GAA: Dublin manager Pat Gilroy did his best to play down the prospect of a Dublin-Kerry final in the aftermath of his side's hardfought win over Donegal in the semi-final at Croke Park on Sunday.
Having watched his side reach their first semi-final since the All-Ireland-winning summer of 1995, Gilroy left talk of a meeting with the Kingdom for another day.
“It’s really only another game,” he told RTE, with a straight face. “Dublin-Kerry, a lot is talked about it but it was really only a rivalry in the 70s when Dublin gave Kerry a fair run of it.
“We’ll think about it tomorrow.”
Gilroy’s men only managed two points from play against Donegal’s relentless blanket defence, scoring the first through substitute Kevin McMenamon almost an hour into the game.
The manager was unconcerned about what the game looked like as a spectacle and preferred to focus on the positives, like the “patience” his side showed to eventual pick their way through the dense defensive cover.
“We expected it so we probably weren’t as frustrated as maybe people watching were, but you know, it was always going to be difficult to break them down and you have to be patient. Maybe changing some of the people helped us as well. Kevin (McMenamon) kind of got a bit more penetration when he came on the pitch but, you know, we said before the game that we expected that and we’d have to be patient.”
Pressed on whether Donegal’s tactics contributed to a poor spectacle, Gilroy added: “If you have a way that’s going to stop good players playing you have to play to your strengths. We don’t have to worry too much about it being a spectacle but I thought we played exceptionally good football in the last 20 minutes to get around it."
He added: “You know, it’s for others to worry about rather than me."
The performance wasn't prerry, in truth, but it was a monumental effort and Gilroy admitted the disappointment of last year was a huge motivator.
“For some of the older lads this is their fourth semi-final. For some of the younger lads, it was only last year that they experienced it, so were very determined. When we left here last year, we thought we had a good chance in that game.
“In fairness to Cork, they won it and went on to win the final and we were devastated for while after that. So, this is where we wanted to be, we wanted to be in the final.”