Dubs do it

With their next opponents Kerry evoking memories of great clashes in the 1970s, manager Tommy Lyons and his players are now back in the mix along with Leinster champions Westmeath who taught them such a lesson earlier in the summer. With Tyrone and Armagh still alive and very much kicking, Dublin are by no means the favorites to lift the Sam Maguire Cup, however, they are now moving with a little bit of the swagger of old.
While Roscommon were well able to exploit some hesitancy in the winners’ defense, at least the Dubs’ forward line crackled for much of the game. Jason Sherlock, once the bright-eyed boy of the 1995 team, was back to his best at Croke Park with an impressive 1-4 from play, and both Ian Robertson and Alan Brogan made important contributions in different ways.
On the debit side, Senan Connell and Conal Keaney are struggling to find their best form and veteran Dessie Farrell, who came on as a second-half substitute, suffered a bad knee injury, which is almost certain to rule him out for the rest of the season. “Everyone knows you have to improve with every game, and we set out to be in the quarter-finals,” said Lyons “So this win will bring us on. But these lads aren’t robots, you can’t just press a button. We could score 2-4 in the first 10 minutes, or be 10 points, you just never know.”
As for Roscommon, who were disappointed at how they performed against Mayo in the Connacht final, this was an opportunity to atone and if they came up short, at least they left their mark on proceedings. Physical and competitive, an inability to take several goalscoring chances – misses by John Hanley, Stephen Lohan and sub John Tiernan stood out – cost them dear.
“We have to stop equating creditable performances with accomplishments, they’re not the same,” said manager Tom Carr. “We gave a good enough display to win; we’re disappointed that we didn’t convert those chances. This year we’ve created more opportunities than any other year and we’ve taken fewer of them.”
Roscommon got off to a fast start with early points from Gary Cox, Nigel Dineen and the lively Ger Heneghan, but Dublin soon settled as Brogan, Sherlock and center-back Bryan Cullen found the range. There wasn’t much between the teams, and not long after Seamus O’Neill and Jonathan Dunning had shots saved on the Dublin line, Brogan put Sherlock into space and with the Roscommon defense caught flat-footed, he calmly finished past Shane Curran.
It was 1-8 to 0-9 at the interval, and when Ciaran Whelan and Brogan quickly added points at the start of the second half, it seemed as if Dublin might pull away. However, during the remaining 35 minutes they only managed four more scores. Roscommon introduced Frankie Dolan as they weren’t in search of a badly-needed goal, and while he put Tiernan in on goal with a superb assist, there was to be no twist in the tale.
“Dublin are good enough to put it up to anyone if their big names,” said Carr, “But they’ll be worried by the number of times we got through their defense.” Lyons admitted there was more work to do, “But we know we’ll get it done too,” he added. Not though in the time left to an All Ireland title.

TYRONE 3-15, LAOIS 2-4
This was a game too far for Laois. Running on empty as a third demanding contest in the space of a fortnight took its toll, they were easy prey in the end for Tyrone who cruised into the quarter-finals and a meeting on Saturday with Connacht champions Mayo.
As their efforts to cope with the wide-open spaces of Croke Park came to nought, manager Mick O’Dwyer was unable to disguise his fury at the GAA’s schedule of fixtures. “If we’re being honest, we shouldn’t have turned up for the game at all. That might have brought a change to this crazy system. These are amateur players, guys who have to go to work the next day. Surely be to God they can get some kind of structure in which teams could play every two weeks. What has happened to us is very, very unfair.”
A depressing occasion for the Leinster county was made even worse when team captain Beano McDonald suffered a bad double-break to his leg following an accidental clash with Tyrone defender Ryan McMenamin in the closing stages. McDonald was operated on immediately after the game by surgeon and former Meath All Ireland winner, Gerry McEntee.
Long before McDonald was stretchered off, Tyrone were thinking about their next challenge. First half goals by Eoin Mulligan and Mark Harte, some inspirational play by midfielder Sean Cavanagh and accurate shooting by Stephen O’Neill, left Laois trailing by an embarrassing 2-8 to 0-1 at half-time.
Even though Laois managed to score two goals through McDonald and Kevin Fitzpatrick during the second half, Tyrone were in control to such a degree that they were able to leave Peter Canavan on the bench for the duration. “We looked very good at times, and very ordinary at times,” said manager Mickey Harte, “That’s the way it has been for us all season. We need to perform more consistently, and we know we have a big task on our hands against Mayo.”
Mark Harte, who struck for another goal after the break, finished with an impressive 2-3, and Mulligan added 1-3, while the rampaging Cavanagh and O’Neill both hit three points from play. “No question about it, Tyrone were the better side,” O’Dwyer reflected. “They were a lot fresher than us. I’m not one to complain after a defeat, but when players are unfairly treated, you have to speak out. The system has to be changed to make sure no beaten provincial finalist has to play the following week.”

KILKENNY 1-11, CLARE 0-9
Last weekend’s All Ireland hurling quarter-final replay was marred by a controversial eye injury to Kilkenny star Henry Shefflin. Forced to leave the Semple Stadium pitch before the end of the game with blood streaming from around his eye despite the fact that he was wearing a helmet with a faceguard, Shefflin later underwent a minor operation and is extremely doubtful for Sunday’s semi-final against Waterford.
Television pictures showed Clare’s Gerry Quinn jabbing the butt of his hurley through Shefflin’s faceguard, and Shefflin was then seen to confront the half-forward at the conclusion of the game. The GAA will now view footage of the incident and if Quinn is found guilty of foul play he could face a long suspension.
While Kilkenny manager Brian Cody insisted that there would be “no permanent damage” to the eye, he wouldn’t comment any further. “I won’t be getting into the nitty-gritty, whatever happened I’m not sure about it,” was as far as he would go.
As for the contest itself, it never flowed with any great style. Kilkenny got a vital first half goal through Eddie Brennan, but had far too many wides and were only in front by four points at the changeover. Brennan squandered a chance, Shefflin fumbled a pass with the goal at his mercy and John Hoyne was also guilty of blowing an opportunity.
If this was far from vintage Kilkenny, they still should have been much further in front. With Jamesie O’Connor and another sub David Forde gradually making in-roads, Clare were stubbornly refusing to lie down. O’Connor and Tony Griffen struck for two quick points and suddenly extra-time was a possibility.
But Kilkenny responded with a DJ Carey free and two points from a hitherto anonymous Martin Comerford, and at the death, Carey fired over a beautiful score from 70 yards out on the right to keep his team on track for a third consecutive All Ireland title. “The greatest achievement of all and we still have a shot at it,” said Carey.
After their disastrous Munster championship exit at the hands and hurls of Waterford, Anthony Daly’s first year in charge has to be deemed a success. “Look, we were here 12 or 13 weeks ago and ashamed of ourselves going home. We wanted the bus to get out the road there as fast as we could and not even go back by Nenagh. But I’m not a bit ashamed of the boys this time. At least, there’s pride in the Clare jersey again.”
Cody insisted that he was “really, really happy at all stages of that game”, but that is somehow hard to believe. If Clare were tenacious, Kilkenny were wasteful and only Michael Kavanagh and the outstanding Tommy Walsh can be truly pleased with their performances.
This summer, Kilkenny have been something of a work-in-progress and that pattern continues. They clicked to a degree during the win over Galway, and they know they’ll need to be at their best to cope with Waterford on Sunday. That is a match even the neutrals are already salivating about.

MAJOR BRAWL AT MINOR GAME
The GAA is investigating a mass brawl at the end of last Saturday’s drawn All Ireland minor football quarterfinal between Cork and Laois at the Limerick Gaelic Grounds. The altercation — which involved players, officials and supporters from both counties — was so violent that referee Michael Daly decided not to play extra-time.
The game was level at 1-9 apiece at the end of normal time, but as extra-time was about to start, a serious row erupted. Cork captain Ollie O’Sullivan lost three teeth and their team doctor had blood streaming from a head wound that needed stitches.
In the immediate aftermath of the fracas, which involved up to 25 people and which a lone garda was powerless to prevent, Laois sent a letter to the GAA that alleges that a Cork official assaulted one of their selectors. The GAA president Sean Kelly confirmed that a full investigation will now take place once referee Daly’s report has been submitted to the association.