Dublin have secured their first All-Ireland football final berth since 2020 after their 1-17 to 0-13 victory over Monaghan at Croke Park this evening, potentially sending a message to the rest of the GAA in the process.
The first half was an intriguing affair. Monaghan had clearly approached the game in a manner to ensure they remained within distance and it worked brilliantly.
They certainly were the ones that dictated the terms of the match, something Dublin probably allowed them to do too comfortably.
Despite this, they went into the interval trailing by a point.
The second half was much of the same. The two sides remained within touching distance throughout, with both kicking some excellent scores at times.
Conor McManus closes the gap to one with a divine point for Monaghan. pic.twitter.com/GLsHVOA6c4
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 15, 2023
In the end, a big run from Dublin in the final ten minutes or so was the difference between the sides.
They kicked some impressive scores, with a late goal from Dean Rock putting the result beyond all doubt. In the end, they ran out as five-point winners.
GAA: Tomás Ó Sé unconvinced by Dublin despite Monaghan win
With the game in the mixer in the closing stages this evening, Dublin stood up to be counted. It was something they haven't really had to do up to this point in the championship, having won comfortably against Mayo in the quarter-finals.
In saying that, the way they struggled against Monaghan for much of the game hinted that they were still not the dominant force within the GAA that they had once been.
Speaking on RTÉ at halftime, Tomás Ó Sé said that Dublin were abysmal in the opening half and questioned if there had been too much hype about them in the aftermath of their win over Mayo.
I thought Dublin were terrible in the first half. It's as if they were surprised that Monaghan went man-on-man.
The movement from the inside line is not there, Monaghan are tracking their runs from deep. Dublin are fairly passive at the back...
It's all over the pitch, Dublin seem dead in themselves. Are the Dubs where we thought they were?
That changed in the second half, although it didn't happen until the final ten minutes or so. Monaghan deserve massive credit for staying in the game for that long, although they seemed to eventually run out of gas.
That is something that played a part in the closing exchanges of the game and ultimately proved to be decisive.
While Dublin got the job done eventually, Ó Sé admitted that he still remained unconvinced about them despite the victory.
I didn't think Monaghan would last as long as they did.
I think Vinnie Corey got so much right. He pushed up on Dublin, starting [Conor] McManus, [Rory] Beggan kick-outs were brilliant. For 50 or 60 minutes they were still in it, a big score like a goal just didn't happen for Monaghan.
Then the Dubs, their big men stood up and they got key scores all over the place.
I'm still not sold on the Dubs. I think it was a massive performance from them, but there are still questions marks there.
The way they finished it in the last ten or 15 minutes, they just wore them out.
This was not vintage Dublin for the majority of the game, although the way they managed to produce at the end when called upon could be ominous for the rest of the GAA.
They will certainly fancy their chances of getting their hands back on the Sam Maguire in a couple of weeks.
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