FOOTBALL LEAGUE:IMPOSSIBLE AS the extreme swing in this spring weather might seem it perfectly reflects the mood of the Dublin footballers – beautiful one week, horrible the next.
In fact, the only consistency in Dublin’s Allianz Football League so far has been their discipline, or rather lack of it. Four players have been red-carded in their six games so far, with team captain Bryan Cullen also banned retrospectively, and their tally of yellow cards has been running somewhere above average.
It prompted Dublin county chairman Andy Kettle to suggest yesterday that, as reigning All-Ireland champions, perhaps Dublin are being singled out for some extra provocation, although that hardly justifies the repeated infractions, both on and off the ball – retaliation is no excuse anyway.
“Of course when you’re AllIreland champions, teams will always come out to have a cut at you,” said Kettle. “Sure everybody would expect that, and I suppose it’s been quite a long time since we’ve been All-Ireland champions.
“Ask any other team, such as Kerry, and they’ll tell you that as All-Ireland champions yes, you’re clapped onto the pitch, but after that everybody wants to have a cut at you, because it’s their All-Ireland, as such. For the opposing manager it’s always a way of motivating his team.
“I certainly wouldn’t see any concerted effort to try and ‘take’ Dublin in any shape or form. But our disciplinary record in this particular competition has been the worst for many years. It’s not something we like to see. It’s not something that has been raised at county board level either, because at this stage we’d have full confidence that the management team will sort this out.”
Still, Dublin’s breakdown in discipline only partly explains their 0-20 to 0-8 defeat to Mayo in Castlebar on Saturday evening.
The scenes afterwards of Mayo supporters posing for photographs next to the scoreboard told it all, as it was as rare and comprehensive a victory over the All-Ireland champions as anyone in Mayo could recall.
Things were going from bad to worse for Dublin even before substitute Paul Flynn was shown a straight red card on 40 minutes, for striking out at Mayo defender Colm Boyle. Diarmuid Connolly was booked in the 15th and again in 58th minute, the second one for an apparent retaliatory charge on Donal Vaughan, and was thus sent off – and there were yellow cards too Ger Brennan, Ross McConnell, Kevin McMenamon, Rory O’Carroll and Cian O’Sullivan.
“There’s been nothing cynical, or particularly bad about any of our sending offs,” added Kettle. “It’s more a run of bad luck, really. From what I’ve seen on the sideline some of them weren’t justified, but I would say that. Referees have a different view, and we have to go along with that decision.
“One we definitely didn’t agree with was James McCarthy. That was the only one we did appeal, because we felt it wasn’t justified, but the decision was upheld. I don’t foresee any appeal in the case of Paul Flynn.”
Manager Pat Gilroy hardly disguised his disappointment following Saturday’s defeat: “Very poor discipline from us,” he said, “and they weren’t the only guys, the two lads that got sent off. We really have to sit down and look at that sharply, or else we will have a very short year.
“Our application just wasn’t anywhere near what it should be. We know the kind of team we are, in that we are only good as a team. We just didn’t bring that to it at all. As a group, we need to look at the reasons why that happened. We clearly have to eliminate it.”
Connolly’s mood swings this spring perhaps best personify Dublin’s difficulties: this was the player only cleared for their All-Ireland final win last September after appealing the red card received in the semi-final win over Donegal.
Whatever about the merits of that red card, Connolly also began the new season a little nervously after an incident with Kildare’s Ciarán Fitzpatrick in the O’Byrne Cup. Dublin’s Paul Brogan was already sent off in that game, and Gilroy also substituted midfielder Michael Dara Macauley for fear he would suffer the same fate.
Connolly began the original Mayo fixture in superb form, followed that with some superb combination work with Eoghan O’Gara against Laois, before hitting a hat-trick of goals against Armagh. However, he was well shackled against Down, and from there it seems his frustration has been difficult to contain.
Indeed, after the Armagh game last month Gilroy admitted that Connolly was still working on that elusive consistency. “That’s one of the challenges for Diarmuid coming into this year. His talent is undoubted, but it’s important that he gets that consistency, and he’s really trying hard at it.”
Dublin have to beat Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday to have any chance of making the semi-finals, and Gilroy must once again do without Alan (calf) and Bernard Brogan (knee), plus O’Gara (groin), Barry Cahill (toe) and the now suspended Flynn.
Time, perhaps, for Connolly to turn his spring form into summer.
FOOTBALL LEAGUE: Dublin’s record in 2012
Round 1 – Feb 4th
Kerry 1-14 Dublin 0-11
Eamon Fennell straight red card, plus one-match suspension.
Round 2 – Feb 11th
Mayo v Dublin (abandoned at half-time due to fog)
James McCarthy red-carded, plus one-match suspension.
Round 3 – Mar 3rd
Dublin 1-14 Laois 1-9
Bryan Cullen later “cited” and handed one-match suspension.
Round 4 – Mar 11th
Dublin 4-17 Armagh 1-10
Round 5 – Mar 18th
Down 0-15 Dublin 1-10
Alan Brogan and Diarmuid Connolly both yellow-carded for off-the-ball incidents.
Round 6 – Mar 24th
Dublin 2-16 Donegal 0-13
Round 7 – Mar 31st
Mayo 0-20 Dublin 0-8
Paul Flynn straight red card, plus one-match suspension; Diarmuid Connolly red-carded for second bookable offence.
Round 8 – This Sunday
Cork v Dublin
