Goals from Con O'Callaghan, Niall Scully and Colm Basquel helped Dublin secure an expectedly comfortable 3-22 to 0-11 win over Offaly in their Leinster Senior Football Championship semi-final at Croke Park on Sunday afternoon.
In doing so, the Dubs advanced to their 14th successive provincial decider where they will meet Louth in a fortnight’s time in a repeat of last year’s final and while the winning margin reflected their general control over the duration, this was far from the perfect showing by the holders.
Too often for Dessie Farrell’s liking, Dublin failed to pick the right option, particularly in front of goal, with the forward line lacking its customary cohesion and fluidity.
Granted, there was an impressive efficiency to Dublin’s attacking play initially with Paul Mannion opening the scoring in the third minute with a trademark strike from distance.
The Faithful enjoyed some possession in enemy territory but failed to avail of the limited chances that came their way as the Dubs doubled the lead through a smart turn and shot from Con O’Callaghan.
The aforementioned duo looked especially bright in the Dublin attack and they both added points from play by the 13th minute to extend their side’s lead to four points.
Offaly were in dire need of some inspiration at this stage and it duly arrived through full-forward Keith O’Neill, who jinked and shimmied his way clear before splitting the posts with the outside of his boot.
Indeed, O’Neill added another score from a 'mark’ at the start of the second quarter but most of his positive work was undone in an instant as Mannion unselfishly played in O’Callaghan for a ruthless finish across Ian Duffy from eight yards.
That Dublin failed to raise another green flag by the end of the half was testimony to some poor decision making in front of goal but their profligacy on that front mattered little as they added points through Basquel, John Small and Ciaran Kilkenny.
A raiding Cian Murphy extended the Dublin lead in added time but the final word of the half belonged to O’Neill, whose third score reduced Offaly’s deficit to 1-10 to 0-04 by the interval.
While Offaly’s goal led a charmed life to a degree in the first-half, their luck ran out within two minutes of the resumption as Scully ghosted in behind the Offaly defence and rolled a simple finish beyond the helpless Duffy.
When points followed soon after through Costello and Small, the floodgates threatened to open but Offaly refused to buckle under constant pressure as they gained tangible rewards for their efforts at the opposite end through points by Lee Pearson and Dylan Hyland.
The contest meandered in the final quarter as both teams introduced a plethora of fresh legs with Dublin’s Lorcan O’Dell catching the eye with two well-taken scores.
Offaly’s final score of the contest arrived through a 66th minute free by Hyland but there was still sufficient time on the clock for Dublin to land a third goal as Basquel fired home at the near post deep into added time to complete a dominant but unspectacular win for the champions.
Dublin: Stephen Cluxton; Seán MacMahon (0-01), Michael Fitzsimons, Cian Murphy (0-01); Tom Lahiff, Eoin Murchan, John Small (0-02); Brian Fenton (0-01), James McCarthy; Niall Scully (1-01), Cormac Costello (0-04, two frees), Ciaran Kilkenny (0-01); Paul Mannion (0-03), Con O’Callaghan (1-02), Colm Basquel (1-03, one free).
Subs: Lorcan O’Dell (0-02) for O’Callaghan (53), Killian McGinnis (0-01) for Costello (53), Ross McGarry for Mannion (55), Daire Newcombe for Murchan (55), Theo Clancy for McCarthy (63).
Offaly: Ian Duffy; Lee Pearson (0-01), David Dempsey, John Furlong; Cormac Egan, Declan Hogan, Peter Cunningham; Eoin Carroll, Jack McEvoy; Dylan Hyland (0-05, two frees, one ’45’), Ruairí McNamee, Jordan Hayes (0-01); Nathan Poland, Keith O’Neill (0-03, one mark), Jack Bryant.
Subs: Cathal Flynn (0-01) for McNamee (half-time), Rory Egan for Poland (half-time), Kevin McDermott for Bryant (54), Cathal Donoghue for McEvoy (59), Jack O’Brien for O’Neill (66).
Referee: Paul Faloon (Down).
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