Jim Gavin: ‘We were probably a bit more clinical than they were’

A subdued Dublin press conference mirrored the game that preceded it. Perhaps James McCarthy’s injury had darkened Jim Gavin’s mood, but the manager was at least pleased with his team’s second-half display.

“The aim was to get a performance and, hopefully, that would bring us the result. The first-half panned out the way we thought it would. We looked at Meath, coming into the game, and we were very impressed. They had an outstanding league; they’re a Division 1 side now. They played here a couple of weeks back, against Donegal. That was a very impressive performance by them.

“It was nip-and-tuck in the first-half. We were probably a bit more clinical than they were. Fifteen-odd shots in the second-half and we got a high percentage of them, maybe 13. I don’t think the score reflected their shooting prowess. They hit the post and they kicked some wides I’m sure they’ll be disappointed with. But, from our perspective, we’re just happy we have our hands on the Delaney trophy.”

In his first championship appearance of the year, Dean Rock put his hand up for a starting berth, scoring four points and setting up Con O’Callaghan for his goal.

“He’s played his part. He’s been training well over the last couple of weeks, against Kildare in the previous round. I think, over the expanse of the game, we probably had 10 scorers, I’d say. He’s a forward. He’s there to execute those scores and he did well.”

Gavin said the Leinster Championship has lost none of its lustre for his players. “If you go down to that Dublin dressing room, you’ll see how much it means. The guys have played from a very young age, in fifth or sixth class; they got the opportunity to play many years ago.

At that age, your idols are senior club players and your senior Dublin football team, and that’s who the guys are representing today.

“And the same for the Meath guys. There’s a great tradition of Gaelic games in Meath. I’m sure both sets of players would have turned up today and been very proud of what they gave. Meath will have a lot to say in this championship yet, that’s for sure. But from the players’ perspective, it’s like their first win up there in the Leinster final.

“They’re just so happy and I’m happy for them, because I saw the preparation and work they’ve put in over the past number of weeks, preparing for the game, and they traded off that today and, thankfully, they got the result.”

Gavin’s attention now turns to Roscommon and possibly Cork and Cavan in the Super 8.

“To be honest, I haven’t even looked beyond the hedge of the Leinster final. We paid great respect to Meath, because we know them so well down through the years. I haven’t looked beyond that; my focus has been purely on the Leinster final.

“Obviously, I need to lift it up now and see who we potentially could have and what the sequence will be. But, yeah, we’ve a lot of work to do.”