Dubs deliver bolt from the blue

HOW in heaven’s name did this end up as a 13-point win for Dublin?

Yes it’s hurling, an All-Ireland qualifier in the plains of Croke Park where things can change very quickly, and the greasy pitch on Saturday often made ball-winning something of a lottery, but this was truly a bolt from the blue.

Having built up a nine-points lead in a spectacular seven-minute first-half spell (21st to 28th minutes, 0-4 each to 0-13 to 0-4, full-forward Dotsy O’Callaghan the scorer in chief), Dublin then committed a cardinal error at any level of hurling, visibly relaxed they allowed a genuinely talented Clare in for three soft points before the break.