We showed great spirit and resolve: Jim Gavin

Sun, 7th February 2016

Dublin football manager Jim Gavin has applauded the "spirit and resolve" his men showed in Castlebar on Saturday night to emerge with a two-point victory (0-9 to 0-7) over Mayo in their NFL Division 1 encounter.

In appalling weather conditions Dublin looked to have it all to do at half-time as they led by just the minimum, 0-4 to 0-3, despite having played with the wind advantage.

But a three-point salvo between the 46th and the 48th minutes, from the Ballymun Kickhams duo of Dean Rock (two frees) and James McCarthy, put the Dubs on the road to their second victory from two starts in this campaign.

"It was a good result. To come down to Castlebar, against a Mayo team that would have been disappointed with their performance against Cork but showed good heart tonight, we're happy to come away with two points," says Jim.

"It was a very physical contest, and the conditions made it difficult, but I thought both sets of players did their best.

"The Dublin boys showed great spirit and resolve. Picking up two black cards and a sending off made our task more challenging but I thought the guys who came in did really well. They showed great composure on the ball and saw the game through.

"On balance I think we deserved the two points," concludes Jim.