"Mayo have to go for primary possession against Dublin" - Diarmuid Connolly
Former All-Ireland-winning Dublin star Diarmuid Connolly has described the defending champions' clash with Mayo in tomorrow's All-Ireland's SFC semi-final at Croke Park as 'the game of the season'.
He told Boyle Sports: "Mayo have been Dublin’s main rivals over the last 10 years.
"There hasn’t been a kick of the ball between them, bar last year where Dublin pulled away in the last 10-15 minutes but before that, it was a point in every single game, and they drew in six or seven meetings.
"Dublin are going to be tested and we will see what Mayo are up to as well.”
It’s a massive game for Evan Comerford as he will start as Dublin’s goalkeeper in the clash.
Said Connolly: “I expect him to deliver. Evan is a steady sort of fella and is very like Stephen Cluxton and is a left footer as well.
"He has that long kick-out in his game which could come to the fore in this game. I feel that Mayo will push on the Dublin kick-out.
"I can see Mayo push four into the full forward line, cutting off that shot, three into the half-forward line and push a half-back up the middle of the field and make it four around the middle of the field.
"So if Evan can get the ball down nice and early and get the long kick-out we will see Dublin pick them off.
"We seen Stephen do it to them last year and Mayo done that huge press up but Stephen picked Niall Scully out from about 65 yards over their whole defence and Dublin got in on goal.
"That’s the worry for Mayo, how far are they going to push up on this kick-out because if they do, Evan has that long kick in the locker.
“Mayo have to go after primary possession here because if they concede a kick-out to Dublin then they will just pick them off.
"They will play slow, transition the ball up nice and early. They will go wide and deep so they have to press up on the kick-out.
"The worry for Dublin is can Evan pick somebody out longer out the field and start the Dublin attack very early.
"I think Aidan O’Shea’s best position is coming from 14 to 11. He is a huge man who does a lot of work around the middle of the field, but I think it takes away from that Mayo attack.
"We will see him start at midfield because he will go up for the throw-up, he does it all the time and is a huge presence there, but he will start switching in and out then.
“We seen it in the second half of the Galway game as soon as he went into the full-forward line he created absolute chaos.
"When he goes in there, he attracts one or two other defenders to get closer to him in case he does win that primary possession. Mayo can hurt Dublin if they have a big man and target inside like O’Shea and you never know the chaos he can cause.
"I don’t’ think O’Shea has 70 minutes in the legs to keep up with the likes of Brian Fenton or James McCarthy in the midfield.
"O’Shea does look fit this year, but I just think at full-forward it will give him a different angle to the game."