SIX IN A ROW ALL IRELAND WINNERS Dublin will no longer be part of Division 1 after being relegated to Division 2 yesterday.
Dublin being relegated would have been unheard of in recent years after numerous All-Ireland successes, but after defeat to Monaghan yesterday in Clones Dessie Farrell's side went down.
Monaghan had led Dublin for most of the game, but Dean Rock scored a penalty in injury time to tie things up.
Dublin would falter though as Monaghan's Jack McCarron slotted a 45 with the last kick of the game to send Dublin to the second division.
The game ended with Dublin 1-18 (21) Monaghan 3-13 (22).
Disappointment for our Senior Footballers here in Clones 💙#UpTheDubs pic.twitter.com/1lkxnsMVc9 — Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) March 27, 2022
Dublin lost their All-Ireland semi-final to beaten finalists Mayo last year and have not been right since.
The Dubs have lost their first four outings in the league
But Oisin McConville, the former Armagh player believes that Dublin can still win the Sam Maguire come August
"It’ll (relegation) make them realise that the standards they set, they have to be pushed," he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
The aura that surrounded them is gone, but I think that is good for a lot of other teams
"The thing about Dublin this year is that they have looked slightly off, but they have improved from their early season league form, which was pretty pathetic.
"They will buy themselves a little bit of time in the Leinster Championship and are still good enough to win an All-Ireland, but a lot of teams have caught up.
More than anything else, it brings the chasing pack of holders Tyrone, Kerry and Mayo onto an even footing with the men in blue.
"I think it brings it to a level where we are going to have an unbelievable All-Ireland football race because there are so many teams in and around that area, but I wouldn’t completely write Dublin off just yet."
2023 Allianz Football League Division Two.. — Jerome O'Connell (@JeromeSport) March 27, 2022
Limerick, Dublin, Kildare, Derry, Meath, Cork, Clare, Louth.#LLSport | #Limerick | #GAA pic.twitter.com/rjy0x7Wl2r
Speaking after the game Farrell said,
“Our disappointment is based around the inconsistency of the performance. After having two decent performances back-to-back there is still some work to do for sure. We thought we were at a decent enough trajectory at that point. In the second half we were better; we were flat enough in the first half.
“It is more disappointing, I think, in terms of the quality of the performance. Obviously, we are looking towards summer at this point.”
