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FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP 2002

Dublin 1-14 Donegal 0-07- Croke Park 17 August 2002

Donegal fell to a rampant Dublin by 10 points on this Saturday evening replay and the Dubs were worth every point of it. The win opens the way for Dublin’s first semi final in 7 years and already thoughts are turning toward a possible all-Ireland triumph in 2002. This game could hardly have been more different that the drawn match. In that encounter the result was in doubt until the final whistle. The only question mark over the replay with 20 minutes to go was Dublin’s winning margin.

Ciaran Whelan was magnificent, lording it at midfield and contributing 4 points from play. Wherever the action was the Raheny man was drawn to it like a magnet.In defence the Dubs completely closed the Donegal men down. Goggins, Andrews, Magee and particulalry Christie were outstanding. The domination was so complete that Brendan Devenney’s frustration was clear to all in the second half, so much so that only the sympathy of the referee kept him on the pitch..

Though not as obviously superb as Whelan, many fan’s man of the match was Stephen Cluxton who is having a great season between the posts. His distribution and shot saving were top drawer and he is certainly the best keeper in the country at present. – only Kildare have netted against the Dubs this year.

Up front the standard was not as impressive though Senan Connel had arguably his best day in the blue jersey with 2 great scores. Dessie Farrell played well but tarnished some great play with wayward passing. There was nothing wayward though about his brave run through the Donegal defense that drew a dangerous tackle but also set up Cosgrave’s (who else) goal in the 23rd minute. Sherlock too impressed after his introduction and few would deserve a second all –ireland medal as this stylish Na Fianna man.

Dublin 2-08 Donegal 0-14, Croke Park 6 August 2002 <

Dublin V Meath Clashes - The story so far

1983 - 2002,

Dublin won 7

Meath won 9

Draws 4

Between 1983 and the 1999 Leinster Final these giants played 18 matches, 4 extra times, 22hrs and 30mins of football Total scores, Dublin 16:200 Meath 18:193 Meath Dublin clashes , when they happen are for many the most eagerly awaited matches of the year. And who can blame them. these struggles never disappoint and almost always have it all - passion, skill, heart. In the majority of accasions the result is in doubt until the final whistle and rarely are the teams separated by more tha a kick of the ball. Not surprising then that this is the derby of the GAA, the most intense rivalry of all. beating Meath for Dublin is nearly as sweet as winning championships - a fact that makes these duels much more important than just another knock out match.

The modern Dublin Meath rivalry can be traced back to 1983 when Meath held the Dubs to a surprise draw...Boylan at the helm for Meath for the first time. Dublin won the replay by 2 points and reclaimed their leinster title from the All Ireland Champions Offaly on route to a championship of their own. In 84 Dublin beat Meath again this time by 4 points and in 85 there was no clash between the teams. 86 proved to be the pivotal year for Meath as finally they defeated the blues by 2 points. The genie was out of the bottle. Meath won again in 87 and again in 88 - in the latter match Redmond kicked a penalty that would have leveled the match over the bar. Meath won by 2. 3 defeats to Meath in as many years, Dublin came fighting back and broke the curse in 1989 by an unusually large margin of 5 points. It was to be a false dawn. We crashed out to cork in the semi and fell to Meath agin in 1990. For Dublin things looked bleak and this habit was becoming difficult to shake. 1991 was the clash of the titans. The year would see the battle become huge box office as the teams went to 4 bruising rounds. much has been said of 91 - suffice to say that we will never see the like again. 4 games, 2 extra times, and Dublin defeated by a point. A missed penalty and a full back Meath goal providing immortal memories and continuing heatbreak. Exhausted, it took Meath another replay to dispose of Wicklow in the next round. In 1992 laois beat Meath early to open the way for Dublin to regain the Leinster crown. But rivalry was resumed in 93. this time the Dubs triumphed - by a single point. In 94 the Dubs began to turn the knife, again advancing by a single point. 1995 - Dublin’s glory year for the 90’s saw Meath fold - for once - being beaten out the gate by a Dublin side who would not accept defeat after being led with 20 minutes to go. Dublin were 2 points up in 96 with 10 minutes to go when the old story was reinvented. 4 points later meath were receiving the cup. 1997 - more hype - the Jack’s were back but when Paul Bealin saw his last minute penalty rebound off the the cross bar the Dubs were out. a goal would have taken us to a replay. 1999 Dublin v Meath is only one week away and the tension and interest has been building for what proves to be a fascinating encounter between 2 teams with so much to prove.

Darren fay v. Ian Roberston will be an intriquing clash as will midfield where McDermott and Stynes meet again. With Tommy Dowd out with a back injury our defence look well capable of keeping the Meath attack quiet. Geraghty is over rated while Ollie Murphy will need to be watched.

I believe this game will hinge on midfield and our half back line. Our half forwards are defensive enough to keep the Meath backs from creating attacking moves. This should serve to dry up good ball for the meath forwards unless mcdermott has a good day. If we can keep McDermott quiet we should create enough chances to win our 5th Leinster title of the 90’s.

Dublin v Louth Review June 6th 1999-06-29

DUBLIN 2:15 LOUTH 0-14

Despite what the papers have said this was a solid performance in what was Dublins first championship win since 1996. Louth, never a push over led only once for the 4th to 10th minute in front of a crowd of 40,000. Dublin rarely looked in any danger. This was despite some poorish performances from old reliables like Dessie Farrell and Brian Stynes. If Jim Gavin had had his free scoring boots on Dublin would have beaten Louth out the gate!

To continue briefly on the negative side, 17 wides is a poor reflection on accuracy. Much of it was pure recklessness and Dublin can ill afford such wastefulness again. Ciaran Whelan played very well in mid-field and his scorching runs through the centre always threatened Louth’s defence. His four points from play underscore his crucial influence in this match. Darcy played well also, scoring 5 points, 2 from play and an excellent free from the sideline. In defence Paddy Christie was solid showing up with 10 minutes to go to loft over a score. O’Brien and Ryan also impressed on their debuts.

It was however all Louth initially – Hoey scoring a free in the 4th minute while Louth missed 2 other “kickables”. But the wind was truly knocked out of their sails in the 10th, Darcy connected with Whelan who found Robertson with only the Louth keeper Gareth O’Neill to beat. The resultant goal took Dublin 2 points clear – a lead they were never to surrender. Louth did respond however to narrow the gap 4 minutes later but this was only a brief respite as Dublin pulled away with 4 good points from play in the next 5 minutes. 2 for Darcy, a Stynes chip in and a good score from Brendan O’Brien – (the debut forward was to score 3 points in all). Dublin led by 5 with 20 minutes gone. In fairness Louth rallied to stop the rot, steadied themselves to go in at the break just in touch at 1:7 to 7 points. Whelan scored another 2 for Dublin toward the end of the first half. Darcy stretched the lead after the interval from a free before Doherty restored the ½ time gap. The next 5 minutes sealed the victory for Dublin however as they put in 1 goal and 3 points without reply leaving Louth with a mountain to climb. O’Keefe on for a disappointing Jim Gavin found the net after a well orchestrated move involving Curran and Robertson. 2 place kicks from Darcy and another Whelan score and Dublins lead looked unassailable 2:11 to 8 points. Louth needed scores quick and they got a couple –scoring 4 in the next 10 minutes as Dublin eased down the throttle. O’Brien did pop in for a point during this period to help keep the Dubs far enough ahead. 3 more Dublin points then put the blues 2:15 to 12 ahead with a mere 5 minutes left. Louth could not conquer the mountain – could only find another 2 points before the whistle.

2:15 isn’t bad for a days work. Robertson was a success at full forward and should maintain that position. Whelan is blossoming into one of the very best mid-fielders in the country – or elsewhere for that matter and if Stynes can return to his best it will be an immense pairing. Crucially it was Dublins first championship win since 1996 and our only decent win since 1995 and Dublin are far improved from their depressing turn out against Kildare last year. The jury may still be out but there is more space for optimism than pessimism.

DUBLIN V LAOIS

June 27th 1999 - Dublin 1:11 Laois 14 July 18th 1999 -

Dublin 16 Laois 1:11 The story of these 2 games is one of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and of nearly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. In the cold light of day and after the euphoria of the great escape, Dublin were extremely lucky to have survived the clash and to force it to a replay. Houdini would have been proud.In that replay Dublin should have won much easier than they did and gave loyal fans much food for concern in the latter stages. ultimately the result is devastation for a brave Laois side and an exciting Leinster final prospect.

For Dublin to have lost to Laois would have been a catastrophe. it would have represented the 3rd defeat in as many years to as many different teams in Leinster. For a Dublin team that has never been 4 years without a Leinster title this would have been difficult to swallow. Despite therfore what was at stake we very very nearly lost in the first game. Dublin began the first game in high gear and rushed into a 6 point lead by the 16th minute. 5 of these scores were from play. Laois were struggling everywhere. It seemed a leinster final berth was not far off. Laois’ comeback started soon after and was prompted by a sudden glut of Dublin wides. Mick Lawlor’s introduction sparked the revival that would see laois draw level in the 31st minute. Dublins 1st half lead of a solitary point was wiped out by an inspirational score from lawlor within seconds of the restart and Laois were on fire.

The next half hour was all Laois who outscoed us by 6 points to 2. It seemed all over when Christie belted a penalty over the bar. Instead with the clock ticking away into injury time Whelan found Robertson on the run and he buried it to the net. Shortly afterwards Sheehy began a 7 man move that would culminate in Robertson calmly fisting a point to level the game. It was a sensational closing chapter but a very lucky one for the Dubs. Dublin started the 2nd game without Paul Curran who had to be taken off in the 1st game. Sherlock was starting giving rise to some confidence that things might be diferent this time round...and they were. Dublin started slower than they had in the drawn game but were thoroughly improved. Stynes was magnificent in midfield, for once outshining his partner Whhelan. McGee had a great debut instead of Curran and Robertson was always a threat up front. Sherlock did enough to suggest he is on the way back to his best though improvement is still required from the older stalwarts - Dessie Farrell and Jim Gavin. Our defence was strong even if Hugh Emerson did expose cracks towards the end.

Things were neck and neck until the 20th minute when Peadar Andrews was brought on to replace a Tommo Lynch in the Dublin defence. Andrew’s did much to subdue Laois’ Stephen Kelly and Dublin began to dominate. The Dubs went in at the break 4 points up, Robertson scoring 3 in the first half - 9;5. They also retired one man up as laois had Delaney sent off for nudging a boot at a prone Paul Croft.

Dublin began the second half as they had finished the first - with vision and accuracy - Darcy scoring 3 in the first quarter. Dublin looked home and hosed with 20 minutes left as they led 13 points to 5. But it was to be far tighter than they thought it would be as Laois came back. Stynes really showed his worth by steadying the boat with 2 good points as Laois came closer. This seemed to kill them off for good and despite a dubious penalty it was all too late for laois. Dublin were destined for the Leinster final.

Dublin’s 3rd match of the Championship has confirmed some trends. Firstly accuracy is in general not good enough. 26 wides against Laois over 2 games - but we are creating enough chances to win. Secondly frees are being missed, some at important times. Thirdly we are letting teams back into games we should be winning easily and fourthly while nearly all players have shown flashes of great play by now consistency seems to thwart our playing as a proper unit. For a review of the Meath Leinster Final see the section on Dublin v Meath.