Conor McManus: The West's awake but it's resurrection time for Dublin
Watching
Kerry
-
Roscommon
on Saturday, Kerry were 10 points up when the hooter went. If this was in a provincial championship or the knockouts, the ball would have been kicked over the sideline and the final whistle would have been blown.
But Kerry kept playing. They're hardly likely to be under pressure for scoring difference at the end of the group stages but they were still looking for more, which was a bit dispiriting for Roscommon. All told, it was a rough weekend for Connacht football.
Mayo
lost to
Cavan
in championship for the first time since the 1948 All-Ireland. I know we've seen them bounce back over the years but it's hard to know where this leaves them.
They were poor and obviously haven't coped too well with their defeat in the Connacht final. You could see how heavily Mayo invested in that game when they played with a lot of intent and energy. We didn't see any of that from them at the weekend.
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Obviously, credit has to go to Cavan but you wonder does it say something about the relative strengths in the two provinces? Ulster have nearly half the counties in the Sam Maguire, seven out of 16. Mayo, for instance, are in a group with three Ulster teams.
Aidan O'Shea in action for Mayo against Cavan at MacHale Park. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho
It has its disadvantages. Ulster football teams are always playing each other and it's not easy having to face the same teams when the margins are so tight.
The main spotlight at the weekend was on
Galway
. While it was always on the cards that
Dublin
would be better than they looked against Meath when losing their Leinster title, I'm not sure anyone was expecting that performance.
I had experience of winning a provincial title and the team not being able to find their best form in the next game. In Monaghan's case, though, winning Ulster was a bigger deal than Galway retaining the Connacht title. So you could understand maybe some sort of slower reaction or difficulty getting to the pitch of it the next day.
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But from a Galway point of view, you would be surprised that there was a dip in performance or a loss of concentration because they had won their fourth Connacht championship in a row. A brilliant achievement but not really what they are chasing.
I was probably expecting a faster start from Galway. They were playing with the help of the strong Salthill breeze in the first half. Instead, it was Dublin with all the ball and the first three or four attacks. They got nothing from the first but Seán Bugler scored a point from the second. Already, Dublin were setting the terms of the game, although you were waiting on Galway to do that on home ground, to sow the seeds of doubt, particularly with the wind at their back. It didn't happen.
Dublin's Tom Lahiff celebrates after kicking the winning score against Galway. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho
Then, midway through the second half, you sensed Galway were getting on top and they caught up with a goal, but it just breathed new life into Dublin again.
It was interesting to watch Dublin. When was the last time they went into a championship match as underdogs? They certainly got a response. Ciarán Kilkenny hasn't played as well in quite a while and other big players also stood up.
Con O'Callaghan was excellent and his injury is a worry for Dessie Farrell. Stephen Cluxton's kickouts were spot on – the very last one a stunning restart, requiring real nerve. Bugler energised the team on his return but some of the younger players really impressed me.
If you're in that Dublin dressingroom listening to how the team is finished after losing to Meath, how are you feeling? If you're in the younger group and everyone is sympathising with the team because you can't be expected to be as good as the fellas who retired, what's your response likely to be?
Theo Clancy was very good at full back, a coming-of-age performance. The same for Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne, who has been on the panel for a while but has blossomed this year between Cuala winning the club All-Ireland and the responsibility of stepping up for Brian Fenton. Lorcan O'Dell at centre-half forward was also impressive.
Theo Clancy in action for Dublin. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho
It was still a lethargic enough sort of performance from Galway, one which we haven't come to expect of late. Normally they're full of energy, launching tackles and turnovers and driving the play. That was lacking from the word go.
Kick out strategy was just Connor Gleeson going as long as he could, right down the throat of Dublin's centre-half back. In other words, get it out, get it down the field and let's get after it but they simply didn't get their hands on enough ball. Between breaking ball and clean possession, Dublin dealt really well with that.
Galway needed a Plan B and you saw Gleeson trying to work a couple of short kicks and on occasion actually tap the ball to himself. All of this was a major malfunction because if Galway were expected to have any area of strength, it was there in the middle where they have big guns: John Maher, Paul Conroy, Céin D'Arcy and Matthew Tierney and their ability to facilitate going long.
I played a couple of championship games in Salthill. We won the first in 2018 and lost last year when we actually played better against the wind than with it.
Connor Gleeson of Galway takes a sideline kick at Pearse Stadium. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho
There are two different approaches in the sense that when you're playing against the wind, you opt for a running game and need support runners. It is all about controlling the play, which Dublin did quite well at times.
With the wind, you need more urgency in your game and to get your finishers on the ball, particularly out around the D with the two-point arc. Dublin were patient and didn't panic, even in the second half when the tendency would be to start getting panicked into pot shots.
They worked the ball into scoring areas and got the right men on the ball at the right times and took their scores. There's a danger when you're playing in Salthill, maybe to get caught up with the elements and feel pressure to start making things happen, which leads to teams forcing the game a wee bit.
Dublin simply didn't do that. They just stuck to the game plan, they kept the ball moving and kept their key men on the ball as much as they could.
There are going to be a few twists and turns in that group – with Armagh and Derry – before it's all over because you have teams that can take points off each other. And will.
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