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Allianz FL D1 Final: Dublin edge out Galway

Dublin v Galway - Allianz Football League Division 1 Final

Dublin v Galway - Allianz Football League Division 1 Final

Allianz Football League Division 1 Final

DUBLIN 0-18 GALWAY 0-14

By John Harrington at Croke Park

Dublin overcame a numerical disadvantage and a stiff Galway challenge to win their 13th Allianz Football League Division 1 title in Croke Park this afternoon.

We know by now that Jim Gavin’s team don’t lack for character, and they had to show plenty of it to dig out this win.

Just after Niall Scully got his marching orders for a second yellow-card, Galway’s Barry McHugh slung over a free to cut his team’s deficit to just a single point with 20 minutes of normal time remaining.

The chants of ‘Galway, Galway, Galway’ that echoed around Croke Park told you the Tribes believed they were about to tear down the established order.

But instead the 14-men of Dublin showed all their experience, appetite, and quality to dominate from there to the final whistle despite their numerical disadvantage.

It was an intriguing battle right from the off with both teams largely mirroring one another tactically.

Galway’s unbeaten run to this Final was founded a rock-solid defence that saw them pack their own half with bodies when they didn’t have the ball and then counter-attack at pace when they turned it over.

It was no surprise to see them set out the same stall today, but it was a mark of Dublin’s respect for Galway’s ability that they also saw fit to implement the same game-plan.

Cleary they didn’t want to be caught out by Galway’s counter-attack on the break, and whenever they did lose the ball blue jersies immediately streamed in big numbers back towards their own goal.

So when Galway were on the attack it was a common sight to see 13 Dublin outfielders inside their own half with a solitary target-man staying forward.

And when Dublin attacked we saw a maroon mirror image as Galway got all their outfielders behind the ball except for target-man Damien Comer.

The Galway captain was usually outnumbered when the ball was kicked in his direction, but that didn’t seem to bother him unduly.

Dublin v Galway - Allianz Football League Division 1 Final

Dublin v Galway - Allianz Football League Division 1 Final

He was the best player on the pitch by some distance in the first quarter of the match by which time he’d scored a fine point from play and won three close-range frees that Barry McHugh pointed.

The Dublin defence were really struggling to cope with the Annaghdown man’s bullish strength and direct running.

Michael Fitzsimons was initially detailed with the man-marking job but struggle to contain Comer, so next up was Philly McMahon to try his luck.

He didn’t have much initially. Comer won the first ball that came down between them, brushed him off, and scored a fine point.

That left the score reading 0-5 to 0-4 in Dublin’s favour, and though they still had the lead they were no longer exerting the same sort of dominance they did in the opening exchanges of the match.

Galway were growing in confidence with every passing minute, and shortly after McHugh tied up the game with a free he edged Galway ahead with a brilliantly lofted point from play.

Paul Mannion then gave Dublin an energy surge when he raced through after some patient build-up and unleashed a pile-driver that Ruairi Lavelle did well to tip over the bar.

And when Dean Rock followed up with two frees, it looked like Dublin were reasserting some semblance of dominance.

They were being held in this regard by Philly McMahon’s ability to put Comer on the back foot by raiding forward and forcing Galway’s best forward to follow him.

With Comer now spending as much of his time in his own half as Dublin’s, the Galway attack lost much of its structure.

The Tribesmen found a way around this problem before half-time, though.

They began playing a more patient brand of possession oriented football which pinned Dublin into their own half.

And then they showed they could cut their way through the Dublin blanket defence as first Paul Conroy and then Johnny Heaney kicked two fine points to level the scores at 0-8 apiece by half-time.

Dublin introduced Colm Basquel at the start of the second-half and the Ballyboden man made an instant impression, scoring a nice point.

His second of the afternoon came 10 minutes later and helped Dublin into a 0-12 to 0-9 lead as they started to really turn the screw on Galway.

Shane Walsh did his best to inspire his team with a brilliantly converted free from the right-hand side, and when Scully was then red-carded and McHugh landed the resulting free, Galway looked well-placed to pull off a shock.

Walsh then landed a monster of a point from the right hand-side to draw the game level, and then Comer fisted a brilliant score to immediately cancel out a Dean Rock free that briefly edged Dublin ahead again.

Dublin v Galway - Allianz Football League Division 1 Final

Dublin v Galway - Allianz Football League Division 1 Final

All square with 15 minutes remaining, it was Dublin who found a finishing surge down the home straight even though they had a man less.

Philly McMahon and Eric Lownes got them on the front-foot time and again with some driving runs out of defence, and the introduction of Con O’Callaghan added energy to their attack.

Ciaran Kilkenny also thundered in to the game when Dublin really needed leaders to step forward, and bit by bit Galway were withered by the energy Jim Gavin’s team generated.

Dublin finished with a flourish, scoring the final three points of the match through McMahon, Lowndes, and Rock (f), and when the final whistle blew Galway could have no real arguments with the result.

They’ll be frustrated they couldn’t find another gear when the match was there to be won, but their performance should give them even more confidence ahead of the Championship.

If they put the lessons they learned the hard way today to good use, then they can have a very fruitful summer.

As for Dublin, they remain the standard-bearers. It’s up to everyone else to get up to their level.

Scorers for Dublin: Dean Rock 0-7 (5f, 1’45) Paul Mannion 0-3, Ciaran Kilkenny 0-2, Colm Basquel 0-2, Niall Scully 0-1, John Small 0-1, Philly McMahon 0-1, E Lowndes 0-1

Scorers for Galway: Barry McHugh 0-6 (5f), Damien Comer 0-3, Shane Walsh 0-2 (1f), Johnny Heaney 0-2, Paul Conroy 0-1

DUBLIN: Stephen Cluxton; Philly McMahon, Michael Fitzsimons, David Byrne; James McCarthy, Jonny Cooper, John Small; Brian Fenton, Michael Darragh Macauley; Brian Howard, Kevin McManamon, Niall Scully; Dean Rock, Ciaran Kilkenny, Paul Mannion. **Subs: **Eric Lowndes for James McCarthy (35), Colm Basquel for Kevin McManamon (ht), Eoin Murchan for John Small (39), Con O’Callaghan for Michael Darragh MacAuley (54), Shane Carthy for Paul Mannion (68), John Small for Philly McMahon (72)

**GALWAY: Ruairi Lavelle; Declan Kyne, Sean Andy O Ceallaigh, Eoghan Kerin; Gareth Bradshaw, Cathal Sweeney, Johnny Heaney; Peter Cooke, Ciaran Duggan; Eamonn Brannigan, Paul Conroy, Sean Kelly; Barry McHugh, Damien Comer, Shane Walsh. Subs: **Gary O’Donnell for Johnny Heaney (61), Thomas Flynn for Peter Cooke (67), Patrick Sweeney for Paul Conroy (67), Adrian Varley for Shane Walsh (69), Johnny Duane for Gareth Bradshaw (69).

Ref: Anthony Nolan (Wicklow)