DUBLIN’S SUPERSUBS STAKED their claim for Championship starts yesterday — and left Laois boss Tomás Ó Flatharta wondering about what might have been.
Fourteen different players contributed to Dublin’s 2-21 haul in Croke Park, with 0-9 of that total scored by four men who came off the bench.
Dean Rock and Cormac Costello took advantage of some tired Laois legs to bag three points apiece in the closing minutes while Kevin McManamon and 2011 All-Ireland winning captain Bryan Cullen also got on the scoresheet.
It killed Laois who were never behind from the second minute through to the 40th, and were still only three points adrift until Michael Darragh MacAuley struck Dublin’s second goal with 15 minutes left.
“I think it was the experienced guys that they had on the bench that came on and the scores that they got,” Ó Flatharta said when asked what tipped the game away from his side.
“Compared with the lads we brought on who were 18 or 19 years of age, they wouldn’t have the same experience of Croke Park. They’re good footballers those lads and I think this is going to stand them well.”
He added: “It’s fairly well documented now the work Dublin have done with their underage system over the last 15 or 20 years and it’s bearing fruit for them now. They have a wealth of talent to bring on at any stage.
Some day, they may not be operating well on the day or someone might get injured. They’re able to bring lads on and it’s just seamless.
Ó Flatharta was full of praise as well for his captain Ross Munnelly who rolled back the years with a inspirational performance and finished with 0-7, including five from play.
“He’s a fantastic leader and I’m talking about off the pitch. Looking after himself, he really is very committed to Laois. He’s been like that since he was 17 or 18 years of age.
“He does more than himself. He looks after everybody else as well. He sees how they’re going, has a word with them. So he’s really the driving force behind the team. He’s a great support to me.
On the field, it was great to see the performance that he gave today, because that’s the way he is from morning to night, every day.
“I’m really disappointed for him and for the other lads today that they didn’t get over the line. Because it’s not for the lack of work that he and the rest of the lads are doing.”
Laois now go into the hat for the qualifiers when the draw is made later this morning and after two good performances in Leinster, Ó Flatharta is determined that they continue to build.
“We’re meeting up during the week. We need to see what worked well for us, what we need to bring to our game, what we need to improve on.
“We need to be careful. Even though we put in a good performance for long periods of the game today, we need to be very wary of getting complacent.”
