\u201cIT WASN\u2019T GOING to be very open and we knew it wasn\u2019t going to be too high-scoring.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Tomas Quinn\u2019s assessment of yesterday\u2019s Dublin senior football final is true, then it\u2019s just as well St Vincent\u2019s had himself and Diarmuid Connolly in their ranks to unlock the Castleknock rearguard.<\/p>\n
The Dublin stars, past and present, shook off the cobwebs after a slow start and combined with devastating effect in the second-half.<\/p>\n
St Vincent\u2019s landed a 28th county title, while Connolly and Quinn picked up their fourth Dublin SFC medal.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s high profile duo linked up wonderfully in attack for St Vincent\u2019s, with their fingerprints all over good play from the Marino club in the final 30 minutes. Both men had a quite opening, but they were instrumental as Vincent\u2019s turned the screw on Castleknock after half-time and eventually sealed the victory.<\/p>\n
Much of this game was a slugfest, as a defensively-minded but tactically aware Castleknock made the game difficult for their more illustrious opponents.<\/p>\n
This 0-15 tally by the Vinnies, including outscoring the west-Dublin outfit by 0-8 to 0-3 after the interval, required all the brain power and knowhow of Quinn and Connolly \u2013 the scorer and supplier.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a bit of a blur to be honest,\u201d Quinn added after the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough going out there and it was very competitive. We knew they would be. We probably dipped the last 10 minutes if the first-half and you could see they were getting more and more belief.<\/p>\n