Dublin take time before finding their winning groove

Dublin 2-21 Laois 0-16: It took them a while to get the ship pointed in the right direction but in the end Dublin's progress was pretty smooth at Croke Park. A Laois team that challenged them physically and were good enough to lead them at half-time got the full treatment in the second half and ended up on the wrong side of an 11-point tonking.

Dublin’s radar was uncharacteristically askew in a first half that Laois emerged from with real credit. Tomás Ó Flaharta’s side missed their share as well but on the balance of play, they were probably entitled to parity at least. Yet had Dublin taken any of the six goal chances that fell their way in that opening 35 minutes, they would have put some clear water between the sides.

As it was, Laois went in 0-10 to 0-8 ahead, thanks in the main to the clever probing of Donie Kingston at centre forward and some classy shooting by Ross Munnelly inside. Munnelly it was who kicked three of Laois' first five points, with Kingston feeding him for two of them. The third, a fantastic effort from the left wing with his left boot, put Laois 0-5 to 0-3 up on 15 minutes.

By then, Dublin had already drawn two good saves from Graham Brody in the Laois goal. Paddy Andrews curled a shot against the crossbar soon after and Diarmuid Connolly rattled Brody's left-hand post. But Laois somehow kept their noses above the waterline.

And at the other end, they kept kicking their scores. James Finn curled over a fine point from distance, Kingston followed suit from even further out a couple of minutes later to put them 0-8 to 0-6 ahead. And although Dublin clawed their way back to parity through Paul Flynn and Eoghan O'Gara, Laois were defiant.

Brody saved twice more before the break – once from Alan Brogan after letting him in with his own mistake and in the next breath from O'Gara down to his right. And with Stephen Cluxton wayward with his 45s, it meant that Laois got to half-time a couple ahead.

It was encouraging stuff from Ó Flatharta's men, albeit that few in the ground imagined they'd stay in the lead for the duration. And so it proved. Dublin scored the first four points of the second half – two from Kevin McManamon, who had earlier come on for the injured Bernard Brogan. Cluxton iced a '45 into the Hill and when James McCarthy came forward for a point to put them 0-13 to 0-11 ahead, you started to fear for Laois.

And with good reason. Paddy Andrews opened up the Laois full back line with a crossfield ball to Philly McMahon and fed Connolly in the 47th minute. Connolly, who had been quiet enough up to then, slipped initially but recovered to finally beat Brody into the bottom corner. Dublin 1-13 Laois 0-11.

Laois kept at it but the closest they got was three points. And just when they did, Dublin finished it off, Michael Darragh Macauley profiting from a mistake by full back Paul Begley to hammer home Dublin's second goal.

After that, Jim Gavin cleared the bench. And, as Dublin's bench tend to do, they cleared up any outstanding issues. Cormac Costello kicked three points, Dean Rock the same. Dublin march on, winning well even though they didn't play all that well. Ominous stuff.

DUBLIN: S Cluxton (0-2, 45); P McMahon, R O'Carroll, J Cooper; J McCarthy (0-1), N Devereux, D Daly; MD Macauley (1-0), C O'Sullivan (0-1); P Flynn (0-3), P Andrews (0-1), D Connolly (1-1); A Brogan (0-1), E O'Gara (0-1), B Brogan (0-1, free). Subs: K McManamon (0-2) for B Brogan (22 mins); J McCaffrey for Daly (29 mins); B Cullen (0-1) for O'Gara (44 mins); C Costello (0-3) for A Brogan (50 mins); D Rock (0-3, all frees) for O'Sullivan (59 mins); P Mannion for Andrews (68 mins).

LAOIS: G Brody; P McMahon, P Begley, P O'Leary; D Strong (0-2), S Attride, C Begley; K Meaney, J O'Loughlin (0-1); J Finn (0-1), D Kingston (0-3, two frees), B Sheehan; R Munnelly (0-7, two frees), C Meredith, D Conway (0-1). Subs: N Donoher (0-1) for Sheehan (31 mins); E O'Carroll for O'Gara (temp, 39-41 mins); E Lowry for Meaney (51 mins); R Kehoe for Attride (59 mins); E O'Carroll for Conway (65 mins); P Kingston for Finn (67 mins).

Referee: P Hughes (Armagh)