DESSIE FARRELL took a gamble with Dublin captain Con O’Callaghan — which paid off.
King Con was held in reserve with a hamstring strain as the Dubs overcame Cork — securing their All-Ireland SFC quarter-final place.
But there were some nervous moments late on.
Man of the match Paddy Small struck two important late points as Dublin eventually turned the screw.
Boss Farrell said: “We were just hoping that we had enough without him.
“There were conversations with the coaches with a couple of minutes to go but we just decided to hold on.”
The 2023 champions were trailing by a point with 15 minutes to go but manager Farrell claimed: “If it was a little bit tighter, I think you would have seen him come in for sure, yeah.
“But we took the decision not to bring him on.
“We sort of ran the gauntlet a little bit for the last ten minutes or so.
“Thankfully, that decision worked out and we gave him an extra seven days to recover and he should be good for the next day.”
Farrell said it was not a ‘classic’ Dublin performance and acknowledged they need to improve — regardless of who they play next.
But the gaffer also pointed to hugely experienced performers like John Small who are coming good just when required.
Seven-time All-Ireland winner Small locked down the Sky Blues’ defence in just his third start since returning to the panel.
Farrell said: “He just brings that warrior mentality, which is really important, particularly in games like that when it’s going down to the wire.
“You need brave men to stand up and not to shy away from it, and John never does that. He’s always the one that stands up.”
It is the end of the road for Cork in 2025 — and it could be the end for manager John Cleary too.
He has put in four years as Rebels chief and could call it quits.
Cleary said: “I won’t say anything at the moment.
“My term is up now, I’ve been four years in it and as anyone knows, it’s tough going.
“But look, we’ll see during the week.
“We’ll talk to the relevant parties but at this stage now, my term is up. We’ll see what the future holds going forward.”
Cleary said he arrived at Croke Park optimistic about pulling off a famous win, like the Dublin hurlers did a few hours earlier when they toppled mighty Limerick at HQ.
He said: “We’re gutted. I thought that we would give it a right go because we always like playing Dublin.
“Their style suits our style of play.
“The second half was nip and tuck, their goal was a big score.
“But we battled back again and we had a two-pointer to potentially level it, a free that landed in the goalie’s arms.”
