Former Dublin manager Paul 'Pillar' Caffrey has praised Eoin Murchan after his impressive championship debut against Donegal.

The Na Fianna clubman was a late addition to the starting line-up and succeeded in curbing the attacking threat posed by Ryan McHugh.

"Jim Gavin went horses for courses and made a brave call with Eoin Murchan man-marking Ryan McHugh," Caffrey wrote in his Irish Daily Mirror column.

"It surprised everyone, no-one more so than McHugh himself, who would have preferred to be on a bigger and less mobile footballer. Murchan did a fantastic job in nullifying his threat.

"Two other big pluses were the performances of Brian Howard and Niall Scully, who took his goals very well on a day when others squandered their chances."

'Pillar' defended Dublin's possession game in the final 10 minutes, saying the onus was on Donegal to press up and try to dispossess them.

"The last 10 minutes were frustrating for anyone that was there. Donegal didn't have a Plan B to push up and go man-for-man and go for the goal they needed to get back in the game, while Dublin were happy to play keep-ball, which made for a dour ending.

"It was classic game management by Dublin. They've played in so many big games and they're a smart bunch. All they wanted was a win, scoring difference didn't come into it.

"Dublin clearly had an eye on the upcoming schedule, which included an All-Ireland semi-final. A five-point lead was a big one in a game of that nature so pushing hard in the last 15 minutes wasn't a priority given what's coming up," he added.

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