Farrell will have a serious talk with players about technical fouls 

A profligate Dubs outfit went down to Armagh at HQ. 

FRUSTRATION: Dublin’s manager Dessie Farrell throws his hat after a missed chance. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie

Dessie Farrell will be “having a serious conversation” with his team about their technical breaches that cost them five points in their defeat to Armagh.

Five points was the final margin and Farrell rued a hat-trick of three-up violations by his side in the third quarter that gave Rory Grugan three handy frees in the space of five minutes as well as a 50-metre mark infraction that he punished with a two-point free in the first half.

“Look, it just shouldn't be happening,” said Farrell. “Whether they're marginal calls or not, we shouldn't be putting ourselves in that position. Definitely, it's a conversation that was being had earlier in the league, for sure, and everyone was learning and trying to adapt at that stage.

“At this point in time, it should be embedded. Whatever about getting caught on one because of the ebb and flow of the game, or a chase back and a player is out of position, there's an awareness challenge around that at some particular times. But to get it done for three and then we'd have a breach on the fielding and the mark in the first half as well, which costs us another two points.

“So I think at five points in total, that costs us, which is just at this stage of the competition against a position like we're playing, it's just not good enough. We'll be having a serious conversation about that.” 

Kieran McGeeney insisted Armagh won’t be taking the Galway game lightly as much as their top spot and All-Ireland quarter-final spot is guaranteed. “We've seen that, you can't, because they'll have you going soft. You're playing, to me, one of the top three teams in it. They were narrowly beaten by a point by Dublin, and it was a draw again today.

“Galway, to me, are still one of the top three or four teams in the country. They'll be smart, because they know how good they are. If you go soft to that, you'll both lose players, and you can lose a whole lot of other things as well. We'll just take the same moves we've taken.

“You might be able to get somebody else in and get game time, but the way we do our training is you have to fight for that position. It's not given to you.” Farrell admitted the absence of captain Con O’Callaghan was truly felt. “I think what you're supposed to say in this situation is an opportunity for somebody else. But when you're dealing with somebody like Con, it's definitely a loss. There's no denying that, there's no getting away from that. But that's the challenge we faced.”