Dubs come to life with rout of Rossies

ROSCOMMON 2-7 DUBLIN 1-21

- BY IAN COONEY

GER BRENNAN hailed Dublin's leadership qualities as his new-look team delivered a statement of intent.

Roscommon had been flying it in Division 1, but the Dubs brought their opponents’ momentum to a shuddering halt. They were 16 points ahead - with the wind at their backs - after 26 minutes, having kept Roscommon scoreless. Their first wide only arrived a minute earlier as their greater efficiency in front of goal yielded a rich harvest.

“Some of the other games when the opposition were getting a bit of a run on us, we just weren't able to get our hands on the ball. Today, you could see lads coming looking for the ball, dictating things and setting plays up,” said Brennan.

“To be fair to the lads, we've thrown so many things at them. I think we've used 47 or 48 players in the national league across the five games, including 11 debutants.

“With that volume of change in any game, it can impact cohesion. But today the leaders certainly appeared to step up.”