LAOIS TURN UP HEAT BUT DUBLIN REIGN

Stiff early challenge a timely warning for Gavin’s champions

HISTORY should be attended to first. With eight provincial titles in a row, Dublin now match the achievements of Kerry between 1958 and 1965 and, more interestingly, between 1975 and 1982.

It is now only that side, Mick O’Dwyer’s greats of the golden years, that provide a standard against which to measure Dublin.

The greatness of Jim Gavin’s metropolitans hasn’t been much advanced by another stroll through the pitiful resistance of their own province, but the figures attest to how they rule this age nonetheless.

The worth of this age of Dublin footballers was proven long before this latest stroll; this was another augmentation of it.

This was their 13th provincial title out of 14 since 2005, but their rule in Leinster wasn’t proven yesterday.

The outcome of this match was known before the match threw in at 4pm. What was at issue was how Dublin would beat Laois.

The final score indicates it was a rout, and the second-half certainly was.

Dublin kicked their first wide of the second period in the second minute of time added on.

What will be of interest to those outside of Dublin’s bluest partisans is their travails in the opening half. They were careless in attack and under some pressure in defence.

This was testament to how well prepared Laois were for this contest, but it was mostly about Dublin’s messiness in offensive situations.

It was an uncharacteristic feature of their game, but one that lasted for no more than 20 minutes.

It wasn’t the only odd feature of Dublin on a hot summer’s day in Croke Park.

The status of Stephen Cluxton was a rare unknowable element of Dublin’s planning for the final.

Scepticism about the reliability of the team they had named on Saturday, one which included Cluxton in goal was justified. Evan Comerford started his first Championship match as Cluxton didn’t start a summer game for the county since suspension kept him out for the game against Westmeath in 2004.

Jonny Cooper was Dublin’s captain with Cluxton gone, and it was generally supposed this would be the start and the end of the unfamiliarity for the champions.

Not so — at least not for a good section of the first half.

For years now, complacency has been tipped to be their only danger in Leinster, and that was the most persuasive explanation for the sloppiness that allowed Laois to score four unanswered points between the eighth and 17th minutes, and level a game Dublin should have had settled by then.

They missed three clear goal chances, and another couple of opportunities could have been worked into three-pointers.

The expected deluge held off, again owing in large part to Dublin inaccuracy. They kicked nine wides in the first period, including a very weak penalty attempt by Paul Mannion that skittered to the left of Brody’s goal.

It was the first time this summer that the absence of Diarmuid Connolly stung. With him gone, Dean Rock would have seemed a more obvious kicker of the penalty. One suspects he will be the next time Dublin are given one.

Laois played Damien O’Connor as a sweeper and Eric Lowndes followed him, but the resultant space in the Laois forward line was fruitfully serviced by the Kingston brothers.

Paul gave Cooper a trimming and Donie gave Philly McMahon an even harder time.

Long after the Laois danger passed — Dean Rock frees, a marvellous Brian Fenton point and an O’Callaghan shot, turned over by Brody, gave Dublin a six-point advantage at half time, 1-8 to 0-5 — the discomfort suffered by two of the mainstays of the Dublin defence will have stuck in Jim Gavin’s thoughts.

It was not the first time McMahon has been troubled by an opponent in the past year, either, and his difficulties continued into the second half.

More generally, though, Dublin were coasting by then. They kicked 17 points in that second instalment, 14 of them from play.

They had taken control before the interval but they vividly imposed it thereafter.

Jack McCaffrey came on for Lowndes and almost scored a goal after a searing tear through the cover. His shot on the first occasion was saved by Brody.

When he did it again with 10 minutes to play, Laois goalie Eoghan Keogh denied him with a block.

Cormac Costello was introduced for Paddy Andrews after 46 minutes and scored four points from play.

Injury has haunted a player who was central to Dublin winning the replayed final in 2016 but back fit, he is a substantial addition to Gavin’s forward thinking.

So is Conor McHugh, who replaced Rock late on and was eye-catching in his industrious approach.

Their difficulty is the proven nature of the Dublin attack: O’Callaghan, Rock and Andrews will not be easily budged, while Ciarán Kilkenny is, along with Cluxton and Fenton, one of the players central to this team’s continuing power.

He kicked points off his left and right, and Laois could do nothing to limit his influence.

Beating Dublin was, frankly, never viable for a team of their means. They should be credited for making the game uncomfortable for them, if only for a spell.

It was, one suspects, more than other teams awaiting Dublin will manage this summer.