Dublin a cut above Super rivals

Not for the first time Kerry snatched championship survival at the eleventh hour.

It was in 2014 that they came from five points down to get a draw with Mayo before winning the replay and subsequently the All-Ireland itself. Based on all demonstrated form it is hard to imagine that they will lift more silverware this year. If things go their way in the next round – and that is far from certain – they will face a semi-final with Dublin. This would be their fifth championship meeting this decade and you sense that over that time Kerry will never have been less prepared to take down Dublin than this year. In that sense it might be a pyrrhic victory if the Kingdom manage to escape the trapdoor. Yet, one thing that they can claim this year is to have breathed life into the Super 8 concept.

There is no doubt that Monaghan were ambling to a handy enough win over Kerry in Clones. Imagine if Dublin held a 1-17 to 0-16 advantage over Kerry after 69 minutes of the game? At this stage of Dublin's development they would probably string 40 or 50 passes together and see out the game. It is a level of worldliness that is currently beyond Monaghan. It is the type of drill that only a team utterly accustomed to winning would perfect. Dublin know that they will be required to manage games in the latter stages when they hold an advantage. Former Down player Marty Clarke suggested at the weekend that the only way he can see Dublin losing is if they are caught late on with a sucker punch goal. A Séamus Darby moment you might say. Curiously enough it is the one thing that is hard to imagine with Dublin as they have now perfected sucking the life out of the game late on.

 

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