Dublin ace Tomas Quinn held his nerve in the Parnell Park pressure cooker to gain a modicum of revenge for last summer's Leinster championship defeat, as the Metropolitans recorded a 0-11 to 0-09 defeat of Westmeath in division 1A of the National Football League.
It was the reaction of both managers after the whistle that caught the eye, however, with Westmeath chief Páidí Ó Sé and Dublin's Paul Caffrey engaging in a war of words.
Ó Sé O said that he received an “unsporting gesture” from the Dublin camp and it resulted in a frank exchange of views between the two as they crossed the pitch.
When the dust had settled, Dublin were just delighted with the two-point win which goes a long way to securing their top-flight position for another season.
Quinn was their hero up front chipping in 0-7 on the night to tip the scales Dublin's way to the delight of the home fans following their Leinster defeat to Westmeath last June.
Quinn delivered when it really mattered, levelling affairs at 0-9 apiece with moments to go and then putting them ahead in the 68th minute.
Despite spurning a five-point advantage earlier in the half this was a lead they wouldn't relinquish and Declan Lally tacked on a fine point in injury time to seal it.
Life needn't have been so difficult for Dublin because five first-half converted frees from Quinn gave them a half-time lead of 0-6 to 0-3.
They deserved it too, with Des Dolan converting all three of Westmeath's points from placed balls.
In fact, the visitors didn't score from open play until David O'Shaughnessy's 50th minute score.
By that stage Dublin still had their double scores advantage at 0-8 to 0-4 but Westmeath slowly whittled it down.
The introduction of Joe Fallon was crucial and two points from him helped Westmeath score an unanswered 0-6 to move 0-9 to 0-8 ahead.
But not for the first time this season Quinn was calm in the eye of the storm levelling in the 67th minute with a converted free from 45 metres out.
Quinn and Lally ensured victory with those late scores before the managers stole the show in the aftermath.
Dublin: S Cluxton; P Griffin, P Christie, S O'Shaughnessy; P Casey, B Cullen P Andrews, C Whelan, S Ryan; C Moran, L Og O hEineachain, D Lally (0-1); M Vaughan, C Keaney (0-1), T Quinn (0-7; 6f).
Subs.: D Homan (0-1) for Whelan (y/c) 35+2, S Connell (0-1) for O hEineachain h/t, C Goggins for O'Shaughnessy (inj) 53, J Sherlock for Vaughan 58.
Westmeath: G Connaughton; J Davitt, D O'Donoghue, J Keane; M Ennis (0-1), D Healy, D McDermott; R O'Connell, D O'Shaughnessy (0-1); J Brennan, M Flanagan, P Mulvihill; A Mangan, Denis Glennon (0-1), D Dolan (0-4; 4f).
Subs.: D Kilmartin for O'Donoghue (y/c) 22, J Fallon (0-2) for Mulvihill 26, D Mitchell for Flanagan h/t, David Glennon for Mangan (inj) 58, D Heavin for McDermott 69, P Tormey for Brennan 72.
Referee: P McEneaney (Monaghan)
