Former Dublin full-back Paddy Christie believes that Mayo will need to target the reigning champions' kick-out and exploit the space if they are to have any chance of winning the upcoming All-Ireland final.
The Dubs provided a footballing masterclass to progress to this year’s showpiece as they accounted for a very strong and determined Kerry side in their semi-final at Croke Park on Sunday.
But Christie feels that Dublin did show a few chinks in their armour, which a well-organised Mayo side could exploit on 18 September at Headquarters.
“The kick-outs are a concern,” said Christie, speaking on RTE Sport’s GAA podcast, Jones’ Road.
“If Eamonn Fitzmaurice did anything yesterday for Mayo, he showed them the structure to put in place, maybe, for the final that will certainly put a bit of a worry in Jim Gavin’s mind.
But such is the quality of Gavin’s Dublin side, the former Jacks captain added that an element of caution must also be employed with such tactics.
“It’s a gamble, because you saw when [Stephen] Cluxton launched a few long-rangers, it was dangerous on the other side, as Dublin then had the spare men up front.”
'Kickout crisis' - Colm O'Rourke on Stephen Cluxton's first-half difficulties against Kerry https://t.co/Gm961gimOk
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Another area the 2002 All Star said that Mayo might target will be the space that is left in the Dublin half-back line, which could allow a team to score from distance.
“In around the centre-forward position for the opposition, in Dublin’s centre half-back position, it is often very, very free and you saw teams running through the middle there.
“Now they ended up running into strong defenders but there are gaps sometimes in the Dublin defence and if people are prepared to fire from long distance, they can score against them.”
Former Roscommon midfielder Karol Mannion feels that Mayo have an arduous task ahead of them as they take on “one of the greatest teams in history”.
He believes that the Green and Red will need to play a containing game and ensure they hold onto possession as they try to secure their first title since 1951.
“The Mayo sweeper system is something that Dublin can get at and I think Mayo’s approach for the final needs to be very possession based, containing the game, like they did against them back in the league,” said Mannion.
“They made that game very tight and low scoring. And even though they lost the game in the end, they held onto possession quite well and that is something that they need to do similarly for the final.”
