73 minutes on the clock and an 11-point lead. Brian Fenton wanted more.
Watching Dublin’s All-Ireland semi final against Tyrone from Hill 16, three players stood out as having superb games. Con O’Callaghan was impossible to pin down, John Small hounded Peter Harte for the best part of an hour and Jack McCaffrey was a sensation.
Most of the 20 Dubs that saw game time had good games. Very few were kept quiet or lost their personal battles out on the pitch. The likes of Paul Flynn, Eoghan O’Gara and Kevin McManamon all came off the bench to devastating effect.
Stephen Cluxton had some kicking blips early in the second half but was otherwise excellent and saved a late Peter Harte penalty. Philly McMahon, Cian O’Sullivan and Johnny Cooper were all in their element.
In the middle of it all were a midfield duo that were on it from minute one to minute 74. Brian Fenton and James McCarthy look to be Jim Gavin’s main men heading into the final and neither man, going on recent outings, has offered up a reason to doubt them.
Fenton is well established in the Dublin midfield now but he has grown into a real leader out on the pitch. The 24-year-old normally goes about his business with the minimum of fuss but his competitive streak comes to the fore in the big games.
Earlier this year we saw him squaring up to Fergal Boland and Tom Parsons when Mayo came to town. He breezed through Leinster but upped his game, and intensity levels, when faced with Conor McManus and Monaghan in the quarters. On Sunday, he ramped it up again.
Dublin looked to have sealed their place in the final after O’Gara swatted home his side’s second goal but Fenton wasn’t having it. If anything, his drive to bury Tyrone only increased in the closing stages. He was involved in skirmishes with Niall Sludden and Conor Meyler before chasing back to shut down Pádraig McNulty [below].
As McCarthy [who else?] sprang on the breaking ball, Fenton then showed a side that few GAA fans have seen yet.
He turned to his defence and, pumping both arms, let out a roar in their direction. Harte was the closest recipient but the bellows were directed at his teammates and at The Hill.
The clip is below and you will see the tackle and reaction of Fenton on the left-hand side. TV cameras almost missed it but the Dublin fans watching from the terraces did not. The midfielder’s roar was met with a collective response.
Play continued as Flynn was denied a third Dublin goal by Niall Morgan but, undeterred, the sub collected the rebound, sized up the posts and slotted over the final point of the game.
73 minutes gone in a match well won and the desire to do more damage was scarily evident.
The insatiable Fenton and his teammates had delivered a statement.
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