It’s time to push on, says Gilroy
Pat Gilroy wasn’t singing but the lyrics rang a bell.
He could have taken a few hours to wallow in the satisfaction of his first major title as Dublin manager but if he was tempted he didn’t show it.
Gilroy’s sights are aimed as high as anyone on the Hill.
“It’s a means to an end,” he said without the hint of a smile. “That’s what it is – the easiest way to get to an All-Ireland quarter-final. It is nice to have a Leinster medal for the guys but really we have to push on from here, we need to get to an All-Ireland final this year, that’s what it is all about.”
So, that’s that then.
The five-in-a-row metaphorically tossed into a drawer. He was at least willing to savour the means by which they did it. He was entitled to, for this was a game for the ages.
“It was a good game of football,” said Gilroy.
“You could actually enjoy the way both teams went at it, hard hitting. That’s what championship football is all about. We conceded too many scores but, at the end of the day, they took their scores very well, came at us and swarmed on us all over the place.
“Both teams would have to be happy with what they did there today.”
Dublin more so, obviously.
It wasn’t all sweetness and light. Kildare scored 18 points, all from play, Ger Brennan sullied his bib with a stupid ‘brain snap’ as the Aussies call it and the midfield may need some tweaking.
Mere baubles yesterday. Dublin’s character has been called into question on a yearly basis now since … well, forever, but they responded with all the right answers when they had to this time.
And that isn’t just confined to the players. The manager made the right calls from the sideline, in terms of timing as well as personnel and his determination to expand the playing base last spring stood to him when it mattered.
“We needed to change things because we were all over the place towards the end of the first half. There was no way that, that was going to work for us in the second-half. We needed to get an outlet up front.
“Alan (Brogan) gave us that in the first 15 minutes of the second half and the guys worked very hard around the middle. We did a lot better in the second half.”
He pleaded ignorance when asked for his thoughts on Brennan’s sending off but his response to it at the time was to call Diarmuid Connelly ashore and send on Bryan Cullen in his place.
The Skerries man was inspired despite his limited game time this year but it still took Dublin some time to rediscover the groove that had coughed up 1-3 inside those first four exhilarating minutes.
“Our initial game plan went out the window when we went 1-3 up at the start of the game. We stopped letting the ball in quickly. We were put under severe pressure in and around the middle of the field.
“Kildare really worked us and forced us into carrying the ball which isn’t our natural game. That was when it went wrong. We got back to the right game plan in the second half by letting it in a lot quicker.”
Kildare’s use of the spare man did Dublin no harm either. Mikey Conway swept between the two Kildare back lines, something which allowed Dublin to win more than 50% of the ball in midfield.
That said, Dublin were doing so much dog work in their own half that the supply line into an increasingly isolated Alan Brogan and Jason Sherlock began to dry up as the game went on.
With less than 10 minutes left, the sides were level and Dublin had scored once in 18 minutes. It was difficult to see where they would come up with another score and then up popped Bernard Brogan who scored five.
Never mind waiting until October. Give that man an All Star. Now.
“He showed great bottle to take those scores at the end,” said Gilroy. “He is keen to really make his mark with the Dublin team now. He has done a lot at club football but this is the first year where he has really established himself with Dublin.”
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