LSFC Final: Dublin v Westmeath 12.7.2015 Croke Park 2PM

[Iarmhí Abú]

Sunday was strange.  I didn't really harbour much hope that we'd actually win.  I feared that we'd ship a heavy beating if the Dubs got a run on us.  There is no other team capable of the same kind of feeding frenzy that this Dublin team can unleash on occasions.  I left afterwards with an unfamiliar feeling after a championship match.  We'd lost a provincial final but I wasn't as deflated as I anticipated.
The first few minutes seemed to settle the team and I thought that they played well for most of the first half.  The disappointment was the failure to take some available scores.  The lack of forward support left players in possession with few options.  It was apparent that the WH players were almost all second best in terms of physical strength.  Any time they went into contact it was a turnover.  A number of times we were bottled up on the sideline and players thrown around like Paidi's famous "loaf of bread".  Some of the shots were "Hail Mary" efforts due to an absence of options but some were just poor efforts that should have brought a return.  Heslin's lack of mobility from an early stage didn't help.
Once again we conceded two goals inside a minute.  Cribbin will have something to say about both of them, especially the second one.  I was heartened by the resolve shown from there to the finish.  It was a lost cause but they still threw themselves into challenges and pride was evident from every quarter.  It was a pity we didn't tag on another few points but the focus seemed to keep the concessions under control.
I'd give Tom Cribbin a fair bit of praise for pulling it together.  Dublin in Croker was far from his thoughts until very recently and this style was previously alien to our psyche. 
Gavin will have a few things to think about also.  He'll come against even better drilled defences than ours very soon and they will also possess a sharper edge up front than we could muster.  Connolly showed his class on a number of occasions.  Both Brogans showed glimpses but McManamon and Rock will probably not have increased their stock.
In conclusion I think WH will regard the Leinster campaign as a very positive one.  Three victories in the championship including the long-awaited Meath scalp leading to the final.  A reasonable showing against Dublin and football into late July.  It's not long since this team seemed incapable of manufacturing a win of any sort.  Consecutive relegations amid gloom and recrimination.
This will bring the team a long way in terms of confidence and development.  I'm not sure how elevated the eventual destination may prove but they've turned a major corner and the outlook is far brighter than I recently dared hope.  The prospect of potentially playing championship football in August is almost too good to be true.  We're in bonus territory for a while now so bring on Fermanagh.

[Jinxy]

Agree on the gap in physical strength.
Some of your wing backs/forwards persisted with taking the ball into contact and were turned over multiple times as a result.

[heffo]

Westmeath gave a good account of themselves, frustrated Dublin and generally did well implementing a style that was clearly foreign to them.

Had they gone out all guns blazing, they probably would've been beaten by a cricket score and be down going into the next game.

As it is, they've a great chance v Fermanagh and their spirits are up.

Either way, Tom Cribben has done a good job and they have some quality young players.

Hard to know about Dublin, assuming it's Cork we play, they'll have come through two tough games where as our last tough game was probably Tyrone or Derry back in the spring.

[twohands!!!]

Agree on the gap in physical strength.
Some of your wing backs/forwards persisted with taking the ball into contact and were turned over multiple times as a result.

As regards the whole taking the ball into contact,when Westmeath were running the ball out of defence, they constantly seemed to end up right in the very centre of the field around midfield as opposed to using the wings - the fact that they were so narrow here, made it fierce easy for Dublin to get numbers around the ball and led to a very high number of turnovers. A couple of runners hugging the touchlines who were available for the lateral pass in midfield could have made a significant impact in terms of turning defence into offence.

Between this failing and the number of dropped shots into Cluxton's hands/misfiring attack, it really had all the hallmarks of a side with little serious experience of playing the blanket. It will be interesting to see if there is a radical change in tactics for the Fermanagh game.
Also will Fermanagh push up on kickouts to the extent that Dublin did.