Dublin boss Dessie Farrell says Meath “fully deserved” yesterday’s Leinster SFC semi-final victory against them in Portlaoise as they now turn their focus towards the All-Ireland series.

After having trailed by 12 points at half-time, the Dubs mounted a comeback which saw Cormac Costello’s goal helping them to get back within two of their neighbours before the points of Aaron Lynch and captain Frayne secured the upset for the Royals.

Speaking to RTE Sport after the game, Farrell said there were “huge learnings” for his group to take from the 0-23 to 1-16 defeat.

"I think we will look back on the tape and review the performance overall, collectively and individually. We had a lot of young guys in the mix today, so today was great, great experience for them,” he said.

"It truly was a baptism of fire. It was a cauldron down there in that second-half, it ebbed and flowed, and the crowd got in behind the teams. It was an amazing atmosphere. And you can't replicate that at training.

"I'd say there's huge learnings for a lot of the younger lads from that.

"We're quite depleted today. I’m not taking anything again from Meath victory, but we need to get five or six potential starters that were missing today through injury [back].

"Sean Bugler picked up an injury during the week. Eoin Murchan, Cian Murphy, Sean McMahon, Luke Breathnach. They're all potential starters for us.

"Hopefully get them healthy in the coming weeks and look forward to the qualifiers [round robin].

"We need to develop that little bit of depth in the squad for a day like this and it can come back to bite you. But I’m really proud of the lads and how they gave it everything and the young lads stood up and it just wasn't to be for us, but a lot to look forward to."

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