'We kept to the gameplan and players got their just rewards'

Even that hasn’t shaken the shackles loose.

The rest of the country may be trying to catch its breath from the best clash of them all in the most storied rivalry of them all. We may feel like we’ve been taken on a fast and winding ride in the back of a van, being thrown from side to side and never knowing what turn is coming next. Dublin may have stopped Kerry’s lengthy tentacles reaching for yet another September showdown. But still, Jim Gavin pours icy water on any and every fiery flutter of excitement. It’s quite a skill after what he’s just achieved and we’ve just witnessed.

But as always, his words are choreographed into bland and careful sentences that you refuse to believe are a reflection of what he feels. After all, there’s not a soul that couldn’t have been warmed by that, not a bone that couldn’t have been shaken by that.

“It was a very tough game, both Kerry and Dublin from the off played football the way we believe it should be played,” he calmly says in a considered response. “From your perspective it was an entertaining game but in the Dublin camp, it could have gone either way down the stretch so we’re happy with the way it went. I’ve great belief in the squad and the players have a great belief in themselves. There’s a great commitment to each other and we rehearse the different scenarios.

“As for the score, it’s probably not a fair reflection on the totality of the game but if we got a one-point victory we’d also have been happy with that.”

There’s plenty more he’ll be happy with outside of the outcome. From an individual perspective, seeing Diarmuid Connolly keep his head when all about were losing theirs was as refreshing as it was rare for a player we always knew had endless talent but thought had limited temperament. And from a collective perspective, continuing to turn the heat up when Kerry seemed resistant to all sorts of lofty temperatures was remarkable too, especially for a side we knew had style, but had never been truly tested for spine. Granted, conceding three goals is a tick in the negative column and something to work on for the next three weeks.

“It’s no surprise they got those scores though,” adds Gavin. “We’ve looked at their tapes against Tipperary and Cork and Cavan and they did exactly the same so it was no surprise, not that one wants to go down three goals.

“They have fantastic forwards but we look at the game over the full 70 minutes so whether you are up or down at half-time doesn’t really matter to us, and the team showed great character and resolve and determination and a willingness not to quit.

“That manifested itself and there were serious questions asked today by Kerry and I think we answered most of them. But the way we play, it’s the kind of tradition we were brought up on and it’s the way football is played in Dublin and it’s the way I was taught to play as well. Whether that gets the team success, that’s another story, but it’s the way we play and we didn’t change our philosophy at any stage of the game. We kept to the gameplan and the players stuck with that and got their just rewards.”

In fact even a final seems scant reward for such an epic victory, but now there’s another hurdle to jump and it may yet be the highest. Beside Gavin’s calmness, Stephen Cluxton looks disinterested, although at this stage he’s earned that right. He’s brought into the conversation briefly but when asked about the build-up that awaits, his response is short. “You’ve got to train and set your mind and it’s just a game. If we didn’t win today, we wouldn’t be in a final so they are all just as important as each other. It’s no different to any other.”

Back to Gavin so, and asked for his thoughts on Mayo, he predictably says he’s only been focused on this semi-final and only now will he turns his thoughts to them. But asked if he’s surprised by the fact the Connacht champions are the last man standing, even the league was an indication they’d be there or thereabouts. “Mayo were two of our toughest games, they were very competitive so it’s no surprise to see them there. No different from today, those games could have gone either way in the final quarter. So we’ll just put our heads down now and focus on that. The players are quite good at that, whatever pressure and expectation is on the Dublin team, they grew up in that atmosphere and they’re used to getting inside the tent.”

You get the feeling that the minute the final whistle went, they already retreated to there.