Dubs have improved, but not enough

By Brendan O’Brien

Saturday, July 31, 2010

ONE or two pundits have been hedging their bets over this one in the past week but it is hard to see why. Yes, Dublin have improved, but not to the extent that they can expect to defeat Tyrone in August.

This is not the same Tyrone team that the Dubs wiped the floor with back in April in Omagh. There was no Pascal McConnell playing that day. No Justin McMahon, Kevin Hughes, Brian Dooher or Owen Mulligan.

Sean Cavanagh was only back a wet week from injury. In the months since, Tyrone blitzed Antrim for 35 minutes, recovered from a disastrous 20 to destroy Down and walked all over Monaghan in the Ulster final.

Those last two performances have been particularly striking. Down and Monaghan weren’t just defeated, they were suffocated by a side showing all its experience and demonstrating all its class.

The defence has been immense. Benny Coulter and Tommy Freeman managed a single point between them and, just to make things worse for opponents, McConnell is well on course for an All Star. Their midfield has been less dominant but Tyrone make up for it with the high concentration of turnovers they achieve elsewhere in the middle third and their spread of scorers has diluted the absence of Stephen O’Neill up front.

To be fair, Dublin have reason to cheer. Pat Gilroy finally seems to have settled on his best 15. They will benefit from that continuity but they are not exactly setting the world alight either. Eoghan O’Gara is unlikely to score two goals again with McMahon for company which means all eyes will again turn to Bernard Brogan who simply must avoid the fate of Coulter and Freeman today if Dublin are to have some hope.

Dublin’s new defensive mindset and willingness to graft will keep it tighter than the 2005 replay and the blowout two years ago.

However this game is coming at least 12 months too soon for them.

- Verdict: Tyrone

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, July 31, 2010