Jim Gavin
By John Harrington
Dublin manager Jim Gavin says he’s very wary of the scoring threat that Tyrone will pose in next Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC semi-final.
Mickey Harte’s team have a rock-solid defence, but the speed at which they can counter-attack has also seen them evolve into a team that’s posted a big score in every championship match they’ve played this year.
“We’ve always looked at them as having a big scoring threat; even going back to our National League game in early February this year, they looked very impressive going forward and they got a great goal in that game,” said Gavin at Dublin’s press conference yesterday.
“Defensive has always been their cornerstone. They have always been an exceptionally good counter-attacking team, but they have really added to it since that league game.
“If you look at their championship games it has been so, so impressive from them. Particularly players coming off the bench has really added to it as well. They are just a modern football team and they have been very impressive.
“We know how good they are defensively and they have a great defensive system. They have been putting up big scores and they’re a free-scoring team now. 6-77 in four championship games is a mighty impressive tally.”
You could argue that Dublin haven’t played a counter-attacking team as well-organised defensively or as potent in attack since losing to Donegal in the 2014 All-Ireland SFC semi-final.
Donegal picked off Dublin on the break in that match, and the lessons learned from that day have seen Jim Gavin’s team win the last two All-Ireland titles.
Dublin v Monaghan - GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final
With Cian O’Sullivan sitting in front of the full-back line Dublin are now much less vulnerable to quick counter-attacks, but Gavin knows his players will have to be on their toes to repel the speed of Tyrone’s thrusts from deep.
“(They’re) a really good team, managed really well,” said Gavin. “When you see the players that they have, the two Cavanagh brothers, Mattie Donnelly, Peter Harte, Tiernan McCann, his brother Conal, they’re just top class inter-county players.
“They have been working on this game plan for a long time and they’re still very flexible within that game plan as well. It’s going to be a massive test.
“You just need to look at their scoring in the Ulster Championship to see how good they are at that counter-attacking style.
"Looking at it the last day against Armagh and how easily they dispatched them playing a very defensive system and a really impressive attacking game. They seem to have got the balance right.”
Tyrone have consistently given Dublin harder matches in the League than most teams, and last February only a late charge saw Jim Gavin’s team snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Gavin was pleased with the character his team showed on the night, but clearly thinks his team are in much better shape now than they were last February.
"Back in February throughout the game Tyrone were trying to stamp their authority on us,” said Gavin.
“We just hung in there. It was the earlier part of the season for us as we were just back from the team break so the positive for me was that with 60 (minutes) on the clock, at five or six down, we still stuck at it.
"We showed resilience and resolve to stick in there. Even going into added time we were still a point down and we nailed a long-range free to draw the game so it was satisfying in that regard.
“Of the cycle that we are in, this game will be played in the 33rd week of the year as opposed to the fourth or fifth week. So in that context it was a satisfying result for us."
