Dublin are Leinster senior football champions for the 12th year running after five first-half goals helped them cruise to victory over Kildare at Croke Park this evening.

It finished 5-17 to 1-15 at headquarters, where Ciaran Kilkenny and Cormac Costello each hit the net for the holders inside the opening seven minutes to take control in this provincial decider.

Costello added his second major in the 16th minute, putting the capital men 10 in front, and matters would get worse for the Lilywhites as John Small registered goal number four ahead of points from Lee Gannon and Dean Rock (free) creating a 14-point margin.

Darragh Kirwan pulled back a point for the Lilywhites but the Dubs remained relentless at the other and 'Man of the Match' Con O’Callaghan broke through to blast in their fifth goal, sending Dessie Farrell’s men towards an assailable 5-7 to 0-6 half-time lead.

Surely stunned by what he saw during the opening 35 minutes, Kildare boss Glenn Ryan made changes to his side for the second-half that saw Paddy Woodgate and David Hyland introduced to the fray.

Points from Jimmy Hyland, Ben McCormack and Woodgate were part of the restart the trailers were looking for and Kevin Flynn would get them into double figures come the 41st minute.

O’Callaghan registered the Dubs’ 10th point of the evening prior to Jimmy Hyland grabbing a goal at the other end which took some tarnish off for Kildare, as the margin would stand at 13 come the final whistle.

Watch the Full-Time Highlights of Dublin v Kildare in the Leinster Senior Football Championship Final here on #GAANOW pic.twitter.com/ePs7WEbM24

— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 28, 2022

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