Dublin’s Con O'Callaghan will have a key role to play against Tyrone in Croke Park on Saturday
Photo by Matthew Lysaght
Dubs set for crunch clash with Tyrone in Croker
THE Dublin footballers progressed to the All Ireland quarter final this Saturday with a win over Cork in the preliminary round with a 1-19 to 1-16 scoreline, reports Michael Howley.
The contest was closer than a lot of fans would be happy with while there were some positives to take away from the performance.
Clear issues still remain with this Dublin team that will undoubtedly come into question as they come up against higher grade opposition.
The most obvious of these issues clearly being the absence of Con O’Callaghan.
It became known before the game on Saturday evening that the Cuala man would not be playing, seemingly only being employed as an emergency option from the bench.
In his place was Templeogue’s Synge Streets Lorcan O’Dell who would take his place in the starting lineup and while he did not play badly, Dublin’s attack was clearly lacking without the presence of O’Callaghan.
Paddy Small was by far Dublin’s most dangerous forward from play with Sean Bulger also chipping in consistently grabbing a two pointer.
Costello managed 0-2 from free kicks while O’Dell’s teammate at Templeogue, Niall Scully managed a single point as did Ciaran Kilkenny, John Small, Lee Gannon and Ballinteer’s Luke Breathnach.
In the midfield there were grounds for positivity with Peader O Cofaigh Byrne continuing to highlight his aerial dominance.
The 6ft ‘6 midfielder appeared more than equal to any challenge on the day, collecting numerous kickouts and almost always beating his man to the ball.
Defensively Dublin appeared to be lacking and Cork were able to continuously rack up scores against them. Chris Og Jones was able to slip through defensive lines after just ten minutes and rifled the ball home against Stephen Cluxton.
He almost replicated the feat at the beginning of the second half. This time Cluxton was up for the challenge and pulled off an impressive save to stop Cork extending their lead.
Still, a worrying sign when thinking of the possibility of playing the likes of Kerry’s David Clifford or Armagh’s Conor Turbitt later on in the championship.
Overall, it was a job well done for Dublin who ran out three point winners on the day with a scoreline of 1-19 to 1-16.
Missing their starman they will be happy with the win but know that performances must improve if they are to compete with the very top teams in the country. They will now face Tyrone in an All Ireland quarter final this Saturday.
