Caffrey's getting the mix right

Football analyst: Right from throw-in yesterday it was perfectly clear this game would live up to the hype and produce another Dublin-Meath battle like those of old.

Ciarán Whelan set the tone with that booking at the start, and from there until the end the pace of the game was frenetic.

The super-fast surface of Croke Park allowed for some explosive football as well, and the movement of the ball was consistently impressive. As the game progressed though it was clear Dublin had the slightly more settled team and if they held their nerve would probably win it.

Still, I was quite surprised at how well all five of Meath's debutants settled into the game. I could hardly distinguish them from the more seasoned players, with the obvious exception of Graham Geraghty, who had one of his best games for Meath in a long time and stood head and shoulders above his team-mates for most of the first half.

Unfortunately for Geraghty he couldn't quite maintain that standard throughout the game and drifted out of it toward the end. But he wasn't quite getting the ball he needed either in the second half, as Meath's midfield possession started to dry up.

I'd put a lot of that down to Whelan, who had one of his best games for Dublin in a long time. The most important thing was that he didn't drift out of the game and played a crucial role in the last 10 minutes as Dublin were hanging on.

If Dublin had lost this game it would have been a massive psychological blow - I doubt they ever would have recovered. Even a draw would have been a massive setback. This is definitely a more seasoned Dublin team than the current Meath team, which is undergoing redevelopment. So a loss would have been unimaginable for the Dublin players and management.

Yet they did make hard work of it. Overall their shooting was poor, and apart from Alan Brogan I don't think any of the forwards performed the way they would have liked. Brogan displayed superb leadership and was typically unselfish, but in those final 10 minutes Dublin had a very hard time scoring.

Tomás Quinn definitely had an off day, and I felt Conal Keaney just didn't deliver enough. That's where the rookie Mark Vaughan came in. He didn't do much from play, but his two frees were absolutely vital - and that's the kind of player you want on the bench.

Dublin did produce a couple of big performances in defence. Stephen O'Shaughnessy was outstanding and is proving to be quite a find. His marking was faultless and helped keep Dublin in the game at vital stages. He was my man of the match, just ahead of Brogan.

Barry Cahill was equally impressive at centre back, where his positioning is a revelation.

The only downside of the Dublin defence was Paddy Christie, who appeared to be caught for pace a few times. He's been the foundation of the defence for a while but might need to be looked at again.

I would give credit to Meath for taking the chances when they did. They didn't get much possession but they made use of it and certainly tested every Dublin nerve out there.

Of course that credit lies with Seán Boylan, who once again got the best out of his players. He seems to have the makings of a team for the future, but he was short just the one or two players that would have made them Leinster championship contenders.

And I don't think Trevor Giles would have made the difference because none of the Meath forwards were getting the sort of ball they needed to beat Dublin. Joe Sheridan was particularly disappointing, but their midfield didn't live up to expectations either.

Now that Dublin have got over this one I would definitely make them favourites to win the Leinster title. Paul Caffrey is proving a very astute manager and there's certainly no lack of fitness or desire anywhere in this Dublin team. Their problem with shooting is not irreparable; 20 or 30 minutes of shooting practice alone could go a long way.

Dublin's effort was consistent throughout and that old problem of collapsing when the pressure came on appears to be rectified. They have improved this year, no doubt about that, and have gone up again in my estimation after this. Of course Caffrey will know that they won't win any titles with finishing like they showed yesterday, but if they take the time to work on that then I can see them enjoying a long summer.