Dublin 4-20 DIT 1-12
Liam Rushe and Eamonn Dillon helped secure Ger Cunningham's first competitive victory as his Dublin side beat DIT 4-20 to 1-12 in tonight’s Bord na Móna Walsh Cup clash at Parnell Park.
The experienced Dublin duo contributed 2-09 between them in testing conditions in the capital county's opening Group 2 cup tie.
The game was virtually secured by the third quarter when Dublin led the students by an impressive ten points and they didn't let up, adding two more goals late on through sub David Treacy and Niall McMorrow.
The result means Dublin can secure their semi-final place by beating Antrim back at the same venue on Sunday.
Cork legend Cunningham went with a relatively strong team for his first competitive tie in front of the home fans.
There were starts for Shane Barrett and Ben Quinn in defence and Kevin Byrne and Daire Plunkett formed a new-look midfield.
But they were mostly established names on show with Conal Keaney, Rushe, Paul Ryan and John McCaffrey all lining out.
The real intrigue was the positioning of McCaffrey and Rushe.
Best known as Dublin's experienced midfielder, McCaffrey played at corner-back and held his own, while Rushe, the versatile St Pat's man, was installed on the edge of the square at full-forward.
Rushe had a great goal chance in the 23rd minute but fired over. And it looked as if it might prove costly as DIT were in the throes of a strong revival at that stage after falling 0-07 to 0-01 down early on.
Westmeath's Derek McNicholas hit four rapid-fire points in a DIT scoring surge to leave just one in it.
But Dillon's 28th minute goal put the hosts in the clear again with a 1-08 to 0-07 advantage.
The storming solo goal took Dillon's early tally to 1-02 - he shot 1-06 overall - and helped Dublin to a commanding 1-11 to 0-07 half-time lead.
Another Dillon point shortly after the restart put Dublin eight clear and, apparently, in pole position.
A stunning 38th-minute Michael Lee DIT goal from a tight angle on the left halted Dublin's momentum. But it was only for a brief period as Dublin responded with six points in a row to ultimately kill off the contest.
Rushe came into the game strongly with two points and some excellent fielding and creative play. He then pinched a clever goal in the 52nd minute when he lobbed the DIT keeper from close range.
It was all downhill for the Fitzgibbon Cup hopefuls after that with Dublin adding two more goals in the final five minutes.
Dublin: A Nolan, J McCaffrey, M Carton, S Barrett, B Quinn, P Kelly, S Lambert, K Byrne, D Plunkett, C Keaney (0-03), E Dillon (1-06, 1 65), C Boland (0-01), N McMorrow (1-01), L Rushe (1-03), P Ryan (0-05, 1f, 2 65).
Subs: E O'Donnell for Plunkett, R O'Carroll for Byrne, D Treacy (1-01) for Ryan, J Hetherton for Boland, F McGibb for Quinn.
DIT: P McKenna, S Barron, B Carey, S McClelland, C Robinson, K Bergin, G Whelan, C Sheehan, J Cahill (0-01), J Sweeney, D McNicholas (0-08, 6f), A Nugent, M Lee (1-02), D Roberts, W McGrath (0-01).
Subs: P O'Reilly for Barron, E Hayes for Nugent, J McManus for Carey.
Referee: T Carroll (Offaly).
