DUBLIN DID WHAT Dublin do – and they did it easily, too. That was the story of this match as Cavan lived with the All-Ireland champions for 20 minutes or thereabouts before eventually succumbing. The hosts, understrength, just couldn’t deal with Dublin’s pace and athleticism and the away side’s cutting edge up front was just so much sharper, despite some decent performances from James Smith and Oisin Brady for Cavan.
A disappointing crowd of 9,028 turned out to witness an impressive performance from Dessie Farrell’s charges, who never trailed and never really lost their composure, either, even when Cavan enjoyed some success with direct ball inside. Early on, the exchanges were tight and the sides were level four times but once Paul Mannion knocked over a free in the 23rd minute, Dublin had established a lead they would never relinquish. That point was the moment the dam burst, really; from the kick-out, Dublin strung together a lovely hand-passing move through the heart of the Breffni defence, culminating in Cormac Costello rolling home to the bottom right corner.
While Cavan did reply to the goal with a well-taken point from Oisin Brady, Dublin raised a second green flag before half-time, a third just seconds after the restart and from there on, it was a question of how much they would win by against a game but, on the day, over-matched home side. Missing top scorer Paddy Lynch and four other injured regulars including the experienced Jason McLoughlin, Dara McVeet.
