Gilroy: Training games had us primed

Dublin manager Pat Gilroy highlighted the sheer competitiveness in his squad at present when reflecting on their best performance of this year's Championship.

The Dubs registered 19 points and missed a series of goal-scoring chances too, as they blasted Tyrone aside on a 0-22 to 0-15 scoreline at Croke Park last night.

Gilroy confessed that training in recent weeks had given a strong indicator that such a display was on the cards.

Praising the players who did not make the matchday panel for the All-Ireland quarter-final, he said: "It is a performance I am not surprised we gave. The things that were going on in our training sessions over the last four weeks I have never seen anything like it.

"Those 19 guys probably deserve more credit for that game than the guys who actually played. The work they put in and the pressure they put on people over the last three weeks was just phenomenal.

"It's a big risk when you have that gap and the response we got from the 19 lads on the panel was just phenomenal. The lads will tell you. There wasn't an inch given and I think that's where that performance came from."

Gilroy's fellow St. Vincent's clubman Diarmuid Connolly led Dublin's scoring charge with seven points from play, as the Leinster champions advanced to meet Ulster winners Donegal in the last-four.

"Diarmuid had a reasonable game all right," joked Gilroy, whose side also beat Tyrone at this stage of the 2010 Championship.

"He is capable of doing anything. He's a phenomenal talent and is capable of doing even better than that - he is that good and we see it (in every training session).

"We have been waiting a while for that to come in a big game at Croke Park. He did well in this year's league, he has committed himself hugely to it.

"Besides his points, his work-rate was phenomenal today. I think he stripped the ball three times from Tyrone guys as well and that is a huge plus."

Looking ahead to the All-Ireland semi-final date with Donegal on Sunday, August 28, Gilroy is expecting a completely different test from Jim McGuinness' charges.

"Yes, I think it will be a very different game. Donegal have played well all year. I think they've only lost one game all year, and that was kind of a dead game in the league.

"I haven't looked at them. We were so focused on this game. We will take that when it comes."