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'Tactically naive' Galway won't be let play by Dublin | Cliodhna O'Connor

Ahead of this weekend's All-Ireland final between Dublin and Galway, Cliodhna O'Connor is of the ...



Football

'Tactically naive' Galway won't be let play by Dublin | Cliodhna O'Connor

Ahead of this weekend's All-Ireland final between Dublin and Galway, Cliodhna O'Connor is of the opinion that the reigning champions will make it three-in-a-row. 

In a semi-final that paired the only two sides to have won an All-Ireland since 2004, O'Connor had been confident that the eventual winner of that clash would go all the way and win the 2019 title.

On a scoreline of 2-11 to 0-11, Dublin overcame Cork and may now consider themselves favourites for Sunday's meeting with Galway.

"Galway are going to believe," suggested O'Connor on Thursday's OTB AM, "they are that kind of team and their management have instilled that in them."

Whatever of their semi-final defeat of Mayo, however, O'Connor suspects that the Connacht champions do not possess the required nous to challenge Dublin.

"Watching them play against Mayo, they have some beautiful footballers," she conceded.

"The weakness, in my opinion, is that tactically they are a little naive.

"They like to go forward, which is very entertaining to watch, but I think Dublin will be tactically more astute and will be able to manage that quite well."

Crediting Galway's attacking flair, O'Connor is expecting a high-scoring affair on Sunday afternoon.

Yet, for all their strength going forward, Galway's defensive limitations are likely to work in Dublin's favour.

"They play open, attacking football which is great and we all love to see it," noted O'Connor, "but they commit a lot of people forward and there's a problem coming back.

"I found that while they could get people behind the ball, sometimes there was nobody making a tackle.

"They were letting Mayo take shots when there were enough people back there to close it down."

Although Cliodhna O'Connor believes Galway are theoretically capable of rectifying these errors, she isn't convinced that they possess the necessary 'Plan B' to upset Dublin's drive for three-in-a-row.

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All Ireland Final Cliodhna O'connor Dublin Galway Ladies Gaelic Football Association