All-Ireland SFC Quarter-final/Dublin 1-12 Westmeath 0-5: Not a great deal for anyone in the 79,100 audience on Saturday at Croke Park - and even the anticipated capacity crowd fell a little short of the mark. For Dublin this was a low-key business transaction. The county had been in four previous Bank of Ireland All-Ireland quarter-finals, winning none of them at the first time of asking and progressing past that stage on only one occasion.

So the fact this team has improved on last year's championship showing is gratifying but there remain shadows on the season's progress. None of the matches to date, with the incongruous exception of Longford back on the June bank holiday, have provided the sort of defining crisis that either kills teams or makes them stronger.

This is particularly true of two areas of combat.

Centrefield has seen performances of impressive consistency from Ciarán Whelan and Shane Ryan - both again excellent on Saturday - both supplied by relentlessly accurate kick-outs from Stephen Cluxton.

But manager Paul Caffrey and everyone else knows there are better and more daunting pairings barring the way to an All-Ireland title and the team has to find the economy to win with something more modest than 90 per cent of possession in the middle.

One immediate concern was the withdrawal of Whelan after an hour with what was afterwards feared to be concussion. Although there wasn't yesterday any definitive update on the player's condition, apprehensions had eased on the basis that at no stage had he lost consciousness and, according to selector Dave Billings, had been anxious to get back on to the field.

Then there is the full-back line, all of whom were impressive against a Westmeath attack living on scraps they didn't find all that appetising. Paul Griffin in particular was a phenomenon, hounding Des Dolan on what ball he got and getting in more blocks, five, than I can remember a defender making in a single match at this level.

For all that, none of the back three would say they are playing in their best positions. At the start of the season it had been hoped that even Griffin, mobile and more skilful than the current wing backs, could be given his optimum role on the wing, but in the words of one former Dublin selector, "they obviously decided that this was a luxury the team couldn't afford".

One switch to the half backs that has lit bonfires is Bryan Cullen's reversion to his best position, at centre back. He gave a regal performance, strong in the air and on the breaks with his on-ball ability also driving the attack. If he keeps this up for what lies ahead Cullen's season is heading for somewhere between an All Star and footballer of the year. But greater tests await and only then will it be apparent what are the team's plausible aspirations.

Nonetheless the shortcomings of the opposition aren't Dublin's fault and they have crushed teams by finding their flaws and not allowing them back into games. Furthermore, no manager will be too upset at the availability of such obvious room for improvement going into an All-Ireland semi-final.

Going into the match Westmeath had made a name for themselves with tenacious defence and opportunist forwards combining for tight, low-scoring victories.

On Saturday, however, Dublin steamrolled the life out of the team as a unit, and the pressure on the lead performers became unbearable.

There were also mitigating circumstances. Neither David O'Shaughnessy, brought in at centrefield, nor Des Dolan is sufficiently recovered from injuries to exert the influence that Westmeath needed.

Denis Glennon racked up nearly as many wides as Dolan but was frequently drifting too far from the danger area to get possession, and his accuracy suffered from the unpromising shot-selection forced on him.

Gary Dolan didn't manage to maintain his recent goal-a-match sequence, and the starting attack produced two points from play over 70 minutes.

Dublin's forwards rotated as soon as their markers looked like getting to grips and the pressure intensified.

On top of the hegemony of Whelan and Ryan in the middle, Kevin Bonner won useful ball in the opening quarter as Dublin set about pulling away.

There was a disappointing wides total of 16 but with so much ball coming their way the forwards could just keep plugging away in the certain knowledge that more chances would come.

Conal Keaney, probably the team's best forward in the season to date, had an off-day, shooting five wides and hitting the post twice - even if, in an act of alchemy, the first-half mishap fell nicely for Tomás Quinn to fire home the only goal of the afternoon in the 13th minute.

Alan Brogan has to be exempted from the general charge of profligacy. For someone who has at times taken the spirit of "not being afraid to miss" to a Zen state he was excellent on Saturday with four points from play and no wides on top of the customary busy, bustling performance.

If Westmeath could feel sorry for themselves at the misfortune of the goal, they were only hanging on in the face of other attacks. Only two minutes earlier Gary Connaughton made a super save on Quinn as Dublin's most reliable goalscorer was about to round him and tap into the empty net. Jason Sherlock, again a major cog in the attack, could have had a goal instead of driving over a point when clear on goal in the 20th minute.

At 1-7 to 0-2, the match was decided by half-time. Not metaphorically but literally. In the circumstances it's hard to judge too rigorously Dublin's inability to score between the 38th and 59th minutes, a period that included a Ray Cosgrove goal questionably disallowed in the 46th minute.

Immediately afterwards Westmeath might have had one themselves but Michael Ennis went high for a point.

The match tailed off with some incoherent forward possession for Tomás Ó Flatharta's team, which for the whole final quarter yielded just a single point, by replacement John Smyth.

Westmeath have better in them than they showed but so do Dublin.

DUBLIN: 1. S Cluxton; 4. P Griffin, 3. B Cahill, 2. D Henry; 7. C Goggins, 6. B Cullen (capt), 5. P Casey; 9. S Ryan (0-1), 8. C Whelan; 14. K Bonner, 13 J Sherlock (0-1), 12. R Cosgrove (0-1); 11. A Brogan (0-4), 10. C Keaney (0-2, frees), 15. T Quinn (1-2, two points frees). Subs: 22. D Lally for Bonner (48 mins), 19. D O'Callaghan for Cosgrove (56 mins), 21. M Vaughan for Quinn (61 mins), 18. D Magee (0-1) for Whelan (62 mins), 25. C Moran for Sherlock (68 mins).

WESTMEATH: 1. G Connaughton; 2. D Healy, 3. J Keane, 4. F Boyle; 5. M Ennis (0-1), 6. D O'Donoghue, 7. G Glennon; 8. D O'Shaughnessy, 9. P Bannon; 10. D Heavin, 11. G Dolan; 12. A Mangan; 13. J Connellan (0-1), 14. D Glennon (0-1), 15. D Dolan (0-1, free). Subs: 26. D Duffy for Mangan (half-time), 26. P Martin for Heavin (43 mins), 23. J Smyth (0-1) for Connellan (54 mins).

Referee: B Crowe (Cavan).