The odds for the Dubs to win the All-Ireland just got even shorter
Dublin and Roscommon both recorded easier than expected Allianz Football league wins this afternoon in Croke Park, as Cork and Down failed to perform on the big occasion
The Dubs hammered Cork by 1-21 to 2-7 in the top flight finale,while John Evans’ side recorded back-to-back league triumphs with a 1-17 to 0-15 win in the Division Two decider.
The main event of the afternoon was a huge let-down as Dublin ran rough-shod over Cork’s much heralded ‘counter-attacking’ football to win by 11 points.
Diarmuid Connolly’s penalty on the stroke of half time opened up a lead the Leinster champions never looked like relinquishing.
Cork failed to score from play at all in the opening 35 minutes, as Dublin racked up 1-9 to Cork’s 0-5 in a blistering performance.
Cork’s midfield failed badly as Dublin owned the ball and picked off scores at will, while the Munster side failed to give Brian Hurley or Colm O’Neill any service at all.
The pattern continued after the break as Dublin sprayed around the ball at ease against a Cork side that served up their worst performance since last year’s Munster final hammering by Kerry.
Their goals from Mark Collins and Daniel Goulding came in garbage time as Dublin introduced several subs and the game ended with a whimper.
Dublin’s win sees them make history with their third Allianz League football title in a row, a first for the county. Dean Rock impressed with 0-10 while Colm O’Neill scored 0-6 for Cork.
The Rebels have the best part of two months to figure out where it all went wrong before their Munster opener against Clare or Limerick in June.
Dublin look in serious shape and have got the most out of their league campaign.
Roll on the summer
In the opening game of the afternoon Roscommon slogged it out against a dogged but un-inspiring Down side with a 1-17 to 0-15 win in the Division Two final.
Despite the best efforts of both sides to play a blanket defense, there was still 14 scores in the opening half,even if there was a period of 13 minutes which felt an awful lot longer without a point.
It was the second year in a row that Roscommon secured Allianz league success, and their experience showed as they eeked out the win against a Down side that played half the game reduced to 14.
Brendan McArdle received his second yellow just before the short whistle, but despite the numerical disadvantage, the sides were level at the break at 0-7 each.
The second half followed the pattern of the first and it was 0-10 to 0-9 in favour of the Connacht side heading to the final quarter.
However when Ciaran Murtagh finally got the goal his good play deserved on 60 minutes, it opened a 1-16 to 0-12 advantage that Down had no answer for.
He top scored with 1-2 for the eventual winners with Senan Kilbride also notching four points from play while Donal O’Hare scored 0-5 for the Ulster side.
