Dublin draw Galway in next round after Donegal win

Dublin have been drawn against Galway for the All-Ireland quarter finals this morning following a win over Donegal in Croke Park on Sunday afternoon.

The quarter finals are set to be played this weekend.

By far Dublin’s greatest performance of the year so far, and possibly the best football they have produced since their All-Ireland winning campaign of 2023, the boys in blue were sizable underdogs heading into Sunday’s fixture.

There were a number of local talents involved in the game with Ballyboden St Enda’s Colm Basquel and Ross McGarry featuring while Templeogue Synge Street’s Niall Scully was an ever-present presence in the Dublin side.

It was a bombastic display from the Dubs who were able to claw themselves back from deficits on multiple occasions and looked to have the game one before a questionable decision from the referee saw a Donegal free kick brought forward into two pointer territory which Michael Murphy duly converted, equalising the score.

Murphy would then celebrate in front of Ciaran Kilkenny which would result in a scuffle after the hooter sounded and see both sides play with 13 men for the first half of extra time with two black cards awarded.

Colm Basquel produced an absolutely superb performance from corner forward which saw him be a focal point of the Dublin attack, his fitness throughout the game was exemplary and the Donegal defence were unable to deal with him on multiple occasions.

Con O’Callaghan was also in excellent form on the day, picking up a player of the match award for the second game in a row, though fans will be worried after he was forced off in extra time seemingly holding onto his hamstring as he left the pitch.

Other injuries affected the squad with Paddy Small taking a knock while scoring an all important second goal and Nathan Doran’s season looks to be over after an injury in the first half that required significant medical attention.

Ger Brennan touched on the performance after the game and the prep heading into this weekend’s fixture.

“We just need to get a sense of where the bodies are at and then recover the best we can.

‘We know it’s a big task, the last couple of seasons only one of preliminary quarter finalists have been able to go on and win in the quarter final, so we know that it won’t be in our favour given the rest they would have had.

‘We’ll dust ourselves down and prepare the best we can.”