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Is Bernard Brogan's place in the replay on the line?

As Dublin and Mayo prepare to face off once again, both sides will be making changes to try ...



Is Bernard Brogan's place...
Football

Is Bernard Brogan's place in the replay on the line?

As Dublin and Mayo prepare to face off once again, both sides will be making changes to try and get over the line this time around. 

For Mayo, the concentration will be on avoiding mistakes, and trying to shake off the sense of frustration and bad luck that the two own goals cost them in a game where they kept a powerful Dublin team remarkably quiet. 

Jim Gavin, on the other hand, will be asking himself how it took 30 minutes for one of his players to get on the scoreboard, and the answer to that question may well be a complicated one. 

The conditions certainly played their part, but Mayo managed to stymie most of Dublin's attacking talents, and, in particular, Bernard Brogan was kept very quiet. 

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Tomás "Mossy" Quinn stated that it was going to be a close call as the game approached, and that there would be tough decisions to be made in training over the course of the week. 

"It'll be touch and go, but I expect him to get the nod. There'll probably be a shorter leash on the forwards the next day. Bernard got 62 minutes, Paul Flynn got a full game. If the forwards aren't going well again the next day, they mightn't get the same benefit of the doubt."

That may be key for Brogan, who was unable to register a score on the day, although he did play a role in the first own goal, which eventually ended up deflecting into the net off Kevin McLoughlin. 

Brogan has also failed to register scores in two other games this season, as noted by Michael Foley in The Sunday Times, against Laois in the Leinster Championship and Donegal in the quarter-final. That may be something playing on Brogan's mind, but Quinn believes he's unlikely to be struck by a sudden crisis of confidence as a result. 

"Every forward wants to be on a good run," added Quinn. "Bernard is the ultimate example. We've seen him on such a rich vein of form, and he's being judged on those standards of performance. but it's not enough to bother him in terms of confidence."

Via The Sunday Times

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