'We are playing more as a team than this time last year'

DUBLIN v LOUTH REACTION:FOR THE last five years Dublin have arrived in the All-Ireland quarter-finals neither tried nor really tested; this year, they arrive tried, tested and visibly tempered – so the natural assumption must be they're better prepared to progress at least one step further.

“Well I think we are playing more as a team than this time last year,” said manager Pat Gilroy. “We aren’t relying so much on certain individuals because the team effort is a bit better. But I still think we have a fair bit to go to really push on into the top level.

“We are definitely working a lot harder than we did in the earlier championship matches. Some of our football has been very good and quite direct but we have a big step to make now, when you get to the quarter-final you are going to be meeting top teams. It is a big step up for us, but yeah, we are probably better prepared than we might have been had we won the provincial championship. We are after gaining an awful lot out of the last three weeks.”

Among the positives of Saturday’s outcome was the fact Dublin still have room to improve, having hit 13 wides in total: “Our finishing was poor today, when we created an awful lot of chances. I suppose we are creating the chances and one of these days they might start going over. I suppose the two biggest missers were probably Alan and Bernard, which is very unusual as they are usually guys that can score. So I suppose from that point of view it was encouraging we weren’t relying on the two of them for scores today.”

Obviously, only Dublin’s quarter-final performance will prove whether they have learnt any extra lessons from the qualifiers, but team captain David Henry reckons they have: “We probably know a little bit more about ourselves. I think last year possibly we didn’t learn that much in the Leinster Championship, whereas this year we have been through a few tough games and you learn a bit from the defeats as well. From that point of view we probably know a little bit more about ourselves and are probably in a better position than we were last year.

“Sometimes you learn a little bit about yourself in defeat that you mightn’t have learned in victory. From the Wexford game, which we were lucky to pull through, and the Meath game, we were able to learn a fair bit and work on it. We are probably a little bit more solid for it.”

As for Louth, it was impossible not to feel some sympathy for manager Peter Fitzpatrick, and as gracious as he was in defeat, it will be a long road back from here, even back to another Leinster final.

“The only thing I am hoping for is that I can keep this panel together,” said Fitzpatrick. “If we can keep this panel together we could be a force to be reckoned with next year. The most important thing too is that I don’t want people to think this was a one-off year for Louth.

“In fairness, Dublin showed us a lesson in football in the first half. I thought we played a lot better in the second half. We scored 10 points. If we had scored 10 points in the first half it would have been a different game. But I hold my hands up, Dublin were a far better team than us today. I said all along, if we were ever going to be beaten by any team it would be the Dubs.”

Last words then to Louth captain Paddy Keenan.

“We don’t want this year to be another hard-luck story for Louth. We have had too many of them, where you put up a bit of fight and lose at the end. We are going to have to build on it, and push on for next year.”

Easier said, one fears, than done.