Dessie Farrell was delighted with the impact of his younger players after Dublin eased past Kildare to put one foot in the next stages of the All-Ireland SFC.
The 0-22 to 0-13 win in Nowlan Park means the Dubs have three points from two games following their draw with Roscommon, who play Sligo tomorrow, and top Group 3.
Farrell's side started without a number of experienced players such as Jack McCaffrey, Ciaran Kilkenny, and Paul Mannion, and Cormac Costello was a late withdrawal due to precaution over an ankle injury.
"Overall happy," Farrell told RTÉ Sport.
"I thought the application was very good today. The six-day turnaround was tough and I think the lads showed great fight and determination out there.
"At times in the first half we probably looked a little bit open. It was better in the second half but that's something you’re always trying to shore up, and play lockdown defence.
"Delighted with all the young lads again today.
"I thought Sean McMahon and Daire Newcombe in defence were really solid. Collie Basquel (0-05), Sean Bugler, Cian Murphy, Lorcan O'Dell came in and made really solid contributions as well.
"They are finding their feet and a little more comfortable in their skin. It’s a big step up in class from club or underage.
"They’re doing really well and games like this bring them on."
Farrell said it was too early to tell whether what looked a muscle injury to Con O'Callaghan, who scored four points before being forced off on the hour, was serious.
"There were a couple of bodies going down with cramp. It was very warm out there. We'll get a full assessment done and see what the story is then."
Kildare manager Glenn Ryan had criticised how often Dublin play in Croke Park after the sides' Leinster semi-final last month but insisted that his comments were meant for fixture makers rather than today's opponents in Kilkenny, which was Kildare's home venue for the day.
"It wasn't an anti-Dublin thing in any regard. It’s not their fault," he told RTÉ Sport.
"And I’m sure they enjoyed getting out of Croke Park and coming down here.
"They certainly did today because we made things very easy for them."
Ryan's side were level - 0-05 apiece - a quarter in but the Dubs took over after that, leading 0-13 to 0-08 by half-time.
"The second quarter, things obviously went the way we didn't want them to," he said.
"They certainly made the most of the opportunities that were given them but they probably shouldn’t have got a lot of them.
"They work hard, in fairness, but from our own perspective we would be disappointed with the way that went.
"There were a lot of areas in our game today that we were very disappointed with.
"We had 14 shots in the second half and got a return of five scores. That's not going to be good enough in any game.
"We need to be having a good look at ourselves."
Watch an All-Ireland Football Championship double-header on Sunday, Mayo v Louth (2pm) and Donegal v Derry (4pm), follow a live blog on all matches on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to updates throughout the day on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
