Dessie Farrell: I couldn't understand narrative around game

Having gotten over the semi-final hump after two successive losses, Dessie Farrell immediately rounded on the prevailing narrative concerning an 'inevitable' Dublin-Kerry final.

The Dublin manager made clear at the start of his post-match press conference that anyone who'd made a 'proper' study of Monaghan's form wouldn't have been one bit surprised at their competitiveness.

"I couldn't understand the narrative around this game," Farrell told reporters in the Croke Park media centre.

"Not that I pay a huge amount of attention to it but definitely some of it was getting through and it wasn't making sense to me.

"We knew the type of game that Monaghan were going to bring today and we knew it was going to be a really tough encounter and it took all our grit, determination and experience to get over the line.

"Anyone doing proper analysis on Monaghan would have seen that."

Warming to the theme, Farrell proceeded to pay lofty tribute to Vinnie Corey and his management team, who had belatedly taken over a side who were once again pegged as Division 1 relegation fodder in the off-season.

After a difficult start to the league, in which they shipped a tanking from Kerry in Killarney in Round 2, Monaghan, with a heavy prepondrence of over-30s in the side, had improved rapidly over the course of the year to the point they were still in the game down the stretch against the Dubs on Saturday evening.

"I've never seen an improvement in a team like it in my time being involved in management," the Dublin manager insisted.

"I know they had some poor performances earlier but the adjustments they made all the way through. (They're) very very cohesive. Everyone is really comfortable with the gameplan.

"They use their goalkeeper Rory Beggan really