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On the day the race for Sam Maguire was reduced to just seven teams, when Mayo won his first Connacht title since 2015 and Meath scored 12 goals in one week, Dublin qualified for its 10th consecutive final in Leinster, drawing so little attention. about themselves possible by doing so.
In the end, they beat Laois by, the disparity between the teams, as expected, as contrasting as the score suggests.
Croke Park’s drama quota petered out when the Irish champions took the field.
There was nothing new to see here.
Dublin brought down another Leinster team. Ciarán Kilkenn and Brian Fenton provided much of the energy and inspiration.
And the game posed as a contest for about a quarter of its duration.
In the first half of the water break, Dublin led by just 0-3 to 0-2 without having played without their usual precision or even urgently.
Laois did nothing more sophisticated than maintain his form in that period, absorbing the Dublin runners and stealing their curious mistakes.
Mike Quirke’s team played with three men up front at all times, a much more offensive tactic than most.
They also created a greater number of scoring chances in that period, but little by little Dublin’s intention became more apparent.
Leading the charge was Kilkenny.
Castleknock’s man combined some of Dublin’s best attacking moves and as the game progressed, he offered himself as a hitting room and then finally as a target.
His goal in the second half, like Seán Bugler’s in the first, came from the same play Dublin tried twice before he fell.
For Bugler’s, the score that gave Dublin a clear distance between them and Laois, was Brian Fenton who stepped into the space created by Dublin’s forward movement.
Clarín approached the gap and shot low for his second championship goal in two games.
Kilkenny’s execution was much more complex.
After being passed by James McCarthy, Kilkenny opted to volley his shot for the first time past Niall Corbett at the Hill 16 net.
They finished 1-4, but for Dublin, it was a night to just get the job done before they face a resurgent Meath in the Leinster final next Saturday.
SCORERS – Dublin: C Kilkenny 1-4, Costello 0-7 (3f, 1m, 1 ’45), B Fenton 0-4, S Clarín 1-0, N Scully 0-3, D Rock 0-2 (1’45, 1f) , R McDaid, P Small, C O’Callaghan 0-1. Laois: P Kingston, G Walsh (f) 0-2 each, B Byrne, E O’Carroll (m), R Munnelly (f) 0-1 each.
DUBLIN: S Cluxton; J Cooper, M Fitzsimons, E Murchan; J McCarthy, J Small, R McDaid; B Fenton, T Lahiff; N Scully, C Kilkenny, S Clarín; P Small, C O’Callaghan, D Rock. Subs: P Mannion for P Small (ht), C Costello for Rock (45), D Byrne for Lahiff (46), B Howard for Bugler (52), P McMahon for Murchan (64)
LAOIS: N Corbett; T Collins, M Timmons, R Pigott; S O’Flynn, J O’Loughlin; G Dillon, P Kingston, B Byrne; E O’Carroll, K Lillis, G Walsh. Subs: M Barry for O’Loughlin (45), M Keogh for Dillon (45), A Farrell for Buggy (48), R Munelly for Walsh (48), D Whelan for Byrne (57)
REFEREE: C Branagan (below)
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