No lack of Dublin hunger, insists Cullen

Dublin captain Bryan Cullen doesn’t believe a lack of hunger was the reason for the defeat by Mayo.

The Skerries man was replaced at half-time as they left themselves a mountain to climb after being 10 points in arrears with 19 minutes to go.

“I’d like to think the lads wanted to win this year just as much as last year. I think you saw that from the efforts out there, the lads threw the kitchen sink at it.

“I think we did the same last year but lads just left it a bit too late this year.”

Like his manager Pat Gilroy, Cullen pointed towards the second and third quarters as Dublin’s weakest in the game.

“At the end of that first half and start of the second-half, we struggled to click into gear. That was where the damage was done and we were playing catch-up from then on.

“Mayo are a good side, if you give them possession and space they’re going to hurt you and that’s exactly what they did.”

He is adamant the squad are young enough to bounce back from yesterday’s setback. “It’s a very young squad. The average age is only 24 or 25.”