Senior footballers secure sixth Leinster SFC in-a-row

DUBLIN 2-19 WESTMEATH 0-10

A storming second half saw Dublin secure their sixth Leinster SFC in-a-row and equal the record for the county set by the 1970s Dubs who dominated the province from 1974 to 1979.

The opening half was a tactical battle and Westmeath's deployment of a double-sweeper strategy made for a dull enough contest but ultimately successful in frustrating the Dublin attack.

Jim Gavin's men carried a 0-7 to 0-6 advantage into the break but could be far from happy as they failed to unlock the Westmeath defence while they also struggled at times on the breaking ball around centrefield.

However, Dean Rock's flawless freetaking helped Dublin into that half-time lead as he converted four from four attempts.

The Dubs made a tactical adjustment at the break by moving Ciaran Kilkenny back to the half-back line thereby freeing him up as his direct opponent, Francis Boyle, was operating as one of Westmeath's sweepers.

Also Paddy Andrews was introduced into the fray but overall Dublin upped the tempo of their game and moved the ball with far more potency and pace.

The scores began to come and soon Dublin were motoring well and they never looked back.

Inside the first minute of the second half the impressive Bernard Brogan fired over and then Rock added his firth free before Bernard made it 0-10 to 0-6 following good work by Ciarán Kilkenny in the 40th minute.

Kevin McManamon was a far influential figure in the second half as the St Jude's man began to create overlaps and burrow holes in the Westmeath rearguard.

Points from McManamon, Bernard Brogan off his left, two Rock frees, Diarmuid Connolly, Rock again and the hard-working John Small made it 0-17 to 0-7 by the 55th minute.

Dublin's first goal arrived three minutes later - a superb move initiated by Stephen Cluxton who caught a Westmeath point effort and set in motion an excellent move by finding Ciarán Kilkenny with a 50-metre pass that concluded in clever interplay by Jonny Cooper and Brian Fenton for Brogan to palm to the net.

In the 69th minute Kevin McManamon played a one-two with Paul Mannion before picking his spot and beating Darren Quinn from 14 metres - a great ending to a much improved second half.

SCORERS – Dublin: D Rock 0-8 (0-8f), B Brogan 1-4, K McManamon 1-2, P Andrews 0-2, J Small, P Flynn, D Connolly 0-1 each. Westmeath: J Heslin 0-6 (0-5f), G Egan 0-2, D Corroon, C McCormack 0-1 each.

DUBLIN: S Cluxton; J Cooper, D Byrne, P McMahon; J Small, C O’Sullivan, E Lowndes; B Fenton, MD Macauley; P Flynn, C Kilkenny, D Connolly; K McManamon, D Rock, B Brogan. Subs: P Andrews for Lowndes (ht), C O’Callaghan for Macauley (48), D Bastick for Connolly (52), D Daly for Small (56), M Fitzsimons for O’Sullivan (60), P Mannion for Rock (63).

WESTMEATH: D Quinn; K Daly, F Boyle, J Conoud; K Maguire, J Dolan, D Lynch; D Corroon, G Egan; A Stone, P Sharry, R Connellan; J Heslin, K Martin, C McCormack. Subs: D Daly for R Connellan (35 inj), S Corcoran for Lynch (53), S Duncan for K Daly (55), J Connellan for Martin (59), D McNicholas for Sharry (65).

REF: F Kelly (Longford).