Tomás Quinn: You think Dublin's first-minute goal was simply opportunist?

Expectations among the two sets of supporters at Nowlan Park may have varied, but a common hope shared by all in the ground was we would get a competitive championship game for as long as possible. That hope lasted all of 15 seconds.

After winning the throw-in and an early delivery from Brian Fenton, Dean Rock cut inside and finished confidently to give Dublin a dream start. A goal straight from the throw-in may be rare but it wasn’t just an opportunist goal, it was effectively a set-play. While it may have looked like a straightforward delivery that Rock made the most of, Dublin would be very aware that for throw-ins, it may be one of only two occasions in the game where they will get a straight man-on-man match-up in their full-forward line.

Both corner-forwards start as wide as possible to leave space either side of Dean Rock who lined up at full forward to allow a long early delivery into the danger zone in front of goal. All Dublin forwards are aware of the opportunity and are instantly tuned in whereas the Laois backs were caught cold.