AISF 2010: Corcaigh vs Áth Cliath

[Zulu]

do you think he is a better player overall right now than Murphy?

I think he is better than Alan O'Connor anyway and currently he is a better option than Murphy as Nick doesn't have 70 minutes in him. And he'll be a far better midfielder than Murphy ever was over the next few years IMO. By the way he played a lot of his underage football in the HB line so he isn't a scorer and he didn't play brilliantly today but he has immense talent and I would have thought that was clear for all to see.


As for Cork, well they continue to underperform. I thought Dublin deserved to win the game and maybe could have done so had they pushed on a bit more. Counihan doesn't seem to know what he wants and he certainly isn't getting the team to play to its strengths. Sheehan should be wing forward, Colm O'Neill to FF and Cadogan should start in the backline. Decision to play Canty was wrong too IMO and I'd get Cork to kick the ball in more. I don't mind handpassing when necessary or even as a style of play but it is easy enough to counteract if it is your only ploy. Cork may well win the AI now, though I wouldn't put much on it, but Counihan isn't the man to get the most out the talent in Cork.

the manager of a junior club would have seen the change that needed to be made.

Which were?

[ross4life]

Cork avg 1-14 per game in 6 games while Dublin avg is 1-16 per game...

So Cork a little above the Avg today... while Dublin down a little

[Capt Pat]

Kildare's AI to lose.

And they will.

[Main Street]

Tough on the Dubs but they can have no complaints, only regrets.
The ref had a good game. For the life of me I could not figure out why the some of the Cork players were clutching their face as they hit the deck like a felled redwood tree.

Sad for Brogan after having a game like that, I knew he was good but I honestly did not know he was this good.

[Mike Sheehy]

Adrian Walsh sealed donkey of the yr, how that man gets on the cork team i dont know. There is no football in him.

No10 and No12 won the game for Cork, these two lads kept cork in when behind. There lines of runing and ball carrying skills where a honour to watch. There awareness to turn out of trouble just brlliant. Colm O Neill intro sealed the win.

Its true that his kicking can be very wayward but he is a good player. I was at the drawn game in Killarney and when the going got tough he never shirked, won a lot of ball and was never afraid to take responsibility. He is very raw but  I think he could develop into a very good player which is very worrying for a Kerry perspective.

[Maiden1]

Dublin definitely left that game behind them in Croke today, but they'll have better days in the not too distant future.

Don't think it works like that.  Cork where there for the taking today if the Dubs had a bit more composure and they would have bit your hand off at the start of the year if you had offered an AI final against the winners of Kildare and Down.

They have lost a serious amount of tight games over the last 20 years.

Meath over 4 games in 91 when the better team for large parts of it
Donegal when hot favourites 92
Derry by a point in 93
Missed penalty when losing to Down by 2 in 94
Maurice Fitz last minute equalised from sideline in 2001
Easy free missed in last minute against Armagh in 2002
Mugsy goals in 05 drawn game
6 up against Mayo with about 20 minutes to go in the AI semi final in 06

They just don't seem to have to have the composure in the last 10 minutes when they see the finishing line.

[Jinxy]

definite penalty for me too, stupid defending..


what about all the poxy frees Deegan gave them as well that weren't frees. A truly disgraceful referreeing performance.

As disgraceful as the refereeing may have been Cork have spared Duibin a probable AI humiliation from Kildare or Down.  Hard to call by todays game if Cork are good enough for an AI  as it was a poor game and unless Kildare and Down do better next week the GAA world will be on their knees praying for a Tyrone and Kerry return to the semis to entertain you all.   
 
As it stands you'd have to back Kildare for for the final as the only team left who actually possess a spine this year.

The idea that Down would be capable of humiliating Dublin is simply laughable.
They beat a Kerry team that was limping along minus half last years team and now they are being talked up on the back of it.
I honestly think Kildare will make bits of them.

[magpie seanie]

Mike - Dublin lost it more than Cork won it. Cork got what I still maintain was a dubious penalty (the pictures back up what thought happened) and a few soft frees towards the end. This coupled with Dublin running out of juice and their lack of experience let Cork over the line. Credit to Cork obviously for keeping going but Dublin should be sick.

[Mike Sheehy]

That was a seriously gutsy performance from the langers. That point seems to be lost on here. All the pressure was on them coming into this game and they trailed the whole game until the 70th min but they stuck with it. If that was Meath, Tyrone, Armagh etc people would be wetting themselves with misty eyed cuculainn-ish hero talk. Instead it's a case of the other side throwing it away

[Mike Sheehy]

(sorry hit delete instead of modify!)

Jaysus, how can you say the penalty was dubious...it was the most obvious penalty I have ever see 

[Mike Sheehy]

running out of juice means Cork were fitter and lack of experience means Cork had more experience so that means Cork are a better team so the better team won. I mean, whats next....the other team "only" won because they were more accurate !!

Look, dont get me wrong, Dublin undoubtedly could have won but this is a bit of a bugbear with me as I've heard it so many times with Kerry  , basically, the premise is that some teams are expected to win by a certain amount and if they only scrape home by one then they were "let off the hook" ...other teams , on the other hand show "great grit" to pull a game they are expected to win out of the fire.....its a fierce double standard.

[magpie seanie]

OK - you're entitled to your opinion as I am to mine.

[Maiden1]

OK - you're entitled to your opinion as I am to mine.

Have you not seen Donnellys Hollows photos?  BOD could learn a few things from that tackle

[tyroneman]

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.

[ONeill]

Watching it again - Kerrigan wasn't far off MOTM.