JIM GAVIN WAS left to lament “one of those days” as his Dublin side surrendered their All-Ireland crown against Donegal.
The Ulster champions’ three goals proved crucial as they won by 3-14 to 0-17 and booked their place in the final against Kerry.
Gavin said: “I’m just disappointed for the players. I know the level of preparation that they’ve put into this game. It was phenomenal.
“I couldn’t question their commitment, their determination or their resolve ’til the bitter end.
“Credit to Donegal — it was a fantastic performance by them.”
Dublin led by five points after an imposing start to the first half but once they settled, Donegal got their tactics spot on and Jim McGuinness struck the perfect balance between defence and clinical counter-attack.
“They controlled the ball very well and put us under a lot of pressure,” Gavin said. “They went hard at us and took their goal chances.
“It’s a credit to them how they set themselves up. We knew coming into the game that, offensively and defensively, it would be a demanding game. It turned out that way and our focus was all on Donegal – not beyond them.
We were beaten by a better Donegal team. Once Donegal got on top they controlled the game from there.
“It was just one of those days for ourselves and we will just have to go away and deal with that over the coming weeks. We will need to learn the lessons and come back a stronger team in 2015.”
Alan Brogan, 32, looked particularly devastated at the final whistle but Gavin insisted that there has been no mention of retirement from the veteran forward or anyone else in the squad.
“There is no talk like that at the moment.
“The guys are very disappointed with the defeat. We acknowledge that Donegal played very well. The guys will go back to their clubs now and we will regroup to try and grow as a team for the new season.”
