Dublin ramp it up to blitz Derry in Division 1

A turkey shoot at Croke Park, a place alongside Donegal at the head of Division 1 and a little piece of revenge on old rivals Derry to boot.

It was a positive evening for Dublin who swept to victory with goals from Niall Scully, debutant Conor Tyrrell and sub Lorcan O'Dell in what was a repeat of last year's National League decider.

Derry won that final on penalties after earlier hitting 3-18 over 90 minutes, a tally that Dublin improved upon by two points here in the regulation 70 minutes.

Sean Bugler was excellent again for Dublin with six points from play though his second-half exit with a right leg injury that left him hobbling badly must be a concern.

Luke Breathnach impressed also for Dublin, shooting four points though the hosts were given a giant helping hand by converted Derry goalkeeper Neil McNicholl who will have nightmares about the concession of the two goals, two of which were definite errors.

Derry, hoping that their Round 3 draw with Galway might ignite them following earlier defeats to Tyrone and Kerry, got it going late on and pulled back goals from Brendan Rogers and Conor Glass but left themselves far too much to do.

They weren't helped either by the 59th minute black card of defender Diarmuid Baker which reduced them to 14 for most of the finale.

They'll return to action against Donegal in Round 5, in Donegal, while Dublin will travel to All-Ireland holders Armagh.

Dublin boss Farrell has been at pains to point out that he's treating this year's league campaign as an exercise in squad rotation.

Experimentation is probably a necessity from Dublin's perspective given that so many household names pulled the plug over winter and retired.

With midfielders James McCarthy and Brian Fenton among the departing crew,