Brogan says Dubs have more bottle now

MAYO in 2006. Kerry in 2007 and Cork in 2010. None of those are days that any Dubliner would care to remember with any great fondness but Bernard Brogan believes all three semi-final defeats served his side well against Donegal on Sunday.

The contrast with last season’s loss to Cork at the same stage was total. Twelve months ago, Dublin reached into their reserves in the final quarter and found them empty. This time, it was Donegal who wilted and the Dubs who did the damage in that crucial closing stretch.

“The brother (Alan) said it in the dressing-room, that three years ago we wouldn’t have won that game,” said the younger of the two Brogan forwards. “We showed bottle and didn’t give up until the end.