Áth Cliath vs Iarmhí

[his holiness nb]

well he looked all right turning darren fay inside out recently. His head wasn't right last year for it but i thnk he'll be much different this year he's not even 21 yet, people tend to forget that.

Remains to be seen, but to be honest Indiana, Connolly will have to do his time on the bench and impress from there to get a starting place.

The argument that he isnt effective as a sub is pretty much tough, he is a good player or he isnt, dont make excuses. If he is as good as you say theres no reason he cant do it as a sub, unless Jinxy is right and he doesnt have the head for it.

Incidentally this is the first time in ages Ive seen the team selection and was pleasantly surprised by Pillar.

[Jinxy]

well he looked all right turning darren fay inside out recently. His head wasn't right last year for it but i thnk he'll be much different this year he's not even 21 yet, people tend to forget that.

Go away out of that. Acres of space to run into with only 23 outfield players on the pitch instead of 28. Sure I'd give Darren the run around myself in that case. I must say, quite a few Dublin fans seemed to place a great deal of stock in that win. Thought the whole thing was a waste of time myself after all the red cards. If we'd won I certainly wouldn't have been getting excited about it.

[Hound]

Go away out of that. Acres of space to run into with only 23 outfield players on the pitch instead of 28. Sure I'd give Darren the run around myself in that case. I must say, quite a few Dublin fans seemed to place a great deal of stock in that win. Thought the whole thing was a waste of time myself after all the red cards. If we'd won I certainly wouldn't have been getting excited about it.

Jeez, there were three lads in front of me getting quare excited when yis got back into the game....

Whatever about space, Connolly getting the better of Fay had nothing to do with pace. If it was a game in Croke Park and 15v15, I don't think Connolly would have any less space to work in. In saying that there is a huge difference between championship and league and I don't think many Meath supporters would be worried if we met in the QF and Connolly was picked at 14. But equally Dublin fans would be hopeful.

I don't think we put a "great deal of stock" in that win. There were a few individual performances which pleased, and also the way the team responded to the Meath comeback to nick the win in the end was a great relief. Despite being a league game, the way the game went, it would have been a real gut wrencher to lose it, and could have negatively impact on the whole season.

Indiana, I think you answered your own question regarding Connolly. He is only 21. He's still learning. I think its silly to say that Diarmuid isnt appreciated. He'll have a big part to play this year, and in future years. There is no good reason why he can't learn to be an impact sub for a while, before finally taking over from Jason or whoever. When Sherlock doesnt play, we lack a conductor in the forwards, plus he's been kicking points recently better than he ever has.

[DUBSFORSAM1]

Indiana - Not blind optimisim on the Dublin fans to think we can/should beat Westmeath.....I don't buy into this idea that the Westmeath backs can mark our forwards out of it, there system of having their 2 half forwards back in defence to block space will help with that but it then reduces their chances of getting at our backs.....The only teams that have beaten us are the teams that have on and outscored us in a fairly high scoring game and I cant see Westmeath trying that..

[AN other]

I disagree DFS1, I think Westmeath will be trying to outscore Dublin...

Westmeath team as per Offaly apart from Flanagan being replaced by Duffy and Buddah being replaced by Bannon. No great surprises there.
I'm not sure about Bannon at all, he's young and inexperienced and not the type of game you want to be introducing a new championship starter but at the same time if I had a say in the team selection I'd probably give him his chance ahead of Buddah. Buddah may make a bit of an impact off the bench. If Bannon can perform like he did in the league final I'd be a little surprised, pleasantly so obviously. Hopefully Flanagan is fit enough to give us 20 minutes or more, it'd be a great lift to be able to bring him on at some stage. Duffy was an automatic selection.
I also wonder how David Glennon is getting on in training, it would be an ideal game for him to come off the bench and deliver on some of the potential that he was promising a few years ago. Stranger things have happened I suppose...
I think we're very much depending on good performances and scoring from all three of Dessie, Denis and Wilson however. If Dessie and Wilson bring their form from the Offaly game into this one and Denis improves considerably we could have enough scoring wise. Dessie in particular could have a massive game in him, he's almost due one and he showed more than sparks of his best form against Offaly. Dessie on form could drag Westmeath over the line.
Another positive (clutching at straws) from a Westmeath point of view would be the similarities to '04. Playing Dublin in the semi's having beat Offaly in the previous round. Dublin strong favourites with AI ambitions (then again when have they not had AI ambitions, they're an ambitious bunch!). A Westmeath victory would possibly finish Caffrey as per Lyon's in '04. Westmeath missing an influential midfielder. It's in the cards...
It could be a cracker anyway, let's hope so, with a one point win for Westmeath.

Iarmhí abú.

[AZOffaly]

I think Westmeath's gameplan will be to try and stop Dublin from getting their tails up, and jumping into a 5 or 6 point lead at any stage in the first or early second half. They will play at least 7 defenders, and another couple of auxiliary midfielders in an attempt to keep it low scoring, and to frustrate the Dubs.

I'm not sure if it will work, but I think that will be their plan, and when they win ball, let Glennon, Dessie and Bannon take advantage of 1 on 1s. I'd not be surprised to see Bannon in the inside line, at least for a while, and Dessie roaming out around the 40. Bannnon is young, and raw. The physical nature of the Dublin half backs might trouble him, so I can see him being left inside.

I actually think it's a hard one to call. It's like one of those games where if Dublin get a run on, they might win pulling up, by 6 or 7 points. Alternatively, if Westmeath can keep within 2 or 3 points, or lead, and Dublin start to get frustrated, then Westmeath can win it. I don't think they'll be easy for the Dubs to break down.

The Croker factor might be significant. Not for the crowd noise, or the 'home' venue per se., but I think the big open spaces of Croke Park mitigates against the gameplan Westmeath will be trying to play (in my opinion). They'll still be organised and stubborn, but there should be more room for the Dubs to play around them, if they keep their heads. If this game was in Portlaoise, or Mullingar, or Newbridge, I'd seriously fancy Westmeath to tie them up in knots for long periods.

[AN other]

I don't think there's any doubt AZ that Westmeath will set up like that, I'd be very surprised not to see Dessie on the 40.

Out of interest, does anybody know the actual pitch dimension for Croker, say compared to Mullingar/Tullamore/Portlaoise?

[AZOffaly]

I certainly don't know the dimensions off hand, but I'd be very surprised if Mullingar or Tullamore were as big as Croker. Portlaoise might be a bit bigger, but I think Croker is the biggest pitch in the country.

[INDIANA]

its the width not he length. there are club pitches in dublin the same size as croker funnily enough.
the mood in dublin is that this will be handy enough. or at best westmeath will put it up to dublin for a while and fall away. Its not an opinion i share and the over-confidence from the support going into sunday is something that concerns me, because it smacks of 04.

[AN other]

According to Wikipedia the dimensions for Croker are 144.5m x 88m. Would be interesting to compare to other county grounds. The big wide open spaces of Croker are frequently talked about but I would be interested to know how much bigger than other county grounds they are in fact. Mullingar always seems very tight.
The stands and shape of stands could possibly make the pitch look bigger than it is as well, especially looking down on the pitch from the stands.
To be honest, I just don't accept anything that suggests we won't beat the Dubs! 
I'm pretty sure the pitch at home was measured as being as big as croker before, Westmeath should have been training there the last few weeks!

[heffo]

I disagree DFS1, I think Westmeath will be trying to outscore Dublin...

Hopefully Flanagan is fit enough to give us 20 minutes or more, it'd be a great lift to be able to bring him on at some stage.

Westmeath played a 20 minute training match last night and he played the whole lot and came through ok - expect to see him at some stage on Sunday.

No doubt Westmeath will setup as described, Croker is indeed the biggest pitch in the country, so it's really about how long W/Meath can maintain that system into the second half.

I don't agree with the '04 comparisons and the Dubs, it was a very unhappy camp under Lyons by '04 (not taking away from Westmeath's win on the day - they were worthy winners)

[heffo]

the mood in dublin is that this will be handy enough. or at best westmeath will put it up to dublin for a while and fall away. Its not an opinion i share and the over-confidence from the support going into sunday is something that concerns me, because it smacks of 04.

Call it so Indiana, how do you think it's going to go?

I think Dublin will be in for a right game and it's going to be very tight for first half and some of the second - as I see it, they have v good backs/man markers, two top class forwards in Dolan & Glennon, but an unproven midfield at championship level (though we can say the same ourselves about Fennell), I think Westmeath would have to play at the top of their game and Dublin to play very poorly for a Westmeath win, Dublin to edge it but about 3.

If I'm wrong, I'll be the first to congratulate Westmeath.

[INDIANA]

i think if it goes to form we'll win by about 3-4 points. if westmeath don't turn up up front, then dublin could win by a margin. if Dublin don't turn up then we'll lose, i don't see dublin winning if they underperform, which they would get away with against some other counties in Leinster. but i can't get over fans talking about all-irelands at this stage, thats the mistake derry made and look where they are now.

[thejuice]

According to Wikipedia the dimensions for Croker are 114.5m x 88m.

is it just me or is it a f**king joke that not all senior GAA pitches are the same size. Surely there should be a specific regulation size for pitches. and not a range of 130-145 metres and 80-90 metres.

[AZOffaly]

I suppose the size of land physically available to them is a factor, especially in the older grounds. Maybe when the new ground developments are being done, it should be a stipulation. I know that O'Connor park has removed the old concrete bench seats behind the town end to make about 5 metres more length in the pitch.