Fáilte chuig gaa.ie - suíomh oifigiúil CLG

Football

football

Column: Denis Bastick on Football

GAA.ie columnist Denis Bastick.

GAA.ie columnist Denis Bastick.

By Denis Bastick

A summer of great expectations for Gaelic Football has delivered earlier probably than most people expected. 

Fermanagh in an Ulster final and Carlow, Longford and Laois in the Leinster semi-finals would have been easily dismissed as long shots a few weeks ago.

It throws into the spotlight how these underdogs face up to what might be Mission Impossible. It also casts a light on how the supposed red hot favourites handle that tag of expectancy and pressure.

The Dubs are heading back to Croke Park this Sunday and are in the very familiar setting of being seen as near unbackable favourites to see off Longford.

It wasn’t always this way of course. In my first year on the Dublin senior panel in 2005 we needed the late, late dead ball accuracy of Mossy Quinn to beat Laois in the Leinster final.

At half time in the dungeon of the dressing room in Pearse Park against Longford in 2006 we were in a real battle and would need Mark Vaughan’s free taking to rescue us.

In 2010 Wexford took us to extra time in a quarter final. We survived, but shipped five goals to a rampant Meath in the semi-finals then. In 2011 we came through a frantic finish with Kildare at Croke Park.

That was a different time when there was expectancy and a level of belief, but also vulnerability because we hadn’t delivered outside of Leinster.

There has always been an expectation on Dublin teams in Leinster that they would win. But I’ve never believed in the notion that Dublin – or any so called big team – is guilty of complacency just because they lose a match they were expected to win.

Nine times out of 10 Fermanagh’s high ball into the Monaghan square gets punched back out the field and not flicked into the net.

Aidan Breen celebrating following a dramatic win for Fermanagh over Monaghan last weekend.

Aidan Breen celebrating following a dramatic win for Fermanagh over Monaghan last weekend.

People who believe one team loses because they were complacent doesn’t take into account that you can have an off day, that the other team can have a great day or that a crucial referee call can go against you.

Everything changed for Dublin in 2011 with the All-Ireland. Belief is crucial. It’s as crucial to Dublin now as it was to keep Fermanagh fighting to the bitter end against Monaghan or likewise enabled Carlow to go toe to toe with Kildare and take their big chance when it came. Belief fueled Longford’s conviction that playing Meath in Pearse Park was a match they were capable of winning.

Dublin’s belief is rooted in the 2011 breakthrough because it was the foundation for everything that was built after that.

Dublin teams believe they will win because we believe we have the better team, believe we have the better squad and if we play to our potential it gives us great confidence that we can handle anything the opposition throws at us.

Dublin dressing rooms at half time are quiet places. There is no panic. We’ve been there before – whatever the situation. We believe in what we are doing.

There may be tweaks needed, a player might be having an off day, but the team believes in what it wants to do and what targets it sets and that’s the same for a game with Mayo as it is for a game against Longford.

In the build up to the infamous All-Ireland quarter final with Kerry in 2009 there was a view that the Kingdom were vulnerable. I would have believed that too. They were struggling through qualifier matches and were not playing well. Diarmuid Murphy made a late penalty save that prevented them being knocked out by Sligo.

But looking back on that now, I realise how positive all of that was for Kerry. They were winning, and that’s because they knew how to win and they believed they would find a way.

That Dublin team of 2009 wasn’t yet ready to win an All-Ireland. Didn’t yet know how to win an All-Ireland and Kerry taught us a lesson that day and won by 17 points.

There was a time when people used to say that “if you can be with Dublin with 10 minutes to go they will buckle.”

Dublin manager Jim Gavin.

Dublin manager Jim Gavin.

Over the last number of years Dublin teams have rubbished that and have won all manner of games from shoot outs with Kerry in 2013, to tense titanic struggles with Mayo in 2016 and 2017.

Dublin would be vulnerable if their players took an individual view on this match. Saw it as a chance for themselves to do well and to have a great game and get lots of scores. To go away from the game plan and the basics and shift their mindset.

Going down that path is dangerous because what happens when you come up against an opponent who says “not today. I’m not having this.”? What if you come up against a team who have 15 players with this determination?

It doesn’t happen to Dublin because there are standards that are driven by the players. Everyone knows going out what they have to do to hang onto the jersey and there is a collective drive and responsibility.

There have been days when we played matches in Leinster and you have been able to sense the lack of belief off the opposition. Could see they were unsure and lacked confidence and conviction that they could put it up to you.

There was a time when Dublin didn’t believe they would get over the line in big matches but those days are gone.

For Longford to beat Dublin this Sunday they would in my view need to score three goals and have a sensational display. I can’t see that happening.

It’s still a big occasion for Longford. As a player you want to test yourself against the supposed best. Carlow were very difficult for Dublin to break down in the first half of their match last year and earned a lot of plaudits for the resistance they showed that day. Carlow haven’t looked back since. They had a decent qualifier run last summer, clinched league promotion this year and are now in a first Leinster semi-final in 30 years.  That’s down to belief and confidence

Dublin, however, have a different expectation on them – and it’s the internal pressure to dominate the opportunity in the jersey and impress and deliver on the team’s targets.

There is a lot of expectation in the Championship this weekend but what matters is not what the pundits and the supporters think. it is the expectation that the teams put on themselves within their own tight-knit world. That is what truly matters.