant antepost liabilities on Cork since the League but I imagine there'll be plenty willing to lay them as the Final approaches on the evidence of today.

That would make more sense but still won't reflect the reality of capability

[SLIGONIAN]

Thought it was a stonewall peno myself as the no3 barged forward as paddy says, although an uncle of mine who knows his stuff saw it the same way as seanie.

Dublins tackling in the last 10mins had panic written all over them and maybe tired minds aswell, way too over agressive and wreckless. The decision making was poor as cork forwards had no chance of scoring when the fouls were commited.

Bernard Brogan though, tough to see him on losing side, O Gara is his perfect foil and its a pity he ran out of steam, it killed any momentum the dubs had.  Brogans ability at timing his runs and getting out in front was immense, his ruthlessness shows no mercy in front of goal. Feel sorry for the dubs as i thought they were the better team. But fair play to gilroy in sticking to his guns all yr. After Meath some managers would of lost the plot, but not gilroy.

[Aaron Boone]

At least Dublin got a second chance in the championship, unlike Meath & the other 3 provincial winners. Some system  .

[Mike Sheehy]

oh jesus, quit your whining. Tyrone weren't good enough. just accept it and move on. Its the Cork/Kildare/Down show now so just live with it.

[Bud Wiser]

Thoughts from the match:


1. The penalty was a nailed on, stonewall no brainer. Simple as that.

2. Cork were there for the taking.

3. Cork are seriously overrated but have the best bench in football.

4. And have at last devleoped a set of b@lls

5. Gilroy has done wonders with that Dublin team

6. Dublin are still not a "top 3" team and won't be until they get some composure in the last 10 on a regular basis

7. The "top 3" themselves are not really that far ahead of the pack.

7. Bernard Brogan is feckin fantastic - never thought he would be that good when he came on the scene.

8. McConnell let his team down badly today in the final quarter. Brainless.

That is a good and fair summary. I was on the corner of the Davin and Cusack stands and had a 'side on' view of the penalty. What the photos above don't show is that McConnell 'drove through' his man. As Donnelly's said, the only question was how a man on a yellow card managed to get away without a second for that foul.

As to the Dublin changes, Bud should be declaring his Boden membership in making the case for Keaney. O'Gara is no butterfly and was not as good today as in each of the last two days but he did endless ploughing for Brogan - the type of selfless dirty work that Keaney would never do. When Keaney did come in he made bad decisions on the ball and did nothing to take the pressure off Brogan.

Dublin played this game at a very high pace and in the last ten minutes that caught up with them. McConnell's indiscretions were a result of a tired mind as much as anything else.

My reaction on the final whistle was that the best team lost but then factor in all the possession Cork had, the wides, the number of frees that Dublin conceded and that Cork came from 5 points down within the last 20/25 minutes and it is hard not to say that Cork deserved it.

In terms of the All Ireland, I think there is an awful amount of ramaish being written here about how either Cork or Dublin would / will win the final. For my money, literally, going into the semi finals these two teams were 3rd and 4th best of those left in the championship in terms of performances this year to date and that has to be the reference point for assessing their prospects. Granted Cork have experience and a great squad and having emerged from this test will likely be favourites but barely deserved.   

It has nothing to do with my Boden membership, Keaney is a better footballer than O'Gara at the start of the game much less coming on as a sub.  I dont know how you can say when Keaney came on he did not make an impression because he didn't have time to do so as the ball only came near him two times.  He won a free and stuck it over out of that sequence.  It appears to me the two Brogan brothers will only pass the ball to each other.  If I was on the All-Stars selection panel and somebody played me a video of a forward on a team, two points down in an All-Ireland Semi Final and him ballooning the ball high into Hill 16 with no more time on the clock instead of passing the ball (for once) to a player knowing that the only way to win was with a goal then I would not be giving him an All-Star. The best team lost on the day and they lost because of stupid decisions like that and what was made on the sideline.  Next year will be the same. And the year after.

[lynchbhoy]

 Hard luck Dublin. Have to say that I was wrong about Gilroy and he has turned it around this season. I still question some of the individual selections but cant argue with getting within an inch of the final and if they did....
I'd think that the tactic of withdrawing all the players behind half way leaving the dynamic duo of O'Gara to attack the high ball and BB to attack the breaks and everything else may be just a plan A with no plan B, but it so nearly worked. Keaney would not provide as good a foil for BB in this regards. If Dublin had kicked even more high ball into the FF line for OGara, I think Cork would have buckled. Dublin ae far cuter and cynical now and wouldnt allow fast frees and ball to be taken, also I have to admit they did border on the edge of persistent fouling to stop corks attacks - and they have done this for the past few games. OK it might be puke football and it might not be pretty, but if it won them th eAI, then it would be worth doing.  Teams playing free flowing football rarely win in the modern game - even Kerry had to adapt to this tactic a couple of years ago !

I'd also agree that the penalty was def a penalty - an american football tackle and there is no way the forward coul dhave thrown himself backwards like that- even without this, by wrapping both arms around the attacker - that was a penalty. Thats why moconnell was taken out of FB this season !
Standards across football are levelling and the top 3 are very close to the rest of the pack now and football is better for it. The anticipation of all intercounty teams for next season should be that they all can win it !