Stroll in the sunshine as Dublin ease to 19-point win over Cavan

A disappointing crowd of 9,028 turned out in beautiful conditions at Kingspan Breffni as Dublin dismantled an understrength Cavan side with the minimum of fuss.

Early on, the exchanges were tight and the sides were level four times, but once Paul Mannion knocked over a free in the 23rd minute, the All-Ireland champions had established a lead they would never relinquish.

That point was the moment the dam burst, really; from the kick-out, Dublin strung together a lovely hand-passing move through the heart of the Breffni defence, culminating in Cormac Costello rolling home to the bottom right corner.

While Cavan did replay to the major with a well-taken point from Oisin Brady, Dublin raised a second green flag before half-time, a third just seconds after the restart and from there on, it was a question of how much they would win by against a plucky but, on the day, over-matched home side.

Missing top scorer Paddy Lynch and four other injured regulars including the experienced Jason McLoughlin, Dara McVeety and Killian Clarke, Cavan were up against it from the off but it's unlikely even at full strength that Cavan would have been able to cope with Dublin’s speed, athleticism and slick skillset.

In fact, apart from one spell in the second half when they strung together three points in a row, it was plain sailing for the Dubs thereafter.

Brian Fenton struck the bar soon after Costello’s opening major and when Paddy Small palmed in Costello’s centre just before the break, the game was as good as over as a contest.

Fenton gathered a break off O’Callaghan and slotted over at his ease, it was 2-9 to 0-7 and that was how it stayed at the break.

Cavan had bagged some good scores – Gerry Smith and the lively Oisin Brady landed two fine