Mayo should be wary of a backlash from Bernard Brogan and Paul Flynn after the Dublin attacking pair were taken off in the semi-final win over Kerry.

In predicting a win for the Dubs in the Belfast Telegraph, the 2003 Tyrone All-Ireland winning captain wrote: "When you consider that both Bernard Brogan and Paul Flynn had quiet games by their standards (before being substituted), if you were a Mayo supporter you'd have to be worried about a backlash from these two.

"Brogan also has a great record against Mayo whereas Dublin were able to negate the threat of Aidan O'Shea for both games in the All-Ireland semi-final last year."

He continued: "If I were from Mayo, I'd also be worried about the difficulty they have with frees on the right-hand side. Against Tipp the last day, both Cillian and Diarmuid O'Connor missed kicks off their favoured right boots; Evan Regan was then brought on and he missed one with his left peg.

"I am sure that is something Jim Gavin and the Dublin brains trust will have noted, and won't be slow about exploiting. Mayo also don't have the same level of strength in depth as their opponents.

"The irresistible form of so-called supersub Kevin McManamon has guaranteed him a starting place, and the offshoot has been that it has helped increase competition for places among the forwards. The likes of Paddy Andrews, Paul Mannion, Eoghan O'Gara and Cormac Costello must all be chomping at the bit.

"They are some incredible options for Gavin to have, particularly if he has to look over his shoulder with 20 minutes to go.

"No other manager in the country has that depth of talent at their disposal and ultimately it should propel the Dubs to back-to-back All-Irelands for the first time in 39 years."

Tweet

Most Read Stories