Dublin lay down a marker

SO much for early season form not counting for much in the championship. Well, it certainly held true in Croke Park yesterday when Dublin’s near-perfect display in the Leinster SFC semi-final saw them beat Westmeath by the same margin of 27 points they had inflicted on them in the last round of the League.

And, on the day, it was no real surprise. Dubs manager Pat Gilroy agreed everything had gone right for his team while Westmeath boss Tomás O Flatharta didn’t disagree with the portrayal of the game as a ‘horror show.’ Whatever reservations people might still have about Dublin’s ability to do any better in the All-Ireland series than they managed under Paul Caffrey’s reign, it would have been difficult to find fault with them yesterday. Admittedly, their task was made easier because of the ineptitude of Westmeath but when it came to laying down a marker in the opening 15 minutes, Dublin were in a league of their own.

They monopolised the play almost from the throw-in – evidenced by the scoring of two points inside the first minute, both from Conal Keaney – and they quickly took control in defence. They played some delightful attacking football, highlighted by superb passing and textbook finishing. Notably, the recalled Jason Sherlock was to make a key contribution and full-forward Bernard Brogan set a high standard from the very start which ultimately made him the obvious choice for the man-of-the-match accolade with a total of 2-8.