Dublin legend offers withering assessment of Sky Blues after shock Meath loss

He did not pull any punches.

This was the last time any side had beaten the Sky Blues in the provincial tournament, so naturally it would take a special occasion to break their stranglehold. Fittingly it was the Royals who were the ones to do it, on a windy evening in Portlaoise.

And while they were worthy 0-23 to 1-16 winners, with superb pointing throughout, Dublin were far from their best and the makers of some of their downfall.

Speaking on RTÉ's The Sunday Game last night, six-time All-Ireland winner Paul Flynn was highly critical of his county.

He said: "Wind aside, the second half, the sloppiness of Dublin would be the most frustrating thing. There were opportunities in that game. Time and time again they made bad decisions or just didn't execute the right thing.

"No clarity, no execution of the basic skills that at any level, any team would be disappointed with. They just kept turning the ball over. It just kept on giving belief to Meath.

"It was just sloppy. There were times in the past there was an air of inevitability of how it would end. I didn't get that at all. They got themselves into a good position, they actually should have seen that game out.

"You want your players playing on the pitch now, your best team. There's still too many question marks. The middle sector, they are not strong enough. They were bullied around that area today.

"'They don't have that fear factor up front. There's not enough game winners. I don't see Dublin being All-Ireland contenders after today. But at the same time I don't think anyone will want them in their group.

"The season is not over but they certainly have a bit of regrouping to do."