‘Spiky’ blowout game stood to Dublin

James McCarthy’s eye was bruised like a bad banana but that was only the start of it.

The Ballymun Kickhams player was nursing a sore calf, a painful hip and a crooked shoulder the morning after the day before. He had reckoned on Sunday that the game against Mayo had been the toughest he had played and the aches and pains confirmed as much.

He must have forgotten what that was like. The worry for Dublin leading into this latest decider was the ease with which they had gone that far.