Burke’s side fell to a 12-point defeat conceding two goals in the last five minutes of normal time, outscored 2-4 to nil from the 54th minute when Daire Cregg raised a white flag.
“We probably didn’t think it was a 12-point game but we’re at the very top level of football here lads and Dublin are ruthless,” said Burke. “You make a couple of mistakes, they go down the field and you look at the pace of that second goal. It’s hard to live with that. If you give the ball away cheap, that’s what they’ll do to ya.
“Yeah, we’d be very disappointed because we feel it wasn’t a 12-point game but ultimately a couple of our own things cost us.”
He saluted the impact of the recalled Conor Cox, who scored 0-4, including a mark, part of an inside forward line that accounted for all of Roscommon’s 13 points.
“Yeah, absolutely, he’s been burning up the last month in training. There were probably a few eyebrows raised as to why Coxy was back in the starting team but sure you couldn’t keep him out of it. He’s been burning it up, which is what you need. He hasn’t played football. He’s annoyed, he’s pissed off and that’s it.”
Roscommon face a rematch with Mayo in Hyde Park next weekend, having lost to the county five weeks ago in the Connacht semi final by five points.
“If any Roscommon man can’t get up to play Mayo in the Hyde sure there is no point in me travelling down the road, is there?” their manager stated.
“I’m not going to have to tell those boys how to play Mayo in the Hyde, so we won’t have any issues there. If we won today, Mayo were still coming. If we lost today, Mayo were still coming and if we drew today Mayo were still coming.”
Roscommon will complete their group matches against Cavan in the final round a fortnight later. Last year they drew with Dublin in the opening match before qualifying from the group in third place.
“The goal is to beat Mayo and nothing else,“ said Burke. “The goal is to beat Mayo and, as I said, Cavan will come but the goal is to beat Mayo and nothing else. We have to go back and prepare for Mayo and that’s it.”
And with an exceptionally low attendance (no official figure was given but estimates ranged from 10-15,000), leaving Croke Park devoid of atmosphere, Burke weighed with his own opinion.
“I’m sure both sides would have been happy to play it anywhere, we wouldn’t have minded. This isn’t a day out for us. We stayed in Castleknock Hotel last night, it probably cost us half an arm and a leg. We don’t need to be…this isn’t a day out for us, we’re not the culchies coming up the road, you know that kind of way? We’re here to win football games, we’ll play it anywhere.
“Coming out here, why is this place open today, like? It doesn’t need to be open today. It could have been packed into Tullamore, packed into Parnell, packed in anywhere, you know that kind of way? There would have been a better atmosphere. We want to be here for quarter-finals, semi-finals, we don’t want to be here for dead rubbers or whatever these are, you know that kind of way?”
