There’s even more to come from this team

WHAT sent a chill through my Kerry bones last night is that this Dublin team has still a gear or two left.

All that loose talk about them coming back to the game’s pack was exposed as wishful thinking.

That is partly to do with the quality of the pack, but before we rubbish it let’s not forget that Galway have been the second most consistent team in the country this season.

They may not be the second best team, but if there is a one ahead of them other than Dublin, then we are talking small margins.

And yet they were obliterated here.

Okay, they did not help themselves, missing some great chances in the first half, most notably a penalty.

But let’s not sell that as a turning point; had it been scored it would have had no impact on the result.

I also think they erred in allowing Damien Comer drift out the field, because that is precisely where Dublin wanted him to go.

But these are trifling points. The reality is that it was not in Galway’s gift to stop Dublin, and neither do I believe it is in eventual finalists Tyrone or Monaghan’s.

Far from signs of slippage, Dublin continue to evolve.

Brian Howard was sensationally good again last night, he forced a huge turnover early in the game and after that went from strength to strength.

He looks more like a leader than a rookie, but then, Dublin don’t do transition.

Okay, Galway made life easy for them by not pressing Stephen Cluxton’s kick-out – he only turned over two kick-outs and there is simply no way you can give the best ball-playing team in the country the ball free of charge and not expect to pay a heavy price.

Their athleticism and their angle of running sucks the life out of teams and in the final quarter, the likes of Jack McCaffrey, Cormac Costello and Kevin McManamon had halfacres of space to run into.

There is simply no stopping that.

The four-in-a-row is a done deal and so may the drive for five.