JIM GAVIN WILL have some sleepless nights before he settles on his Dublin team for the All-Ireland final, according to former Dubs boss Tommy Lyons.
If Gavin is agonising over changes this week, Lyons feels centre-back Ger Brennan could be the first man on the chopping block.
Brennan was hauled off in the semi-final after a torrid 35 minutes spent chasing the shadow of an unplayable Colm Cooper, who set up both of Kerry’s opening goals.
Cian O’Sullivan dropped into the half-back line for the second half and Denis Bastick shored up the midfield, allowing Dublin to get a foothold on the game and mount their unforgettable comeback.
Mayo might not have the playmaking excellence of ‘the Gooch’ at their disposal on Sunday but Lyons says Gavin will think long and hard before picking his team.
“It’s a very difficult process when you come to an All-Ireland,” he said. “It’s a process I’d say has kept Jim awake at night.
“Ger Brennan has been very good. Everyone knows what Ger brings to the table. Everyone knows what his weakness is.
“It’s a big call by dropping him.
“Mayo aren’t going to play a man up on him like Kerry did because Keith Higgins won’t play like that so maybe it is set up for them this time.
But I think Dublin are weaker defensively when he is there. He can’t get back to the D with sufficient pace. But then three managers have picked him so he has to be doing something right.
Gavin and the Dubs before their All-Ireland quarter-final (INPHO/Cathal Noonan)
One player who has particularly impressed Lyons is Diarmuid Connolly who exploded to life against Kerry following his relatively quiet start to the summer.
The St Vincent’s forward kicked four points, including a pressure free late on to draw Dublin level, but it was his unseen work that really caught Lyons’s eye.
“The stand out moment for me was when Tomás Ó Sé came up the field under the Hogan Stand and Diarmuid Connolly was about six yards behind him chasing him.
Tomás kicked it and didn’t get the score. The minute he kicked it Connolly started to run and Cluxton hit it straight into him, beyond the 70-metre line, and he never broke stride.
“To me it was the best move I have seen this year and it involved a phenomenal kickout and the workrate of Connolly.
People say Connolly won’t do this and he won’t do that. To me that is the biggest thing I have ever seen him do on a pitch.
He added: “It’s like all really talented players, it’s very hard for them to be up for every day they go out.
“We saw it there against Tyrone there two years ago, he nearly beat them on his own. He is that type of player. What I love about him even when he kicks a wide he goes again. He doesn’t put the head down.”
Mayo will wait before deciding on whether or not to start two-time Young Player of the Year Cillian O’Connor who is still recovering from a shoulder injury.
Both sides have been praised for their expansive attacking football this summer and Sunday’s final will be decided by their relative quality up front, Lyons says.
I think Mayo are very good one to 10. If you were grading the one to 10, Mayo might shade it.But 11 to 20 is where Dublin have the edge.
“All-Irelands have never been won yet without two standout inside men. I don’t see them in Mayo.
“Cillian O’Connor, I just hope they don’t start him because it will be another Henry Shefflin. He won’t last 10 or 15 minutes.”
