Paul 'Pillar' Caffrey says Dublin's 5-18 to 1-17 win over Cork didn't feel like the 13-point win the scoreline showed.
A brilliant Stephen Cluxton save - one of three on the day to deny goals - coupled with a brilliant field over Ruairi Deane, plus a key Michael Fitzsimons interception, denied Cork's goal chances in the second half after Luke Connolly's penalty made it 2-10 1-11.
And Niall Scully's goal with 15 minutes to go settled the contest, before Dublin pulled away with further goals from Ciaran Kilkenny and Brian Fenton.
"It was a strange atmosphere at Croke Park with no curtain raiser and just 30,000 present," Caffrey reflected in his Irish Daily Mirror column.
"Cork raced out of the blocks and caught Dublin cold. In the end they hit 1-17 and gave Stephen Cluxton his busiest day for quite some time.
"It was a genuine contest for 60-odd minutes and didn’t feel like a 13-point victory.
"Cork have improved immeasurably but they will still reflect on three goals that were very avoidable.
"Jack McCaffrey was immense on Saturday and Stephen Cluxton was back to his brilliant best, no mean feat having missed a chunk of the League, though Brian Howard was magnificent in so many facets of his play and is a real unsung hero for Dublin now.
"All told, Saturday was a good solid test and Dublin are in good shape as Roscommon come to Croke Park ."
