Dublin sound a warning to Kilkenny after demolition job on Laois
Dublin posted 1-4 without reply after 12 minutes, full-forward Liam Rushe with the first of what would be a two-goal blast.
By the interval the margin was 3-14 to 1-1 and the advantage stood at 3-22 to 1-1 by the 54th minute.
The midlanders restored some pride in the final quarter outscoring Dublin six points to one, but it was all well and truly over at that stage.
Step one negotiated then for Anthony Daly and his side in the 2012 championship, and some amends made for their league relegation
“That was a serious blow,” Daly said of their spring campaign.
“We were hoping to retain Division 1A status, that was important to us. We had to put it behind us straight away.
“Sometimes as an inter-county manager you’d be giving out about club fixtures but it (the Dublin senior championship) was a blessing in disguise this time, it gave the lads a chance to get back playing straight away and get games under their belts. We spoke about the 2nd of June quite a lot during the year, that was the target date so there are a good lot of positives on that front. It wasn’t much of a hard match really, the second half was dead, but we came here as ready as we could be, that’s all you can do.”
His team had been hit badly by injury right through the league but the return of Tomás Brady, Stephen Hiney and Conal Keaney was a welcome sight for Dublin fans.
There was also another returning player, somewhat of an unsung hero, corner-forward David Treacy, who finished with 1-2 before a head injury forced him off.
“I was delighted for him as well — there’s been a lot of talk about the three boys but Treacy has been through cruciates, hamstrings, quad strains, almost anything you can think of. He’s a great player and it was good to have him back. Maybe he’s not quite back to the David Treacy we know but he’s going in the right direction. He was super for Cuala in the club match against Ballyboden and I suppose that’s what got him his place. I thought the three boys did great. We put Stephen on Willie Hyland and he did a great job in the first half. There’ll be harder tests ahead but they did great for their first game back.”
Next up for Dublin are Leinster and All-Ireland champions Kilkenny on June 23rd in the semi-final — a different proposition entirely!
“I don’t need to dress it up anymore than it is. Anyone who saw the league final (Kilkenny easily saw off Cork) saw the strength in depth that’s available to them.
“We’ll just go and be the best Dublin we can be and see where that takes us. If it could be something extraordinary wouldn’t that be magnificent. But all we can be is the best we can be.”
For Laois and their manager Teddy McCarthy, this was a huge reality check after the euphoria of their preliminary round win over Carlow.
“What can I say?” asked the former Cork dual star.
“When you’re up playing with the big boys that’s what happens. Dublin are probably a top three or four team in the last two to three years. Obviously, if we hadn’t got the qualifiers we couldn’t pick ourselves up. We’ll see can we respond but it’s going to be very difficult.”
It wasn’t for lack of commitment that Laois were beaten, he reckons. “They’re a great bunch of guys — people don’t know the work that they put in. They’ve worked very hard and it’s very disappointing.”
Time and patience, that’s what’s needed — remember, Laois shipped 10-20 against Cork last year in the All-Ireland qualifiers so this is a team coming from a long way behind. “The day will happen sometime that we will bounce back and we’ll get a result. We’re into the qualifiers now. We had a victory against Carlow, all we can do is take baby steps and hopefully we’ll grow up one of these days.”
Scorers for Dublin: P Ryan 0-9 (3f, 2 65s); L Rushe 2-2; D Treacy 1-2; S Durkin 0-2; C McCormack 0-2; C Keaney 0-2; J Boland, J McCaffrey, D Sutcliffe, D O’Callaghan, 0-1 each.
Scorers for Laois: N Foyle 1-0; W Hyland 0-3 (2f, 1s/l); M O’Hanlon 0-2 (2 65s); C Murray, W Dunphy, 0-1 each.
Subs for Dublin: D O’Callaghan (Rushe 38); S Lambert (Sutcliffe 44); M O’Brien (McCaffrey 49); D Curtin (Keaney 56); O Gough (Corcoran 59). Blood sub: S Stapleton (Treacy 46).
Subs for Laois: C Murray (O’Mahony 24); C Healy (Foyle 35); B Smith (C Dunne 44); W Dunphy (Hanlon 55).
Referee: J Owens (Wexford).
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