Stroll in sunshine for Dubs as four-in-row dream grows
THE sun shone down on Croke Park as Dublin soared to victory against Roscommon in the close of the Super 8s.
Dublin had a comfortable victory over their rivals, finishing with 4-24 against Roscommon’s 2-16.
It came after Tyrone’s victory against Donegal, while Kerry were knocked out despite a 3-25 to 2-16 victory over Kildare, after Monaghan’s victory against Galway in the battle for Sam Maguire.
Eoghan O’Gara scored the second and third goals for the boys in blue, with his parents Fergal and Ann watching on proudly from the sidelines.
Speaking about Dublin’s chance of taking their fourth All-Ireland in a row, Fergal said things were looking promising.
“The odds are good. It’s fantastic to follow the Dubs,” he said.
Mr O’Gara predicted Dublin will face off against Co Tyrone in the final after the latter booked their place in the semis.
“There’s more to come from Tyrone, I think. I thought they were very good.
“I’d say it will be Dublin and Tyrone in the final,” he said.
Dublin man Jason Cromwell (39) was among the fans enjoying a day out at Croker and, while he thinks next week’s match against Galway will be close, he’s confident Dublin will pull out another win.
“They’ve been going through the motions, building up for the final two weekends. I think this weekend, ahead of the semi-final, they’ll keep ticking along.
“Galway will be tough but we will up our game next week. I think we’ll have four in a row this year,” he said.
There was a distinct lack of Roscommon jerseys around the stadium as fans geared up to watch the match.
“They haven’t had a great tournament,” said Mr Cromwell.
Charlene Murray, from Castleknock in Dublin, reckoned many Roscommon fans likely did not want to make the pilgrimage to Croker.
“I suppose it’s the last game of the Super 8s and Roscommon haven’t been performing as well as they’d hoped.
“I don’t think people would want to travel. But for the Dubs it’s a nice day out in Croke Park. Bring on Galway now next week and we’ll see what happens,” she said.
Like most of the fans at GAA headquarters, Ms Murray reckoned it will be no easy feat for the Dubs to beat Galway, but she’s confident a fourth All-Ireland is on the horizon.
“It’s been a great season and I think number four is on the way,” she said.
Paul Egan, from Co Roscommon, noticed the dearth of primrose yellow and royal blue jerseys in Croker.
“We were just a bit weak. There’s nothing to play for,” he said. “Hopefully next year we’ll kick on.”