Dublin v Donegal AI Semi Final - 28 August 2011 Páirc An Chrócaigh

The Dublin Juggernaut now at full steam, playing a brand of football that has the purists and traditionalists salivating. A team that has now clearly buried the perceived soft spots.
Can’t close out the game, Can’t beat teams outside Leinster, One Man Forward line. All of these myths well and truly dispelled last night.

Their opponents Donegal – The “Wimbledon” of Gaelic Football, playing a brand of football that not even their own mothers could like. A one trick pony outfit that should have had their season ended if it were not for the square glasses of Davin end Officialdom. 30 Counties on this island want a Dublin V Kerry final and its against this swade of opinion that Donegal will be heading down the N2 in Late August.

History has the sides at 1/1/1, a win each and a draw. A league final victory for Dublin in 1993, and a big win in the most recent clash (2002 championship) giving them the edge on the stats board.

Player v Player – Donegal star man Lacey will possibly mark Alan Brogan, Next keyman in defence is McGee who before last night would have marked Bernard but now will more than likely play on Connolly – which leaves Donegal limited Frank MCGlynn against the additional threat from B Brogan and O Gara if fit. Donegal have been effective in keeping teams outside the 40 but have not played against anything as fast and accurate as we saw from Dublin last night. In addition Dublin and Connolly in particular showed last night that kicking points over the blanket from 40 yards doesn’t seem to be a concern. What Donegal may do that Tyrone did not is ensure that someone is there to
Clean up and broken ball that comes in long. Mchugh maybe sitting in front of the back three.

Donegal don’t have a midfield and Dublin steamrolled Hughes and Cavangh last night
so Dublin will have swathes of position from kickouts.

Up front Murphy is obviously the key man for Donegal – He is the only forward that scores consistently – O Carroll got man of the match on Murphy in the U-21 final last year and it will be certain that that is what the match up will be even if Murphy roams.
McFadden does not have the pace for a fit Dublin back line on a dry August day. It will be a big ask for young McBrearty to keep a cool head in the Cauldron that will be a Packed hill against the dubs. Outside of that Donegal don’t have forwards.

In summary Dublin will dominate midfield and will have huge amounts of possession
Whilst the Donegal defence will be much tighter than last night – The quality of ball and ability to kick long points from at least three forwards should be enough to put up a reasonable score. If Carroll keep Murphy quiet can’t see where Donegal can score enough to stay in touch.

Finally got round to watching the Dub/Tyrone game on Sky+ there and I have to say I can't commend Dublin's performance highly enough; their passing was slick, direct, and speedy, they exploited the space of Croke Park extremely well, their defending was intense with some wonderful blocking, and really and truly they have sent out a definitive roar that they have overtaken their old nemeses Tyrone and established themselves as a new force. Tyrone remain a quality side though! The old tag of the 'Dirty Dubs' can in no way be attributed to this team, they are disciplined for their relative youth, they adhere very well to what is obviously a well thought-out system. It's a long long time since a Tyrone team has looked so inept in the face of such determined opposition. All in all if they can maintain that overwhelming hunger I see little reason to doubt that they will go all the way.

But Donegal will be a very different type of test...and it will be a game that will test their nerve and their hunger. Donegal will not back down with their defensive system, they will take some wearing down. But Kildare exposed some of the Tir Chonaill weaknesses, namely that they are vulnerable against proven distance shooters and despite having three damn good forwards they can be severely limited in the scoring department. Karl Lacey will have to be at his very best for this game. The reason this game will test Dublin is that they must remain ice cool and disciplined for the entire game....they will wear Donegal down eventually if they do so. If they lose their shape, stray from their system, and start to rush, Donegal will have the resilience to overcome the Dubs.

If I were Pat Gilroy I would be doing two things : work on distance shooting and get his finest marksmen in and around the half forward line; go for goal and they might get one but if they stay accurate and keep chipping away they will simply have too much firepower for Donegal. The second thing I would is absolutely make sure the players stay well away from media of any kind....the expectation will be huge on them and Donegal will absolutely revel in their underdog role.

I like Donegal, I spent a lot of time there at Gaeltacht courses and have many friends around Gaoth Dobhair. They're a great people. The Tir Chonaill men have hunger, determination, and an infectious mindset made all the more likeable by their plucky display against Kildare. But I would love to see Dublin do it this year, provided they exhibit the same mixture of ruthlessness, intensity, and above all skill that they did yesterday. If Donegal win then fair play to them but I fear it will only encourage more teams to adopt the defensive mentality.

As much as everyone loves to hate the Dubs, this team is going in the right direction and for a Dublin team they are remarkably refreshing and honest in their endeavour.

Full credit to Pat Gilroy so far for the job he's done...but they ain't won nothin' yet! Donegal will not lie down and the Dub forwards will have to be on top form and somehow find themselves space.

Also, I'm sure Mickey Harte would have dearly loved to dedicate an All-Ireland triumph to his daughter but I must give full credit to Tyrone in how they have dealt with the tragedy (and the other tragedies that have befallen them in the past). Mickey's commitment to that team and his utter refusal to allow tragedy to come between him and what he clearly believes to be a duty to his county is in itself a fitting dedication to the memory of his little girl.

In short, Dublin seem to have everything required to take on Donegal and it's hard to seem the 'juggernaut' being stopped by a team of slightly lower quality. But like I said, Donegal will take some wearing down....and the Dubs must be fully prepared for that.

I'll be honest - for the sake of football I hope Dublin give Donegal a good beating. I can see nothing else. I don't think Donegal are a good side this year - and I think Ulster was weak enough. Kildare were unlucky again with a referee call but have a habit of shooting themselves in the feet. Dublin will be hungry - of that there is NO doubt. They will be focused and ready. And can you imagine what last night did for player's confidence - esp Connolly. They will be bouncing at training now - but focused only on Donegal. Yes the media will hype fook out of it cos thats what they do - but the players won't buy it and the fans ain't either.

I can't see anything but a Dublin victory for this match unless something goes terribly terribly wrong for them in the next couple of weeks. This will be the real test to show up the blanket defence for what it is.

I never thought I'd see the day when a manager would pick three half-backs in the half-forward line and go with two holding midfielders in Bastick and McAuley.

So for the sake of football...........this has to be a Donegal win. Anything else will be a disaster and I fear other teams will start copying the Dublin lead.

I’ve heard them say in Dublin there’s gold in them there hills.........So don’t despair, ‘cos if you dare, the answer lies with me.

Sure Banty is putting forwards in the backs the whole time cos ye have a crap defence.

Anyway to take the thread seriously and move away from the lad who is fooking sick that the Dubs are going well - I think Dublin will see lots of ways to get at Donegal's defence. My guess is that goals will be on their minds in the first 20. If Dublin build a big lead (say 6 points) - will Donegal have a Plan B? Hard to see. And if Plan B involves coming out and trying to play football then the wide opne spaces will be more familiar to Dublin than Donegal. I am actually hoping for conditions like last night as I don't think they will help a team that handpasses the ball to death.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Sure Banty is putting forwards in the backs the whole time cos ye have a crap defence.

Get up outta that.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Sure Banty is putting forwards in the backs the whole time cos ye have a crap defence.

Anyway to take the thread seriously and move away from the lad who is fooking sick that the Dubs are going well - I think Dublin will see lots of ways to get at Donegal's defence. My guess is that goals will be on their minds in the first 20. If Dublin build a big lead (say 6 points) - will Donegal have a Plan B? Hard to see. And if Plan B involves coming out and trying to play football then the wide opne spaces will be more familiar to Dublin than Donegal. I am actually hoping for conditions like last night as I don't think they will help a team that handpasses the ball to death.

I doubt any team have a plan B. You play the way you play, and if it fails to work, you tweak it and hope it does.

Though I do agree that goals would go a long way to beating Donegal but so far only Cavan have managed to score one. And I don't immediately remember Derry or Kildare creating any goal chances in Dublin's last two games? Bar a Derry penalty chance waved away.

Btw why do you Donegal guys put up the date and venue on the thread?? RMD always did it too! Think we all know where and when its taking place .......

Can see this being a 2-2 draw and Dublin winning on penaltys

I take it you mean Donegal's last two games? Well Derry were shorn of the Bradley's and you gotta think if Cavan managed a goal then .... And while Dublin scored 22 points last night on another night they might have bagged 3/4 goals to go with it.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Btw why do you Donegal guys put up the date and venue on the thread?? RMD always did it too! Think we all know where and when its taking place .......

1. I saw it on previous threads and thought it was a form of protocol
2. Its not often Donegal have a fixture in Late August so allow us maximise the Novelty
3. As a general rule I find it worthwhile to over-emphasise and continiously repeat future dates where Omar has plans that don't involve clan Omar. It reduces the risk of Mrs. Omar agreeing to make a presentation to a retiring school teacher, organising a trip to Taytoland, planning a shopping trip with her sister etc etc etc.

We definitely underestimated Donegal in 1992, were complacent and paid the ultimate price - but we .........

Re: Ulster Championship - Antrim v Donegal
johnnos bulls on Wed May 11, 2011 9:52 am

.However I have backed Donegal and Dublin each way for all-ireland.....


Go me.

The marking on diarmuid connolly against tyrone was nothing short of outrageous.

dublin wont play like they did saturday there will be different tactics , it be short passing and diagonal balls

hipster 2 wrote:dublin wont play like they did saturday there will be different tactics , it be short passing and diagonal balls

It will also be goal seeking I reckon .....

There will be a fair tactical think-in on this one and we will not see Saturday nights performance replicated - Donegal would not allow that. But I see huge areas to trouble them and expect us to do so. Kerry will not alter their style v Mayo at all.

If it is to be a Dublin Kerry final Jack O'Connor may be scratching his head as to what Dublin team is coming at him - and in what way. No harm in that ....

Jayo will you please stop the ways to beat Donegal pretence? Or else put up all you're ideas on here.....

Obviously goals will make a big difference for Dublin but Kildare clearly tried hard for goals, and created no clearcut chances. Derry and Tyrone failed to score any either. There is also the issue of passing up point-scoring opportunites in search of goals.......not a good idea if point scoring opportunites are going to be at a premium.

Also, there will be no diagonal balls as stated by Hipster. What do you think - the Donegal defence will pack up the middle and let the float over the heads into Connolly and Brogan every time? I doubt they'll be that naive.

In the first half at least, Dublin should not leave Brogan and Connolly in on the 13 metre line and hope to try and kick the ball up to them. I reckon at least one of these players will play deeper than usual - until the game gets a bit stretched anyway. And it's imperative that the star forwards perform for Dublin because if they're missing chances, then a contagion will probably set in.

Still though - the big positive for Dublin is that Donegal don't score much. Or at least they haven't up until now. Mind you, their League/Championship record in 2011 reads: P:12, W:8, D:3, L:1 - Loss was a meaningless game against Laois, so obviously they score enough.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

hipster 2 wrote:dublin wont play like they did saturday there will be different tactics , it be short passing and diagonal balls

It will also be goal seeking I reckon .....

Jayo why would you go looking for goals when the 22 points you scored on Saturday night would be sufficient. In fact a tally of anything over 14 points would beat Donegal in 70 minutes i reckon.

Donegal don't do goals and i reckon it would be stupid to looking for goals, if one doesn't come everyone gets frustrated and desperation sets in and the game plan goes out the window.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:There will be a fair tactical think-in on this one and we will not see Saturday nights performance replicated - Donegal would not allow that. But I see huge areas to trouble them and expect us to do so. Kerry will not alter their style v Mayo at all.

If it is to be a Dublin Kerry final Jack O'Connor may be scratching his head as to what Dublin team is coming at him - and in what way. No harm in that ....

Jayo, a large proportion of the Dublin team have Kerry parents, so information will be easily obtained.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Jayo will you please stop the ways to beat Donegal pretence? Or else put up all you're ideas on here.....

Obviously goals will make a big difference for Dublin but Kildare clearly tried hard for goals, and created no clearcut chances. Derry and Tyrone failed to score any either. There is also the issue of passing up point-scoring opportunites in search of goals.......not a good idea if point scoring opportunites are going to be at a premium.

Also, there will be no diagonal balls as stated by Hipster. What do you think - the Donegal defence will pack up the middle and let the float over the heads into Connolly and Brogan every time? I doubt they'll be that naive.

In the first half at least, Dublin should not leave Brogan and Connolly in on the 13 metre line and hope to try and kick the ball up to them. I reckon at least one of these players will play deeper than usual - until the game gets a bit stretched anyway. And it's imperative that the star forwards perform for Dublin because if they're missing chances, then a contagion will probably set in.


Still though - the big positive for Dublin is that Donegal don't score much. Or at least they haven't up until now. Mind you, their League/Championship record in 2011 reads: P:12, W:8, D:3, L:1 - Loss was a meaningless game against Laois, so obviously they score enough.

Dublin will score more no need for tactics...Loyal your posts have a lot of venom in them towards Dublin....Must kill you to see them going well on 5 fronts...Its laughable really

mullins wrote:

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Jayo will you please stop the ways to beat Donegal pretence? Or else put up all you're ideas on here.....

Obviously goals will make a big difference for Dublin but Kildare clearly tried hard for goals, and created no clearcut chances. Derry and Tyrone failed to score any either. There is also the issue of passing up point-scoring opportunites in search of goals.......not a good idea if point scoring opportunites are going to be at a premium.

Also, there will be no diagonal balls as stated by Hipster. What do you think - the Donegal defence will pack up the middle and let the float over the heads into Connolly and Brogan every time? I doubt they'll be that naive.

In the first half at least, Dublin should not leave Brogan and Connolly in on the 13 metre line and hope to try and kick the ball up to them. I reckon at least one of these players will play deeper than usual - until the game gets a bit stretched anyway. And it's imperative that the star forwards perform for Dublin because if they're missing chances, then a contagion will probably set in.


Still though - the big positive for Dublin is that Donegal don't score much. Or at least they haven't up until now. Mind you, their League/Championship record in 2011 reads: P:12, W:8, D:3, L:1 - Loss was a meaningless game against Laois, so obviously they score enough.

Dublin will score more no need for tactics...Loyal your posts have a lot of venom in them towards Dublin....Must kill you to see them going well on 5 fronts...Its laughable really

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:

mullins wrote:

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Jayo will you please stop the ways to beat Donegal pretence? Or else put up all you're ideas on here.....

Obviously goals will make a big difference for Dublin but Kildare clearly tried hard for goals, and created no clearcut chances. Derry and Tyrone failed to score any either. There is also the issue of passing up point-scoring opportunites in search of goals.......not a good idea if point scoring opportunites are going to be at a premium.

Also, there will be no diagonal balls as stated by Hipster. What do you think - the Donegal defence will pack up the middle and let the float over the heads into Connolly and Brogan every time? I doubt they'll be that naive.

In the first half at least, Dublin should not leave Brogan and Connolly in on the 13 metre line and hope to try and kick the ball up to them. I reckon at least one of these players will play deeper than usual - until the game gets a bit stretched anyway. And it's imperative that the star forwards perform for Dublin because if they're missing chances, then a contagion will probably set in.


Still though - the big positive for Dublin is that Donegal don't score much. Or at least they haven't up until now. Mind you, their League/Championship record in 2011 reads: P:12, W:8, D:3, L:1 - Loss was a meaningless game against Laois, so obviously they score enough.

Dublin will score more no need for tactics...Loyal your posts have a lot of venom in them towards Dublin....Must kill you to see them going well on 5 fronts...Its laughable really

Great post loyal at long last your starting to make sense...

if football was that simple loyal . but dublin will bash up the middle then give it long , hit it diagonal , it be a different type of game than they played against tyrone , it has to be to beat donegal

hipster 2 wrote:if football was that simple loyal . but dublin will bash up the middle then give it long , hit it diagonal , it be a different type of game than they played against tyrone , it has to be to beat donegal

Without a couple of goals at the minimum, Donegal will be very hard pressed to reach 15 points...It's up to Dublin after that..