On the night, Dublin were, leaving aside their first-half loss of two defenders, unfortunate without being unlucky.

While statistics usually frame a picture as opposed to illustrate it, it was instructive to note that Dublin had 10 scoring attempts in the first half and eight in the second half;

the comparative figures for Wexford were 16 and 17.

Viewing the game in such stark terms, then, even a draw for the losers would have amounted to a strike against the head. The chap who contacted Con Murphy's Take Your Point show the following evening to assert Dublin "were robbed" was as wide of the mark as Wexford's shooting.

Despite the springboard provided for them by Stephen Hiney and Ronan Fallon in defence, Dublin simply didn't do enough farther forward to win the match. In the middle of the field, Eoin Quigley and Diarmuid Lyng got on and processed far more ball than Joey Boland and Declan Qualter. His goal aside, Kevin Flynn ground out nowhere near enough consistent possession against Malachy Travers. The Dubs played in patches in the second half, too much of their approach work was unstructured and too often they got in each other's way; one area that calls for remedial action, Naughton concedes, is their habit of "competing with ourselves" for the same ball.

In the short term, insufficient craft and variety in attack will continue to hobble them. But how can - and why should - we expect it to be any different? In the absence of the options that John McCaffrey, Kevin O'Reilly and Keith Dunne would have provided, last weekend's performance was about as good as Dublin are at the moment.

They're unquestionably . . .

and slowly . . . going in the right direction. Those people who are still harping on about the league loss at Casement Park as evidence of some alleged mental flaw miss the point;

that was a match Antrim had targeted from the beginning of the campaign and was Dublin's second away fixture in the space of four days.

They won't have it any easier over the course of the next month. A winnable-looking game against Offaly, a less winnable-looking one against last night's losers, an extremely unwinnable-looking one against today's losers. Makes a change from losing to Westmeath in a Portlaoise monsoon, thankfully.

It would have been nice to see Dublin contesting next month's Leinster final. But it's better for us . . . and, more importantly, for them . . . that we won't. Good things, eventually, come to those who wait and work for them.

INCOMING TODAY
Munster SHC semi-final
CORK v WATERFORD, Semple Stadium, 4.00 TV Connacht SFC semi-final SLIGO v ROSCOMMON, Hyde Park, 3.30 Ulster SFC semi-final
TYRONE v DONEGAL, Clones, 2.15 TV Leinster SFC quarter-finals
LOUTH v WEXFORD, Croke Park, 2.20;
DUBLIN v MEATH, Croke Park, 4.15 TV SATURDAY, 23 JUNE Christy Ring Cup
MAYO v MEATH, Castlebar, 3.00;
WESTMEATH v DOWN, Cusack Park, 3.00;
KILDARE v WICKLOW, Newbridge, 7.00;
LONDON v DERRY, Ruislip, 3.00 Nicky Rackard Cup SLIGO v ARMAGH, Markievicz Park, 3.00; LEITRIM v LONGFORD, Ballinamore, 7.00;
ROSCOMMON v FERMANAGH, Athleague, 3.00;
W'SHIRE v LOUTH, Pairc na hEireann, 6.00 SUNDAY, 24 JUNE Connacht SFC semi-final
LEITRIM v GALWAY, Carrick-on-Shannon, 2.00 TV Leinster SFC semi-final
DUBLIN/MEATH v OFFALY, Croke Park, 4.00 TV Ulster SFC semi-final
DERRY v MONAGHAN, Casement Park, 3.30