Dublin manager Pat Gilroy expressed his admiration for the work ethic of Donegal after they pushed his team all the way in yesterday's All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Park.

In a game that only saw 14 scores registered over the 70 minutes, Dublin eventually broke down their opponents' blanket defence in the last 15 minutes to come away 0-8 to 0-6 winners and book themselves into a long-awaited All-Ireland decider.

Afterwards Gilroy had nothing but praise for Donegal's defensive system, which has helped them capture National League and Ulster SFC titles this season.

"I don't think anybody can just start to try playing that game. Donegal have conditioned themselves to do that. It takes incredible work off the field to do what they did today," said Gilroy.

"Okay, it mightn't look pretty to you but it is very, very difficult to do. But fair play to them. They have gotten themselves into a position where they are able to do it.

"I totally admire them. Why would you go out and leave a load of space in front of fellas that kicked 22 points the last day. It was just sensible what they did. You would have to admire them.

"It is incredible to get yourself into the shape to do what they did for so long today," he added. Tweet

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