Dublin's sixth successive Leinster crown arrived courtesy of a facile 2-19 to 0-10 victory over Westmeath at Croke Park.

Bernard Brogan and Kevin McManamon netted in the second half as the defending champions outscored their opponents by 2-12 to 0-4 afer the break to land their eleventh provincial title in twelve years and 55^th in all. Jim Gavin's all-conquering charges are safely through to the All-Ireland series, while Westmeath - beaten in back-to-back Leinster finals - will have to defeat either Mayo or Cork in 13 days' time to get there.

The victors only led by the odd point from 13 at the end of a really poor first half, where the rank outsiders looked every bit as good as their esteemed opponents.

Six points were shared in the opening quarter, Denis Corroon's 15^th-minute strike from the middle making it 0-3 apiece. Dean Rock curled over his side's first score in ten minutes to restore their lead but the Lake County equalised from a soft John Heslin free in the 22^nd minute.

Paul Flynn and Heslin had traded the first two points before two Rock frees were followed by a reply from visiting captain Ger Egan. McManamon and Brogan fired two arrows between the Hill 16 posts to make it 0-6 to 0-4 after 25 minutes.

There was a mini flashpoint involving Diarmuid Connolly and James Dolan, which resulted in a yellow card apiece, before Heslin halved the deficit from a free on 30 minutes. The visitors lost Ray Connellan to a nasty ankle injury, which necessitated the addition of eight minutes of injury time at the end of the first half.

Rock elected to take his next free from the ground and the result was the same - a Dublin point - but the underdogs replied with a sensational point from Egan at the Davin End from beneath the shadow of the Hogan Stand in the sixth minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half.

As we passed the three-quarters stage, the half-time cushion of one point had been stretched to nine, 0-16 to 0-7. Heslin's 39^th-minute free was the Lake men's only score of the third quarter, while Dublin registered nine times during that spell, with Brogan (3), Rock (4), McManamon and Connolly doing the business.

Callum McCormack's point for the losers was bookended by a point from John Small and Brogan's goal: Brian Fenton laid it on a plate for the former Footballer of the Year, who palmed the ball to the net from close range to leave twelve points in it, 1-17 to 0-8.

Paddy Andrews tagged on the next point following great work from fellow substitute Con O'Callaghan and, after Heslin pulled back another free, McManamon notched the winners' second major when he placed a sublime shot into the top right corner of the net 90 seconds from the end of normal time.

With 15 points between the sides, six minutes of injury time were added for some reason that probably makes sense to somebody somewhere. Andrews closed the scoring after Heslin has slotted over a consolation pointed free.

The monopoly continues. Now, can Dublin retain the Sam Maguire Cup?

Dublin - S Cluxton; J Cooper, P McMahon, David Byrne; J Small (0-1), C O'Sullivan, E Lowndes; B Fenton, M D Macauley; P Flynn (0-1), C Kilkenny, D Connolly (0-1); K McManamon (1-2), D Rock (0-8f), B Brogan (1-4). Subs: P Andrews (0-2) for E Lowndes, C O'Callaghan for M D Macauley, D Bastick for D Connolly, D Daly for J Small, M Fitzsimons for C O'Sullivan, P Mannion for D Rock.

Westmeath - D Quinn; K Daly, K Maguire, J Gonoud; A Stone, J Dolan, D Lynch; D Corroon (0-1), G Egan (0-2); F Boyle, P Sharry, R Connellan; K Martin, J Heslin (0-6, 5f), C McCormack (0-1). Subs: D Daly for R Connellan, S Corcoran for D Lynch, S Duncan for K Daly, J Connellan for K Martin, R Gorman for K Maguire, D McNicholas for P Sharry.

Referee - F Kelly.

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