Former Armagh All-Star Enda McNulty attributes Dublin's loss to Donegal on excessive media hype surrounding the Dubs.
Speaking on RTE's Today show, McNulty praised Donegal for the mental approach to the match and suggested that the Dublin team had failed to prepare properly in this aspect. He was adamant that the hype was the main reason for Dublin's downfall.
We have to also take into account here the hype machine that was in place around the Dublin team over the past 24 months, maybe even 48 months. Everyone spoke about [...] this was an unbeatable team.
It’s incredibly difficult to back the All-Ireland up, and it’s even more difficult in Dublin, because the hype around this Dublin team over the past three months was phenomenal; I’ve never seen the likes of it.
McNulty suggested that the Dublin side had been elevate to near-deity status by certain media outlets and that the players and fans alike bought into.
There was some of the Dublin party saying this was like an All Blacks team.
Now, I was part of the Ireland back-room staff when they played against the All Blacks [...] Even the All Blacks are fallible. So if the All Blacks are fallible, why then are the Dublin team not fallible?
He also commended the Ulstermen for their superior defensive tactics, which he felt nullified Dublin's attacking prowess from the bench.
If you’re coming on to a game, and you’re coming into 30-40 yards of space [it’s one thing, but] those guys are coming on, they’re running into a blitz defence.
I believe that the phrase about a blanket defence is obsolete. It’s now a blitz defence. In other words, there were 12-13 players in there defending, so how can a guy like [Kevin] McManamon, who is a brilliant player and deserves a lot of credit... he was running into five tackles, whereas in last year’s semi-final [...] he was running right up the middle with nobody attacking him and putting the ball in the net.
Hat tip: RTE
