Dublin set up Westmeath repeat with easy win over Meath

Dean Rock scored 10 points as Dublin won their 17th consecutive match in the Leinster championship and set up a repeat of last year's provincial final against Westmeath with a facile 0-21 to 0-11 win over Meath.

The July 17 date will be Dublin's 11th Leinster final appearance in the last 12 years as they seek a sixth Delaney Cup in a row for the second time in their history.

The reigning All-Ireland champions only led by 0-11 to 0-8 at half-time, but with Rock and Diarmuid Connolly picking off scores seemingly at their will, they gradually pulled clear in front of 42,259 supporters at Croke Park.

With a steady rain falling throughout the game, handing the ball proved very difficult for both sides and, as a result, it took some time for Jim Gavin's side to settle into the encounter with some shocking wides from Connolly, Bernard Brogan and Ciaran Kilkenny blighting their early play.

At the other end Meath were a bit more economical with the ball and after Graham Reilly got them off the mark inside the first minute, Cillian O'Sullivan regained the lead for Meath following a score from Brogan.

A strong carry out of defence from Mickey Burke allowed Reilly to kick his second score for a 0-3 to 0-1 lead in the 10th minute, but in the 11 minutes that followed Dublin excelled with six of the next seven scores.

The first two came from Rock frees, before Brian Fenton found his range, and although Mickey Newman halted their charge with the first of three long-range frees, another run of three points saw Dublin into a 0-7 to 0-4 lead.

In the next four minutes Newman curled over two big frees off the ground, but in the middle of that Connolly caressed the score of the match over the bar from wide on the right after a clever chip pick created the yard he needed.

Eamon Wallace and O'Sullivan points did keep Meath in touch, but Rock's fourth free and a super point from Paul Flynn mean they were good value for a 0-11 to 0-8 lead at the break.

The tight affair that the first half was could not be repeated after the break as Dublin restricted Meath to just three points between then and the final whistle.

Rock proved a source of regular scores for Dublin throughout, and a point from play and a free from the Ballymun man soon had the Metropolitans into a five-point lead.

Newman managed to get Meath's first point of the half when he punished an unusually sloppy Dublin kickout in the 45th minute, but other than a point from Reilly nine minutes later, Dublin took total control with eight of the next nine points and in the end ran out comfortable winners.

Dublin: S Cluxton (c); P McMahon, J Cooper, D Byrne; J McCarthy, Cian O'Sullivan, J Small; B Fenton (0-1), D Bastick; P Flynn (0-2), D Connolly (0-4), C Kilkenny; K McManamon, D Rock (0-10, 9f), B Brogan (0-3).

Subs: MD Macauley for Bastick (h-t), P Mannion (0-1) for Brogan (53), P Andrews for McManamon (59), E Lowndes for Small (60), M Fitzsimons for O'Sullivan (63), C O'Callaghan for Flynn (67).

Meath: P O'Rourke; M Burke, D Keoghan (c), D Smith; D Tobin, P Harnan, A Douglas; H Rooney, A Tormey; G Reilly (0-3), C O'Sullivan (0-2, 1f), E Wallace (0-1); D McDonagh, C O'Brien, M Newman (0-4, 3f).

Subs: R Jones (0-1) for Tormey (53), S Lavin for Wallace (55), S Tobin for McDonagh (60), J Wallace for Reilly (64), C Finn for Douglas (67), B McMahon for O'Sullivan (68).

Referee: Rory Hickey (Clare).