‘Stepping stone’ for Dubs whose season ‘only begins now’

For Dublin footballers, Leinster medals offer a strange kind of glory.

It’s not that they are dismissed, it’s just that they aren’t exactly cherished either. Not when there are other, more glittering prizes, to be secured.

Paul Flynn claimed his fifth provincial award yesterday. Of them all, 2009 stands out. Down to 14 men against Kildare for most of the game, they somehow managed to fashion a three-point win against a rival of note and one attempting to generate a head of steam to match their own.

There were similar shades to this latest provincial decider. Dublin-Meath evokes certain images and expectations. Guts, drama and bad blood. There was very little of that last ingredient here. One Meath man booked? Say it wasn’t so.

A win against Meath in a Leinster final will always taste divine to the boys in blue, no matter how bland the serving but the nature of this one was more mezzanine than mega importance.

“In fairness, the season only really begins now,” said Flynn. “This is the business end of the season, knockout, what we all love. Right now it is all about concentrating on a quarter-final. That’s really all that matters.”

But beating Meath is always special. “It’s up there and as important as any of them. The one that stands out is the win in ‘09 against Kildare when we were down to 14 men. That was a special one and a great occasion but to beat Meath in a Leinster final is great. There probably wasn’t as much bite in the game as people would have thought but we did our thing and won.”

None of which is to say that he was dismissive of the achievement. He assuredly wasn’t. Neither was his captain Bryan Cullen who was first introduced to the Delaney Cup 10 years ago but whose focus is on a more famous item of silverware.

“I see it as a stepping stone, to be honest with you,” said the Skerries forward. “We always said we wanted to be back in a (All-Ireland) quarter-final. We always wanted to go the most direct route possible so we are happy enough.

“I don’t really count them (Leinster medals). I’d be disappointed not to have more of a return in an All-Ireland level, to be honest with you.”

Whether he gets to improve that ratio again this September is another thing.

Yesterday’s was a curate’s egg of a performance from Dublin. Yes, they were comfortable for most of the game and, yes, they had some standout performers in Denis Bastick, Bernard Brogan and Kevin Nolan but Meath’s display was well below par and yet they still came within one score of parity. The manner in which they almost let slip a 10-point lead against a Meath side crippled by individual errors – allowing 10 minutes to lapse before Bernard Brogan’s insurance point – once again prompts words such as desire and appetite.

“We would have liked to have closed it out a little bit better but all credit to Meath,” said Cullen. “It would have been easy for them to put their heads down but they kept at us and showed great spirit.

“We were just trying to keep going, keep the scoreboard ticking over and keep them at arm’s length but the radar was a bit off at times and they were driving through the middle and chipping away at the scoreboard. I’ve been out there on days when teams have come at us and we folded in the last few minutes. We did show good character to hold on to it and not panic in the end.”