There was a juncture, about half way through the second half of Mayo’s consignment of Louth back down to earth with a thump when the thought struck that it could – maybe should – have been us.
Facing into the most glorious two weeks devotees of any county team may ever be fortunate enough to experience. The run-in to an All Ireland Final. Matched, or possibly even topped, only by the equivalent of your club team having a similar scenario revolving around a county final.
Strip away the personal involvement or connection though, and everything about either event becomes the loneliest place on planet earth. And the last place on this big old ball you would want to be.
For it would be akin to ordering a Chinese takeaway but being told they don’t serve curry. Yet, for a few short moments as the Mayo faithful hailed another resurrection as only they can, those two most hurtful words for anyone in a vanquished position – What if – ruminated almost audibly.
- What if we’d managed to keep out even one of those goals against Westmeath?
- What if that second goal had gone in just on half time against Cork?
- What if Ruairi Kinsella’s injury never happened.
- What if James Conlon had been awarded they free he wss entitled to?
- What if busy body Sean Hurson had seen Jack Coyne hitting Ronan Jones before our man stupidly struck back?
- The same question regarding Conor Lane on sideline?
- What if Meath had taken a gamble on some of the young ‘stock’ in the county like Adam McDonnell, Cillian Yore, Sam Jordan, Rian Stafford, Rian McConnell, Cian Commons or Jamie Murphy?
Right, so if my aunt was kitted out differently she’d be my uncle, but, for one thing, the impacts made by both Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald more than justified the faith placed in them by Andy Moran.
And for another, the fact that we were only beaten by three points on a night when a few horrendous refereeing decisions went against them by a team who ended up in the All Ireland Final. At least.
All to be pondered over the weeks and months ahead. Yes there are plenty of positives to be taken from the season from a Meath perspective. Yet, being outside of the golden harvest looking in never gets any easier.
However, there are exceptions to every rule. In the context of Gaelic football, there is no greater exhibit of same than matches between Kerry and Dublin.
Thus, it should have been little or no surprise that the latest installment of the neverending story made a mockery of so-called form and perceptions of how the game might have turned out.
From the time Meath defeated Dublin in May of 2025, the narrative has been that those who are now Ger Brennan’s charges are in some form of decline.
Put a Kerry jersey in front of a Dub and they become a different beast. The same applies the other way around. Hence, even when David Clifford cracked home the rebound of his saved penalty – which was contentious enough in its awarding – Dublin again regained their composure and scores from Charlie McMorrow, Colm Basquel, Con O’Callaghan, Paddy Small and Cormac Costello ensured the sides went in deadlocked 0-11 to 1-08.
Small, Basquel and Brian Howard then kicked the two shades of blue a somewhat unlikely three point lead immediately after the restart before the first major indicator that it may not be inclined to be Dublin’s day interjected.
Initially as Kerry’s discovery of the season – Sean O’Brien – offloaded the ball to the Dubs onion bag. Only for his doing so to have a serious dose of dodgy off it. Due to the fact that the latest talented No. 8 of that name in Irish sport had been in the Dublin square long enough that he could’ve pitched a tent and fished in the Canal while waiting for the ball to arrive.
From there, the sense that the Gods were conspiring against the boys in blue didn’t get any less when television replays seemed to clearly indicate that a Dublin goal attempt had indeed crossed the line before being hacked off of it by the immense Mike Breen.
Take away all the raw emotion, though, and Ger Brennan et al will know they left plenty of opportunities to have swung the verdict their way behind them.
Not only in terms of scores missed either. As Michael Verney of the Irish Independent rightly observed “Some day, a team will think about Paudie Clifford”. Because whenever the more important of the two brothers – yes I went there – is allowed the free role Jack O’Connor wants him to have, he wreaks absolute havoc.
On that, it will be very interesting to see what Mayo do about the Paudie problem.
David McBrien has undoubtedly been one of the green and red’s most impressive performers all season but that in itself presents Andy Moran with a conundrum.
Does he tie McBrien down, as it were, to tag the Personal Computer of the Kingdom team or – what I would be more inclined to do – sacrifice a forward to police the wanderer and leave McBrien manning the middle.
Ironically as Sean Boylan did when our lads took on John Maughan’s team in 1996. Detailing Evan Kelly to track Colm McMennamin in the drawn game and Colm Brady to take up the same task in the replay. All the while, allowing Enda McManus to lock down the centre and meaning the roving western 40 yards man would have to get past our fella on the way back in. He didn’t. With greatest consequence being when Enda’s interception and long ball set Brendan Reilly on the way to sealing his place in history.
In fact – as a great man once said – on mature recollection – if Moran is intent on assigning a man-marker to Paudie Clifford, Stephen Coen would seem the ideal for the job. Not only because he’s among the most experienced in what is a relatively young Mayo side but also because, to borrow a bit of parlance from another code, Coen is more regularly deployed as a defensive midfielder or half forward.
That would leave the Connacht side situated in such a way that their barricades would be sufficiently bolstered whilst at the same time, in Conor Loftus, Jordan Flynn, Beirne, Ryan O’Dopossessnoghue and Kobe they possess firepower more than capable of making Jacko lift off the baseball cap and scratch his head.
Which leads nicely into the latest buzz phrase in GAA – ‘Match Ups’. Modern speak for whos going to mark who.
The solution to which might give an intriguing insight to a Kerry defence which sometimes get overshadowed by their highly vaunted attacking colleagues.
To my mind, Jason Foley has played himself into being the best full back in the game presently. From an old fashioned point of view of patrolling and dominating the square.
However, that in itself presents Jack, Cian O’Neill and Aodhan Mac Gearailt with a conundrum. If you take it that – with the team lining out as it currently is – do they go as is, i. e. Foley staying as a conventional full back and thus taking O’Donoghue, or, for example, do they move him to either of the corners in efforts to minimize the influence of the two young lads.
So not much between the sides on any score so far. Perhaps, then, the tipping of scales will come down to whichever side can derive greatest impact from their benches.
Thus, on one side, they will look to Tom O’Sullivan, Armin Heimrich, Evan Looney, Killian Spillane and Keith Evans, and on the other, Andy Moran and Colm Biyle will have Rory Brickenden, Diarmuid O’Connor, Tommie Conroy, Matt Ruane, Cillian O’Connor, Cian McHale and Aidan O’Shea held in reserve.
Still can’t split them? Me neither. The entertainment will be in the intrigue.
Leave a Reply