Brogan brothers do damage as Dubs extend unbeaten run

THERE was something entirely appropriate in the manner in which Dublin qualified for their first Division One final since 1999 in Croke Park on Saturday evening.

After their grandfather Jim had passed away the day previously, it was the Brogan brothers, Alan and Bernard, who combined to maintain their team’s 100% league run.

A minute before providing the cross-goal pass which Down midfielder Kalum King fumbled and Alan exploited, sub Bernard sent over an excellent equalising point.

With youngest brother Paul at full-back, it was an emotional game for the Brogan clan but one in which they all contributed, especially Alan whose manic work-rate typified the complete performance Pat Gilroy demands from his players. The team’s refusal to panic when it appeared Down had the game won and the defence’s clean-sheet after conceding three goals to Mayo last day out were their highlights in a game that lacked in quality.

Not that Gilroy cared. In his mind it was his side’s most encouraging display in the league so far.

“The team now trusts each other a lot to work harder and they believe this is the right way for us to play and I suppose there is a lot of confidence there from getting the results.

“But again we have had our little reminders every now and then to say that unless we work hard we won’t get the result. (Today,) it was hard work that kept us in that game when the chances didn’t all go in like on previous days.”

Gilroy’s opposite number James McCartan was taken aback by just how defensive Dublin were, having at least seven men behind the ball at all times.

Indeed, so frustrated were Down by what was put in front of them in the first-half, they kicked laterally to get around them but with little reward.

Even though they were level 0-8 to 1-5 with Dublin at the break, McCartan felt his team were ‘running out of ideas in how to break them down’.

It called for a change in tact in the second-half with Down forwards running direct and at pace with team-mates attempting to provide overlaps.

“A team that sets up the wall like that, I’ve never (seen) it done to that extent before,” said McCartan. “I suppose it works whenever you’re winning a game and you’re comfortable. Maybe if they were five or six points down they would have to approach it differently. It’s a valuable experience and we do think the slightly different approach in the second-half did improve it.”

Naturally, Gilroy wasn’t going to apologise for how Dublin set out their stall. “We had no choice really because of the way they play. They are moving men all over the place, they are coming at you and you have to go with them.”

And he added: “I think our application was very encouraging.”

Although the scoreboard read it a level game, Dublin were marginally the better team in the first-half, forcing Down into turning the ball over and creating three goal chances.

They only took one of them, Alan Brogan’s outside-of-the-boot pass teeing up Paul Flynn to palm the ball to the net in the 11th minute.

Flynn could have had a second in the 32nd minute but his shot came back off the post while Denis Bastick also went close when his kick squeezed wide.

But this was a game in which there was never more than two points between the teams and they were level on four occasions after the interval.

Dublin were first to threaten breaking that trend when they went 1-9 to 0-10 ahead in the 56th minute when Tomás Quinn converted a free.

But that was their last score until the Brogan injury-time show as Down suddenly found holes in the home defence.

Martin Clarke struck over a free and Conor Maginn became the sixth Down forward to raise a white flag, 10 minutes past without a score before Clarke punished Paul Brogan for fouling Benny Coulter.

But Paul needn’t have worried — his brothers more than looked after him.

McCartan had no issue with the defeat. Down’s opposition, he says, are a rung up the ladder from where his team are.

“Dublin are up there, obviously. Dublin, Cork and Kerry are probably the three teams that are running off everybody’s tongue.

“With six wins out of six, you can’t really question it. They’re in the top three teams in the country and Down are certainly much behind them in a pack.”

Sitting beside his St Vincents club-mate Gilroy in the press conference afterwards, Quinn was attempting to play down Dublin’s hopes of winning a first Division 1 title since 1993.

“It will be nice to play in, but as Pat said it is just another game and the more games we get the better.

“We are all fighting for places and trying to make an impression so it’s another competitive game and it’ll be back here again and it will be another chance to play here. They’re the benefits of it.”

Scorers for Dublin: A Brogan, P Flynn 1-1 each; T Quinn 0-4 (three frees); B Cahill, D Connolly, B Cullen, B Brogan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Down: M Clarke 0-3 (all frees); B Coulter, D Hughes, P McComiskey 0-2 each; K McKernan, P Fitzpatrick, M Poland, C Maginn 0-1 each.

Subs for Dublin: B Brogan for McManamon (42); MD MacAuley for Cahill (inj 43); P Andrews for Cullen (59); P Burke for Flynn (temp 62-63); Burke for Quinn (68); D Kelly for Flynn (70).

Subs for Down: D McCartan for McArdle (45); D Alder for McVeigh (inj 47); J Colgan for Fitzpatrick and R Murtagh for McComiskey (both 52); C McCartan for Poland (59); R Sexton for Coulter (temp 59-63).

Referee: Syl Fox (Wexford).