'I don't see Dublin being an All-Ireland contender after that' - Paul Flynn
FORMER DUBLIN FOOTBALLER Paul Flynn does not see his county as All-Ireland contenders after Meath sensationally ended their Leinster football championship 15-in-a-row title bid yesterday.
The Royals stunned Dessie Farrell’s side in Portlaoise, winning on a scoreline of 0-23 to 1-16 and condemning Dublin to their first defeat in the competition since 2010.
They now face Louth in a repeat of the showpiece 15 years ago, while the Dubs must regroup for the All-Ireland championship.
Speaking on The Sunday Game last night, Flynn was critical of his former side.
“The sloppiness of Dublin will be the most frustrating thing,” he said.
“There were opportunities in that game, but time and time again going forward, they either made bad decisions or they just didn’t execute the right thing.”
The six-time All-Ireland winner ran through several examples of pot shots, missed frees, mix-ups, and fundamental errors, and continued:
“No clarity, no execution of the basic skills that at any level, any team would be disappointed with. Time and time, we would have seen Dublin teams punish mistakes and they didn’t today.
“It was just sloppy. There were times in the past you’d watch this game and there would have been an air of inevitability around how that would have ended. I didn’t feel that at all in the second half, not once did I get a feeling that it’s just going to come through.
“And they got themselves into a good position to get within two points. They actually arguably should have seen that game out, but because, yes, Meath’s energy, Meath’s will to win, but the basic skills not executed by Dublin will be what disappoints them the most.”
What next? The Dubs are now a third seed in the All-Ireland senior football championship, and a first Sam Maguire title since 2023 looks some way off, according to Flynn.
“They have players to come back, Dessie referenced it afterwards, but you want your players playing on the pitch now, and your best team,” the four-time All-Star added.
“There’s still too many question marks: the middle sector, they’re not strong enough, they were bullied at times today around that area. They don’t have that fear factor up front, there’s not enough game winners.
“I don’t see Dublin being an All-Ireland contender after that today, but at the same time, I don’t think any other team is going to want them in their group. It’s a funny one. Look, the season’s not over for them but they certainly have a bit of regrouping to do.”
While complimentary of Meath throughout, Flynn fancies Louth to win their first Leinster title since 1957.
They beat Kildare yesterday to reach their third provincial decider in a row for the first time since 1912-14 — and set up a repeat of the infamous 2010 final.
Louth and Meath will head into the Leinster SFC final full of belief that they can be crowned provincial champions, but it's the Wee County that Paul Flynn fancies at Croke Park
📺 Watch on @rte2 and @rteplayer pic.twitter.com/zyi8NPW8Qm
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 27, 2025
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