Dublin defender Cian O’Sullivan has said there is plenty of room for improvement despite his side having 10 points to spare over Donegal in the Allianz National Football League semi-final.
The two-time All Star, a late replacement in the starting team for John Small after he was an injury doubt during the week, had a relatively quiet day in the Dublin rearguard as Jim Gavin’s side set-up a final date with rivals Kerry.
Bernard Brogan’s goal in Dublin’s first attack of the second-half stretched their lead to eight points and effectively ended the game as a contest for the reigning champions.
Despite the comprehensive win, O’Sullivan believes they will need to sharpen up aspects of their game if they are to claim a fourth successive league title and retain their All-Ireland crown.
“It’s another game before the summer, that’s exactly what we wanted,” he told RTÉ Sport.
“It’s a League final, which is one thing, but secondly, it’s another really good competitive game before the summer and we get into the business side of things.
“Towards the end, Donegal definitely got a run at us. They had a number of opportunities and we’ll be looking back over that over the coming weeks, see if we can shore up a few things.
“By no means was it a perfect performance from us even though we did shade it by a couple of points towards the end.”
O’Sullivan was one of 11 Dublin scorers, compared to Donegal’s three, and says competition for places in Gavin’s starting team is intense with championship looming on the horizon.
“A lot of guys are stepping up to the plate,” he said. “I’d say Jim has a few tough calls to make but that’s the position you want to be in.”
The versatile Kilmacud Crokes clubman was an injury concern but is happy how he is being managed in the early stages of the season.
“I’m fine. I have to manage the body game-to-game. I think I have the balance right. I was happy to get sixty minutes out there today and looking forward to being involved in two weeks’ time.”
