Dublin boss Pat Gilroy said his players gave everything in yesterday's heartbreaking All-Ireland football semi-final defeat to Cork.

"We said if we had lost and we gave it everything then we could deal with that and it is a hell of a lot easier to do that than if you just didn't show up," he reflected.

"We did throw everything at that. There was nothing left in any fella in that dressing room and you have to be really proud of them.

"Where we were this time last year to where we are now is a very different place, but it is really important that we as a team push on. It is a very young group and we have closed the gap. There is only a point between us and one of the top teams in the country."

Gilroy felt a combination of tiredness and a lack of experience cost Dublin a place in the All-Ireland final.

"Maybe we were a bit tired, but we also had some wild stuff down the other end that last 10 minutes as well when we could have maybe held onto the ball for a bit longer.

"Look, it is a one-point defeat and it is all about the little things that add up to that. The little things went Cork's way today. That is sport. It can be cruel but we have to learn the lesson from it. That is all you can do when you lose."

He continued: "They (Cork) have had a lot of pain over the past few years in Croke Park when maybe they were the strongest team in the country. Maybe that stood to them as well. A one-point defeat, it is just small things." Tweet

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