Second-half goals from Fergal Whitely and Cian O'Sullivan proved telling as Dublin accounted for 14-man Westmeath by 13 points in their Allianz National Hurling League Division 1B encounter at Parnell Park.
Dublin played the more compelling hurling in a relatively sloppy first-half and with Aaron Craig dismissed for Westmeath in the 32nd minute, they moved five points clear by the turnaround.
They gradually availed of their numerical advantage with Whitely cutting inside smartly for their opening goal in the 53rd minute before O’Sullivan fired home from Whitely’s pass deep into added time.
The quality on offer in the first half left a lot to be desired with the general play punctuated by handling errors and misplaced passes, despite a fine early score for Dublin by Brian Hayes.
Donal Burke doubled the home lead in the 2nd minute but it wasn’t long before their opponents settled into the tie thanks to scores in quick succession by David Williams and Killian Doyle.
A ninth minute Mark Grogan point edged Dublin back in front and they could and should have been further ahead as the contest evolved with Paul Crummey going close to the first goal in the 11th minute while Diarmuid Ó Dúlaing was denied by an excellent Noel Conaty save three minutes later.
A brace of Williams frees saw parity restored by the 21st minute before the hosts struck a trio of unanswered points through Burke, Danny Sutcliffe and Crummey to regain a degree of control.
Jake Malone and Doyle traded points soon after but the contest turned irrevocably in Dublin’s favour as Westmeath’s wing-back Craig was dismissed for a dangerous hit on Burke.
The hosts finished the half on the front foot as a Cian O’Sullivan free and a smart Donal Leavy score pushed them 0-11 to 0-6 clear by the interval.
Westmeath’s numerical disadvantage was always likely to undermine their challenge but they resumed in an encouraging manner thanks to excellent scores from substitutes Davy Glennon and Aonghus Clarke.
However, these points proved a brief stay of execution as Dublin began to turn the screw through a brace of Sutcliffe points and further scores by Paul Crummey and Brian Hayes.
When Whitely cut inside smartly at the start of the fourth quarter to hammer the ball low past Conaty, the contest was effectively settled as Dublin moved further clear through two points in as many minutes by James Madden.
Westmeath continued to battle and were rewarded as Peter Clarke and Williams shared four points in the final quarter but they were powerless to prevent O’Sullivan from racing through onto Whitely’s pass as the Dubs turned their focus onto their Leinster championship opener against Wexford in four weeks’ time.
Dublin: Seán Brennan; James Madden (0-3), Paddy Smyth, John Bellew; Chris Crummey, Conor Donohoe, Donal Leavy (0-1); Mark Grogan (0-2), Brian Hayes (0-2); Danny Sutcliffe (0-3), Donal Burke (0-3, 1 f), Jake Malone (0-1); Diarmuid Ó Dúlaing, Cian O’Sullivan (1-4, 2f, 1 ’65), Paul Crummey (0-3).
Subs: Fergal Whitely (1-0) for Burke (Blood Sub, 33), Ronan Hayes for Ó Dúlaing (46), Darragh Power for Leavy (46), Sean Currie for Sutcliffe (58), Liam Murphy for P Crummey (65), Seán Gallagher for B Hayes (67).
Westmeath: Noel Conaty; Darragh Egerton, Johnny Bermingham, Conor Gaffney; Aaron Craig, Tommy Doyle (0-1), Kevin Regan; Peter Clarke (0-2), Shane McGovern (0-1); Killian Doyle (0-2), David Williams (0-7, 7f), David O’Reilly; Darragh Clinton, Niall Mitchell, Owen McCabe.
Subs: Davy Glennon (0-1) for Clinton (half-time), Aonghus Clarke (0-1) for McCabe (half-time), Eoin Keyes for Mitchell (42), Ciaran Doyle for O’Reilly (46), Adam Ennis for Bermingham (Blood Sub, 58), Shane Clavin for McGovern (63).
Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary).
