Darragh Ó Sé: Dublin and Kerry show kicking game trumps all else at Croke Park

The camera picked out the Dublin bench in Croke Park on Sunday, early in the second half against Mayo, and there were Ciarán Kilkenny, Jack McCaffrey and Dean Rock, all sitting close together, looking out at the game all eager-eyed.

It reminded me of that famous image of the Kerry bench, late in the Mick O’Dwyer era, where you had Ogie Moran, Páidí Ó Sé, Bomber Liston and Ger Power, all looking out on the game with that same gleam in their eye.

I said from the outset of this championship that Dublin still had a depth in their panel that would stand to them and test everyone else, and we certainly saw that on Sunday. Once Dessie Farrell emptied his bench, bringing on Kilkenny, McCaffrey and Rock, it turned into quite the mauling for Mayo.

That wasn’t all that won it for them. Dublin scored 2-14 of their 2-17 from play, their kicking game and total football simply too much for Mayo to handle in the end.

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It was much the same in Kerry’s dismantling of Tyrone, a game that will be remembered for David Clifford’s moment of magic in the second half. He always provides highlights in games, and Saturday was no different.

I heard someone describe it as a punt. For me there was no doubt Clifford knew exactly what he was doing, and had been glancing over his shoulder just before the ball came on top of him. Still, he must have eyes in the back of the elbow, not to mention head, to manage that brief catch and swift kick under the Hogan Stand.

That passage of play really summed up the game on the day. What I mean by that is, what would have happened if Clifford decided to hold on to the ball, and try to play his way out?

He’d two Tyrone fellas coming at him – Ronan McNamee and Pádraig Hampsey – and they’d have turned him over, pushed him to the ground, and likely got into his face as they were taking the ball off him.

You can imagine the reaction from the Tyrone crowd – it would nearly have been as good as a goal to them at that stage. That’s what the Tyrone players would have had in their heads. We’ll gobble him up here, turn him over.

Instead, Clifford’s vision and skill to play the ball over their heads, to find Tony Brosnan, who in turn picked out Seanie O’Shea, resulted in the second Kerry goal. Game over.

In fairness, Tyrone did show some bite from the outset, mouthing into Clifford, all that kind of gnarly stuff that they do. Brought their usual physicality too. They just couldn’t back it up. Kerry were getting scores much easier, and basically had Tyrone stretched with their kicking game. Left them chasing shadows.

Jack O’Connor said he saw that performance coming. Maybe he saw more than we did. But from a Kerry perspective it was great, so many pluses. Diarmuid O’Connor and Jack Barry won midfield hands down, and as a defensive unit they were outstanding as well – another huge fillip for Jack.

That kicking game essentially won the game for Dublin against Mayo too. Mayo had probably come through the physically toughest game of the championship so far, against Galway in Salthill, just the week before. They brought that kind of physicality to Croke Park, and in the early stages certainly matched Dublin.

[ Mayo people will put up with a lot but they won’t accept meek surrender ]

But just like Kerry, Dublin were getting their scores that bit easier. We haven’t seen Con O’Callaghan at his best this year, but with Colm Basquel playing so well, 2-2 from four shots, and Paul Mannion in alongside him, they feel like two new players this year, even though they’ve been around a good while.

Mayo, like Tyrone, weren’t short of fitness or legs, they just couldn’t match Dublin’s total football. It’s champagne football at times and impressive to watch.

When teams are able to play this kicking game, it proves again how devastating a weapon it can be. Basquel’s goal in the first half came straight from a kick pass, even if for me he finished it very easy. The second goal was a turnover from Mannion, but it was that kicking game that had stretched Mayo.

To play that game, you need the full complement of good-kicking footballers. That’s probably the root of the differences here. It’s not just like flicking a switch, you can’t just suddenly decide to play that way. If I’m kicking the ball to you, it’s no good unless you’re expecting the kick from me.

Sometimes you see a player kick the ball and the other player just isn’t expecting it. So it’s something that has to be drilled into you over a period of time before you can start doing it in games.

Mayo showed plenty of that kicking game against Kerry in Killarney, scoring from all angles, but that went missing at the weekend, for whatever reason. Even after the shower of rain, the Dublin players still controlled their kicking game despite having to dance around on the slippery wet surface.

The other point is Croke Park is the best pitch for playing that kicking game. It completely lends itself to this, because of the open space, and Kerry rarely deviate from that game – nor do Dublin, for that matter.

Compare all this with the other two quarterfinals, which weren’t nearly as compelling to watch, Derry-Cork just about the better of the two.

The best thing about Monaghan-Armagh was the penalty shoot-out, the quality of penalties in particular. Out of 20 shots, 17 were scored. Top corner, bottom corner, all ballsy penalties. It’s just unfortunate for Callum Cumiskey he ended up missing two of them.

It’s frustrating for Kieran McGeeney. The team have been playing for him, but they can’t seem to play their best football outside of Ulster.

As for the other game, look at how Cork opened up Derry once or twice with goal chances. But still they insisted on running the ball, instead of kicking and stretching the game more. It’s probably still the best season Cork have had for some time, but they were naive on Sunday. Kerry and Dublin both created most of their goal chances by kicking the ball – it’s not hard to see a pattern here.

Ample evidence, then, that Kerry have found form. Dublin too. Let’s see where it takes them from here.