All Ireland Final: Dublin vs Kerry 18/9/11

Well done Dublin - on balance deserved this on intensity of effort- especially when they looked dead and buried
Though it will be interesting to hear the post mortem

Thought the goal had 7/8 steps - Also can't see how the Ref can blow up after exactly 2 minutes extra time when it took cluxton 90 seconds to take the free kick.

But history will forget these and Kevin Mc and Cluxton will remain legends

well done Dublin

Well done the dubs, very good intense game of football played in the right spirit. Congrats to all involved

Well done Dublin. They dominated the last 10 minutes in both halves, as youth and fitness told in the end. Kerry just couldn't get the ball when they needed it.

That said, the game was going away from Dublin, and the goal turned it completely. Kerry looked to be cruising, but McMenamon ripped the momentum from them, and the Dubs never let it go.

Congratulations to our Dublin fans on here, and commiserations to the Kerry lads.

Congratulations Dublin. Commiserations Kerry.

I will give my immediate post-match thoughts:

1. Dublin deserved it more than Kerry. I am sure the finish - overcoming a four points deficit - makes it all the sweeter.

2. Kerry played a lot different to how I expected. The myth that they play any different to any of the other top teams was well and truly put to bed. With a bit of work on this method, there's every chance they'll be All-Ireland contenders for a few years.

3. The famed Kerry forwards - who were often cited as the difference between these teams - struggled. Declan O'Sullivan, Darren O'Sullivan, and Paul Galvin had nightmares, and I make no excuses for such an exaggerated word. Donaghy saved his reputation and his season in the second half, just about. Gooch was the only other forward to take the game to Dublin. Sheehan and Maher had very good games too, as did several of the Kerry backs.

4. I have been critical of Dublin before, often sneered them, however they answered any doubters today, coming from four points behind to win in such a dramatic end. I'm just glad I had the sense to re-evaluate them earlier this year.

5. I thought McQuillan was very pernickety. Donaghy's point was a throw as well.

6. I must be the only one who thought McMenamin was bad. He did the usual head down three times and lost possession each and every time. One of those times, Bernard Brogan was in acres of space 7/8 yeards to his right, and he refused to give the pass. For me, McMenamin did three things: a) pick up a wonderful position to recieve a pass from Alan Brogan, b) sidestep Declan O'Sullivan and c) finish the move by putting the ball in the net. Funny at how it happens, had he not scored that goal, I really would be cursing Gilroy for bringing him on.

7. Finally, there was some nice touches after the game. Firstly Pillar. Nice to see all the players share in the moment with him. No doubt his efforts counted towards the win today. And the minors also took part in the lap of honour, who themselves came so close to an All-Ireland.

Agree Declan O sullivan had a poor game. Never adjusted to the lack of space and wasn't comfortable when he had to forage back.

Three sublime moments from Gooch - the goal - the dummy for the point - and the lay back to Galvin.

Agree Galvin was poor conceded two needless frees (although one was very soft) and other than the point created by gooch didn't seem to do much more than act as a outlet for a backpass.

Sheehan had a better game than I expected but I feel my strong reservations about a languid player like Brosnan in such an intense game were fairly well vindicated.

Might have called Connolly ashore - As someone posted above its either a shower or half a dozen points - and it never looked like that latter. although he may have got a goal if the ball had been crossed earlier.

Fitzsimmons played well on Gooch - Unfortunately for him - his one call to cover O sullivan cost a goal.

When Thomas O se played the Diagonal to Donaghy it caused chaos - I appreciate there was no room but they should have tried this more often.

Dublin half Forwards put in trojan effort - Flynn looked abosultely exhausted when he came ashore and that was early enough in the second half.

Struggling with a MOTM - Alan Brogan started well - Bernard got two from play the second was a bueat - Donaghy, Sheehan,Maher Thomas O Se and Gooch for this moments of magic best for Kerry - Kerry midfield did well in most of second half - On balance I'd probably go for Barry Cahill.

- Finally - Was that cluxton going down the tunnel with the Kerry lads ?

Well done Dublin, thought it was a good game. Just home now.........not looking forward to work or training tomorrow!

Omar, I also seen Cluxton going down the tunnel, then come back out in a diesel t-shirt, then went up on the Hogan Stand and lifted the cup, and then seemed to disappear as the celebrations started. Few threads on other fora about it too. Seems odd but from a footballing point of view, he delivered the goods. Especially as he made one or two mistakes - totally out of character with the rest of his career, might I add - at crucial moments in the past. Maybe the one Dublin player who deserves this win the most?

Well done, the True Blues. I thought the referee indulged in the usual nonsense of referees those days, in letting go a lot of pulling and dragging and only giving a free if a player went down. This usually hands the advantage to the fouling team and encourages diving. It's time the so-called "advantage" rule was removed from the rule book. But all this is discussion for another day.

Kerry would probably have won it without the Dublin goal. It was something like the semi-final last year when Cork's goal brought Cork back into it to win. Swings and roundabouts. Maybe the Dubs will forgive us now!

After seeing it on the news Best Guess would be Eight steps

In my opinion, the ref's decisions balanced themselves out over the course of the game. Of course, some Kerry fans in denial will bemoan some frees given to Dublin, but the counter-argument is that Kerry had several questionable decisions go with them too.

Just watching the highlights, there were so many memorable moments in the game. So many wonderful scores. A memorable, memorable game.

Also Kerry went very defensive today. Must have had 11/12 men behind the ball when defending at all times. So much for the tradition of Gaelic Football - this is the modern way and the only way.

Well done Dublin. Better team won on the day no question

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:In my opinion, the ref's decisions balanced themselves out over the course of the game. Of course, some Kerry fans in denial will bemoan some frees given to Dublin, but the counter-argument is that Kerry had several questionable decisions go with them too.

Just watching the highlights, there were so many memorable moments in the game. So many wonderful scores. A memorable, memorable game.

Also Kerry went very defensive today. Must have had 11/12 men behind the ball when defending at all times. So much for the tradition of Gaelic Football - this is the modern way and the only way.

Loyal they probably did - And Im solid enough in my view that Dublin deserved to win the game - but I do feel that it is Ironic that the game was won on a referee call - when the whole championship has been plagued by questionable calls

Was it a free ?
The free was awarded at 70.30
The free was taken at 71.32
Seemingly rules state that after 30 seconds there should be a throw in
If their was a 62 second stoppage why did the ref play 21 seconds of added time
Why did Dublin not get a Penalty if the ball was handled in the small square (which is what the ref claimed - even though I couldn;t see it ) but if t was a free it was a penalty.
Declan O sullivans "accidental" swipe at Nolan made a laughing stock of Martin Carney's comment
The goal was 7/8/9 steps

I'll be the first to admit hat Kildare would have beaten Donegal if a legitimate goal was allowed stand - Meath have been victims too - These is an ever increasing amount of vital calls and this is a factor of the modern high intensity game - so the role of the Ref is more important that it was ten years ago - and it sadly lacking in pace with the evolvement of the game

Getting a bit pedantic here ... to be expected.


Will post tomorrow but until then - Well Done Dublin - one of the best days of my life!

PS for what its worth and not for the first time this season I and all Dub fans around me thought McQuillan was shocking.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Getting a bit pedantic here ... to be expected.


Will post tomorrow but until then - Well Done Dublin - one of the best days of my life!

PS for what its worth and not for the first time this season I and all Dub fans around me thought McQuillan was shocking.

My first post was that Dublin deserved to win.
I feel the other points are relevant - I have highlighted fundamental howlers from the ref
for BOTH SIDES you have asserted that these are pedantic but at the same time mentioned the referees shortcomings -

If all we are allowed to mention is the result - and otherwise risk being accused of being a pedant what is the point of a forum ?

with regards injury time, a ref is only supposed to add on time in injury time if there is an injury or a similar stoppage to play like a substitution. Technically speaking the ref was right not to add the time that elapsed in the build up to cluxton kicking the winning free as it is part of the natuarl flow of a game and allowances aren't/shouldn't be made for these. But you are right in what you say Omar that the ref would have been well within his rights to throw the ball up if he felt that Dublin were time wasting but it would have been a very brave and controverial decision to do so.

It is getting to the point where time keeping will have to be taken out of the hands of referees

Well Done Dublin. Meas mór do diarmuid connolly for wearing a leitrim top during pre match parade ....

Yes folks it probably will be the only time we'll see a leitrim top In croker on All_Ireland day....

Well done Dublin, fully deserved the win. Most teams would have rolled over after conceding 5 on the trot with only 10 min left. Massive credit has to go to Gilroy for this. Under Caffrey the response to Kerry's comeback would have been rash tackles, maybe a punch, and a red card or two. Under Gilroy the team kept the heads up, kept a high intensity work-rate, and turned over possession in the middle of the park to create the vital goal.

The referee was shocking yesterday, but pretty poor for both sides. Dublin probably got more scorable frees from these decisions that Kerry did, but purely because Dublin had the ball in more attacking areas. Very hard to get scorable frees when you're passing the ball over and back across the 65 ad nauseum. Dublin should have had a penalty for the ball being handled on the ground in the small square, and McQuillan will be hung, drawn and quartered by the assessors over that one. He did very well to spot it being handled on the ground (Kerry player's arm came down on it as he fell - possibly a harsh call, but technically a foul), but then forgot/ignored the most basic rule that in the small square any infringment by a defender is a penalty. (He missed a similar infraction by Dublin in the first half, a player who dived to block a shot by Donaghey player the ball on the ground with his arm whilst falling - very similar to the Kerry defender, but was in large rectangle instead of small).
He probably should have added on 30 seconds for the time taken by Cluxton, but the way Dublin had gotten on top I doubt Kerry would have done anything with it. Once Dublin got the goal there was only going to be one winner, Kerry were completely deflated.

Whilst the goal was brilliantly taken, Kerry will be kicking themselves for how they turned over possession for it. Too much fannying about with the ball in the middle of the pitch (they were at it for most of the 2nd half, Dublin were bound to punish them eventually). Granted Dublin had a lot of players back for most of the 2nd half, but Kerry took far too much time moving the ball forward from the middle of the park.
Dublin, on the other hand, attacked very well at pace, and proved very adept at playing to Kerry's weaknesses.

Fair play to Cluxton as well. Having to kick such an important free is fairly difficult to begin with. But to do so after having to run 80 yards thinking about it beforehand is doubly difficult. Nerves of steel.

All in all, Dublin were just about the best team over the whole of the Championship, and were certainly the best team yesterday.

It was a strange Championship in that no one team seemed to stand out as exceptional, but between August and September Dublin certainly proved themselves to be the pick of the bunch. Dublin have the players to build on this and be a force for the next few years. I can see them being dominant next year (with Cork the other main contenders).

Some random thoughts on yesterday's game...

1. Dublin are deserving all-ireland champions. They were excellent in the league, won the Leinster title, and beat Kerry in the final. In terms of performance, and achievement, I’d rate this as their best year since 1977.

2. Dublin dominated the last 15 minutes of the first half, and the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half. As much as anything else, this was a victory for fitness, youth and hunger.

3. Paul Galvin’s entrance seemed premature, and it helped turn the tide in Dublin’s favour. Within 10 minutes of being on the field he had given away a point with a poor pass, and two more by conceding frees. It would have been 4, but for a bad miss from Bernard Brogan.

4. Kevin McManamon is a hit-and-miss player. His made several mistakes after being introduced, and resembled a bull in a china shop. However, he took his goal beautifully, and will always be remembered as the man who changed the game.

5. Diarmuid Connolly was poor again. He has lots of talent, but lacks the temperament for the big day. I suspect that his career highlight will always be his display against Tyrone in the qtr final.

6. Although the 1st half was scrappy in terms of mistakes, the 2nd half saw some fabulous points. Bryan Sheehan’s score from play was superb, and you’ll go a long way to find a game that finishes with 3 monster points like those from Nolan, Donaghy and Cluxton.

7. Jack O’Connor made positional switches to target Brennan and McCarthy early on but, aside from the goal, did not harvest a fair return on the scoreboard for their early dominance. Dublin’s tactics and line-out were exactly as predicted by some on here, but executed at a higher level than many thought they would.

8. Kerry started the year with Michael Quirke, David Moran and Seamus Scanlon as midfield options. What would they have given for even one of them in the last 5 minutes. A big catch or 2 could have made all the difference in stemming the Dublin tide.

9. Pat Gilroy has done a fabulous job with Dublin, adding organisation and belief where it had been totally lacking. He has also coaxed the best form of his career out of Alan Brogan. Gilroy, of course, is a St Vincents man, and Vincents also played a huge role in Dublin’s last two big breakthroughs in the 1950s and 1970s.

10. Consider Kerry’s last 8 all-ireland finals. They have won 4, and lost 4. The 4 they won were all effectively over midway through the second half. The 4 they lost were all in the balance in the final few minutes. For all their achievements, if we are talking about the greatest teams of all, I will always have doubts as to the stomach of some of their players in the biggest moments.

Thomas Clarke wrote:
4. Kevin McManamon is a hit-and-miss player. His made several mistakes after being introduced, and resembled a bull in a china shop. However, he took his goal beautifully, and will always be remembered as the man who changed the game.

I agree with this. For the goal alone, McMenamin will recieve many, many plaudits and to be fair, it was the winning of the game for Dublin. However, in an overall evaluation of the footballer McMenamin, I think the above is spot on.

In response to B&W's first paragraph; there was some elements of Dublin's play in the second half which evoked past momories. Ger Brennan's frontal charge on Declan O'Sullivan, Cian O'Sullivan rugby style tackle on Darren O'Sullivan, Ger Brennan's hand in Donaghy's face, Kevin McMenamin's persistence in running into dark alleys. I guess it shows how delicately poised the outcome of the game can be. Had Kerry caught the throw-up that came from Brennan's stupidity, and went down and scored, we'd be hearing a lot more about these incidents.

It's a good point about Kerry's record in close finals. I'm not sure what conclusions can be drawn from that stat, could it be mere coincidence? Kerry certainly have come out on the right side of close games over the last 10 years but not in finals! But interesting, nonetheless.

Also I disagree about Diarmuid Connolly. Did he concede possession once in the whole game. I thought he held his nerve well in the face of some tough tackling. He'll mature further as a player I think.

One other point I'd like to make is that Kerry retreated very quickly when they kicked the ball back to Dublin inside the '21 or kicked a score/wide. Dublin struggled to hit when they got the ball back in those areas but got their biggest return out of turnovers in the middle third. Even though, I felt Kerry retained possession better than any other team have against Dublin, they were turned over maybe 10/11 times in between the two '65s, and Dublin got a lot of scores out of these turnovers.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Dubs on winning the All Ireland, I'd a wonderful day in the capital yesterday, The atmosphere in the stadium was second to none. Enjoy your year as champions as We'll all be trying our damndest to dethrone yis next year

Well done Dublin. Showed great determination and courage in not dropping the heads when it seemed the game was lost(which is something they would have done in the not to distant past). Very exciting finish to the game. Reminded me alot of 2002, 4 points behind with time running out then hitting a goal and two unanswered points. Armagh also finished with a tally of 1-12.

Just revived the body after a hard weekend. First let me congratulate Dublin. No analysis of game but I thought we had it 4points up six minutes to go. The team I thought foolishly thought the same and started handpassing around in circles instead of lashing the ball into the Dublin square which previously caused problems. At the same time credit to Dublin for battling to the finish. Well done to all Dubs fans and enjoy your celebrations.