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In the strangest years of the championships, is it not appropriate that the two teams that have given the country the most entertainment in the last 10 years are again protagonists?
Dublin was expected to get there.
May, I’m not so sure. I’ve been thinking about this all week, when is May not showing up?
In the last 10 years they have gone out to compete, they have won, they have lost and they have come back. They always show up, they always give their all.
Read more: May fell to nothing in a strange year
That is why they are there. There is a dark and endless desire in them to succeed and that is why they will always have a chance.
I said it earlier this year that I couldn’t see, or even entertain, the idea of Kerry being defeated by Cork. But they did, it happened.
Is it possible that Mayo could win? 31 counties would love it, but I don’t see it happening.
I think Dublin will focus on certain areas of the Mayo game and hit them as hard as it can, much harder than Tipperary, Roscommon or even Galway.
David Clarke’s expulsions have not been resolved and are a serious problem for Mayo, as they were against Tipperary.
What gets complicated is that in the middle of the park are Conor Loftus and Matthew Ruane, who have done well, but do they have what it takes to live with Brian Fenton, James McCarthy or Brian Howard?
Will Mayo try to turn things around by taking out Aidan O’Shea, moving away from his front line and thus allowing the Dubs to play as sweepers against Cillian O’Connor and Tommy Conroy?
Mayo has a lot of quality and tough men in his defense, but at times they were rudderless against Tipperary.
Read more: Dublin v May: the defining rivalry of the day?
Munster’s men ran up to them and Mayo was opened 10 or 11 times. Tomorrow you’ll have Con O’Callaghan, Ciarán Kilkenny, Paddy Small or even Fenton running towards you.
Dublin’s handling, his conscientiousness, his aggressiveness, his composure, are way ahead of what is out there.
James Horan is a brilliant coach and I have had a great time. He has built a new team, but we all hope that Oisin Mullen, Tommy Conroy, Eoghan McLaughlin and Ryan O’Donoghue will pick up and pick up where Andy Moran, Jason Doherty, Keith Higgins and Séamus O’Shea left off.
It is a very important question and I don’t think they have been tested to the level that Dublin will bring.
Cillian O’Connor is another problem. He gave one of the best semi-final displays, but he will have a hard time backing that up this weekend. Dublin hits the hammer better than any team, and it won’t get the space it did against Tipperary.
That’s even before you look at the matchups and try to deal with Fenton, O’Callaghan, Kilkenny, and even the Cluxton expulsions.
Everyone talks about Mayo’s pace of work and his turnovers, scoring 3-12 against Tipperary. Dublin has scored so much and is the only team to match May’s work rate.
If you go through the man-to-man team, you can defend Mayo, but Dublin is collectively a better team.
Verdict: Dublin
Tomás O Sé spoke on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland
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Watch the all-Ireland senior soccer final between Dublin and May live on RTÉ2 starting at 3:40 PM on Saturday, listen to the commentary live on RTÉ Radio 1 or follow our live blog on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ app News. The highlights of Saturday’s game (21:55 h RTÉ2).
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